Plant–Microbe Interactions under Stress: Exploring Defence Mechanisms, Microbial Diversity, and Resilience
A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Protection and Biotic Interactions".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026
Special Issue Editors
Interests: plant–soil–microbe interactions
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: desert plant ecology; plant–microbe interactions; plant nutrition
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Plants coexist with an immense diversity of microorganisms that play pivotal roles in growth, defence, and adaptation to environmental stresses. Amid increasing climatic and anthropogenic pressures, understanding these plant–microbe partnerships has become essential for enhancing crop resilience and promoting sustainable agriculture.
This Special Issue aims to showcase cutting-edge research articles and comprehensive reviews that unravel how microbial diversity influences plant defence responses, stress signalling, and physiological adaptation under abiotic stressors such as drought, salinity, heat, and nutrient limitation. We welcome contributions exploring molecular and biochemical mechanisms, microbiome dynamics, omics-based approaches, and bioinoculant applications that strengthen plant tolerance and ecosystem stability. By integrating ecological, physiological, and molecular insights, this Issue seeks to advance our understanding of plant–microbe interactions as natural allies in achieving sustainable crop production and climate resilience.
Dr. Waqar Islam
Dr. Fanjiang Zeng
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- plant–microbe interactions
- microbial diversity
- abiotic stress
- plant defence mechanisms
- stress tolerance
- rhizosphere microbiome
- endophytes
- plant growth-promoting microbes (PGPM)
- molecular adaptation
- sustainable agriculture
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