Physiological and Molecular Mechanisms of Plant Resistance to Abiotic Stress

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Physiology and Metabolism".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 17 February 2026 | Viewed by 208

Special Issue Editors

College of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China
Interests: salt and alkaline stress; Glycine soja; Glycine max; Lupinus angustifolius; tolerance mechanisms; oxidative stress; transcription factor; splicing factor; root morphology

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Guest Editor
College of Life Sciences, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China
Interests: cold stress; disease resistance; tolerance mechanisms; fruit quality; metabolism regulation
College of Life Sciences, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China
Interests: stress physiology of leguminous crops; saline/alkaline stress; nutritional stress; bicarbonate stress; drought stress; low nitrogen stress; tolerance mechanisms

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Abiotic stresses significantly reduce crop quality and yield. To adapt to environmental stimuli, plants have acquired stress resistance mechanisms through long-term evolution. Therefore, elucidating the physiological and molecular mechanisms underlying abiotic stress responses is essential for enhancing crop sustainability and addressing the increasing global demand for food production. This Special Issue aims to highlight regulatory mechanisms in economically important plants, including food crops, horticultural crops, oil crops, and ornamental crops, affected by various abiotic stresses such as salt–alkaline stress, extreme temperature stress (cold/heat), water stress (drought/flooding), heavy metal stress, etc. Studies investigating protein interactions, transcriptional regulatory pathways, splicing factor functions, or root development are particularly encouraged. Submitted manuscripts should be original work that has neither been published previously nor is currently under consideration for publication in other journals.

Dr. Lei Cao
Dr. Yao Zhang
Dr. Qiang Li
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • salt and alkaline stresses
  • cold and high temperature stresses
  • water and drought stresses
  • oxidative stress
  • hydroponic cultivation
  • hairy root induction
  • horticulture crops
  • oil crops
  • ornamental crops
  • tolerance mechanisms
  • protein interaction
  • transcription regulation
  • splicing factor
  • transcription factor
  • root development
  • root morphology
  • heavy metal stress
  • environment stimuli

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

23 pages, 8300 KiB  
Article
Pan-Genome-Based Characterization of the PYL Transcription Factor Family in Populus
by Xiaoli Han, Chen Qiu, Zhongshuai Gai, Juntuan Zhai, Jia Song, Jianhao Sun and Zhijun Li
Plants 2025, 14(16), 2541; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14162541 - 15 Aug 2025
Abstract
Abscisic acid (ABA) is a key phytohormone involved in regulating plant growth and responses to environmental stress. As receptors of ABA, pyrabactin resistance 1 (PYR)/PYR1-like (PYL) proteins play a central role in initiating ABA signal transduction. In this study, a total of 30 [...] Read more.
Abscisic acid (ABA) is a key phytohormone involved in regulating plant growth and responses to environmental stress. As receptors of ABA, pyrabactin resistance 1 (PYR)/PYR1-like (PYL) proteins play a central role in initiating ABA signal transduction. In this study, a total of 30 PopPYL genes were identified and classified into three sub-families (PYL I–III) in the pan-genome of 17 Populus species, through phylogenetic analysis. Among these subfamilies, the PYL I subfamily was the largest, comprising 21 members, whereas PYL III was the smallest, with only four members. To elucidate the evolutionary dynamics of these genes, we conducted synteny and Ka/Ks analyses. Results indicated that most PopPYL genes had undergone purifying selection (Ka/Ks < 1), while a few were subject to positive selection (Ka/Ks > 1). Promoter analysis revealed 258 cis-regulatory elements in the PYL genes of Populus euphratica (EUP) and Populus pruinosa (PRU), including 127 elements responsive to abiotic stress and 33 ABA-related elements. Furthermore, six structural variations (SVs) were detected in PYL_EUP genes and significantly influenced gene expression levels (p < 0.05). To further explore the functional roles of PYL genes, we analyzed tissue-specific expression profiles of 17 PYL_EUP genes under drought stress conditions. PYL6_EUP was predominantly expressed in roots, PYL17_EUP exhibited leaf-specific expression, and PYL1_EUP showed elevated expression in stems. These findings suggest that the drought response of PYL_EUP genes is tissue-specific. Overall, this study highlights the utility of pan-genomics in elucidating gene family evolution and suggests that PYL_EUP genes contribute to the regulation of drought stress responses in EUP, offering valuable genetic resources for functional characterization of PYL genes. Full article
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