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Plants
Special Issues
Crop Yield Improvement in Genetic and Biology Breeding
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Crop Yield Improvement in Genetic and Biology Breeding

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 2020

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Banpu Ruan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, China
Interests: rice; abiotic stress; molecular mechanisms; physiological adaptations; yield
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Juan Zhao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China
Interests: rice; genetics; yield; quality; abiotic stress
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Crop yield improvement remains a critical goal in sustainable agriculture, particularly in the face of the increasing global food demand, climate change, and limited natural resources. Advances in genetic and biological breeding have revolutionized our ability to enhance crop productivity by uncovering molecular mechanisms behind yield-related traits, developing precise genome-editing tools, and incorporating systems biology approaches. These innovations have not only improved crop performance under diverse environmental conditions but have also offered new insights into the genetic architecture of yield potential and stress resilience.

This Special Issue of Plants will focus on cutting-edge research on genetic and biological breeding for crop yield improvement. Possible topics include the discovery of yield-associated genes, advancements in molecular breeding, applications of CRISPR-based technologies, and the integration of phenomics and bioinformatics into breeding programs. We also welcome studies addressing abiotic stress tolerance mechanisms, epigenetic regulation, and the translation of foundational research to practical breeding strategies in major crops.

We invite contributions that advance our understanding of the genetic and biological bases of crop yield and suggest innovations to meet future agricultural challenges.

Dr. Banpu Ruan
Dr. Juan Zhao
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

  • crop yield
  • genetic breeding
  • molecular biology
  • genome editing
  • phenomics
  • abiotic stress tolerance
  • epigenetics
  • sustainable agriculture

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 4129 KiB  
Article
Integrated Phylogenomics and Expression Profiling of the TRM Gene Family in Brassica napus Reveals Their Role in Development and Stress Tolerance
by Yunlu Zhang, Ke Zhao, Ruisen Wang, Yang Zhu, Huiqi Zhang, Jingyi Zhang, Xiangtan Yao, Cheng Qin and Pengcheng Zhang
Plants 2025, 14(12), 1858; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14121858 - 17 Jun 2025
Viewed by 547
Abstract
The TRM (TONNEAU1 Recruiting Motif) gene family plays a crucial role in multiple biological processes, including microtubule organization, cell division regulation, fruit morphogenesis, stress adaptation, and growth and development. To delve deeper into the potential functions of BnaTRMs in Brassica napus [...] Read more.
The TRM (TONNEAU1 Recruiting Motif) gene family plays a crucial role in multiple biological processes, including microtubule organization, cell division regulation, fruit morphogenesis, stress adaptation, and growth and development. To delve deeper into the potential functions of BnaTRMs in Brassica napus, this study employed bioinformatics methods to systematically identify and analyze the TRM family genes in Brassica napus (Westar). Using the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana as a reference and based on six conserved motifs, 100 TRM members were first identified in Brassica napus. These genes are widely distributed across 19 chromosomes, and most exhibit nuclear localization characteristics. Through gene collinearity analysis among Brassica napus, Arabidopsis thaliana, Glycine max, Oryza sativa, and Zea mays, we speculate that Brassica napus and Glycine max may share a similar evolutionary history. Analysis of cis-acting elements in the 2000 bp upstream region of TRM gene promoters revealed numerous elements related to abiotic stress response and hormone regulation. Furthermore, qRT-PCR data supported these findings, indicating that multiple TRM genes actively participate in the growth and development process and abiotic stress tolerance of Brassica napus. In summary, BnaTRMs exhibit significant functions in stress adaptation, growth, and development. This study not only enhances our understanding of the functions of the TRM gene family but also provides new perspectives and strategies for further exploring their regulatory mechanisms and potential applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crop Yield Improvement in Genetic and Biology Breeding)
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17 pages, 2469 KiB  
Article
Identification and Expression Analysis of Rice MYB Family Members in Response to Heat Stress
by He Zhao, Yaliang Ji, Yaohuang Jiang, Xiao Liang, Yu Qiao, Fei Chen, Limin Wu, Yanchun Yu and Dianrong Ma
Plants 2025, 14(12), 1784; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14121784 - 11 Jun 2025
Viewed by 610
Abstract
With the continuous rise in global temperatures, heat stress has become a significant threat to rice (Oryza sativa L.) growth and yield. MYB transcription factors, the largest family of genes in plants, play a crucial role in mediating responses to various abiotic [...] Read more.
With the continuous rise in global temperatures, heat stress has become a significant threat to rice (Oryza sativa L.) growth and yield. MYB transcription factors, the largest family of genes in plants, play a crucial role in mediating responses to various abiotic stresses. However, the specific functions of MYB genes in rice under heat stress remain largely unexplored. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive genome-wide characterization of the MYB transcription factor family and performed an RNA-seq analysis to identify OsMYB genes that are responsive to heat stress. We identified 229 MYB genes in rice, 134 of which exhibited significant expression changes under heat treatment. An RT-qPCR analysis validated the RNA-seq results for 15 MYB genes, confirming significant expression changes, such as the upregulation of Os02g0685200 after heat stress and the downregulation of Os05g0579600. Six highly responsive genes were selected for further analysis. Cis-acting elements associated with hormone response and abiotic stress were identified in the promoter regions of these genes. A subcellular localization analysis revealed that, except for Os05g0579600, which located to both the nucleus and cytoplasm, the other MYB genes (Os01g0192300, Os02g0685200, Os06g0637500, Os06g0669700, and Os09g0106700) were predominantly located in the nucleus. In yeast, Os01g0192300, Os06g0637500, and Os06g0669700 exhibited transcriptional activation activity, while Os02g0685200 and Os09g0106700 showed transcriptional repression activity. Notably, these genes responded not only to heat stress but also to other abiotic stresses, such as cold, salt, and heavy metal cadmium. This study provides valuable insights into the functional roles of OsMYB family genes in the heat stress response, identifying Os01g0192300, Os02g0685200, Os05g0579600, Os06g0637500, Os06g0669700, and Os09g0106700 as potential key genes involved in heat tolerance in rice. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crop Yield Improvement in Genetic and Biology Breeding)
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19 pages, 7279 KiB  
Article
Aquorin Bioluminescence-Based Ca2+ Imaging Reveals Differential Calcium Signaling Responses to Abiotic Stresses in Physcomitrella patens
by Jiamin Shen, Kexin Ding, Zhiming Yu, Yuzhen Zhang, Jun Ni and Yuhuan Wu
Plants 2025, 14(8), 1178; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14081178 - 10 Apr 2025
Viewed by 523
Abstract
Calcium ions (Ca2+) are an important secondary messenger in plant signal transduction networks. The cytosolic free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) of plants changes rapidly when they are subjected to different abiotic stresses, which drives calcium signaling. Although [...] Read more.
Calcium ions (Ca2+) are an important secondary messenger in plant signal transduction networks. The cytosolic free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) of plants changes rapidly when they are subjected to different abiotic stresses, which drives calcium signaling. Although this process has been extensively studied in spermatophytes, the details of calcium signaling in bryophytes remains largely unknown. In our study, we reconstituted aequorin in the bryophyte Physcomitrella patens, optimized the percentage of ethanol in the Ca2+ discharging solution, and measured the [Ca2+]i changes induced by different stresses. In addition, we observed that the sources of Ca2+ accessed following exposure to cold, drought, salt, and oxidative stress were different. Furthermore, we showed that long-term saline environments could suppress the basal [Ca2+]i of P. patens, and the peak value of [Ca2+]i induced by different stresses was lower than that of plants growing in non-stressed environments. This is the first systematic study of calcium signaling in bryophytes, and we provided an efficient and convenient tool to study calcium signaling in response to different abiotic stresses in bryophytes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crop Yield Improvement in Genetic and Biology Breeding)
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