The “Plant Physiology and Metabolism” Section of the journal Plants (ISSN: 2223-7747) publishes original research and timely review articles on all aspects of physiological mechanisms and biochemistry, both metabolic and structural. This Section aims to increase our knowledge on the biochemical and biophysical bases of plant and algal physiology in addition to the use of this knowledge for engineering photosynthetic organisms for enhanced biomass productivity, resistance to abiotic stress, and the synthesis of high-value products.

As they are of an open access format, you have free and unlimited access to the full text of all of the articles published in our journal. We welcome you to read our most highly cited papers published in 2021, listed below:

1. “Abiotic Stress in Crop Species: Improving Tolerance by Applying Plant Metabolites”
by Francisca Godoy, Karina Olivos-Hernández, Claudia Stange and Michael Handford
Plants 2021, 10(2), 186; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10020186
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/2/186

2. “Salinity Stress Affects Photosynthesis, Malondialdehyde Formation, and Proline Content in Portulaca oleracea L.”
by Helena Hnilickova, Kamil Kraus, Pavla Vachova and Frantisek Hnilicka
Plants 2021, 10(5), 845; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10050845
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/5/845

3. “Microalgal Cell Biofactory—Therapeutic, Nutraceutical and Functional Food Applications”
by Boda Ravi Kiran and S. Venkata Mohan
Plants 2021, 10(5), 836; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10050836
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/5/836

4. “Influence of Bagging on the Development and Quality of Fruits”
by Muhammad Moaaz Ali, Raheel Anwar, Ahmed F. Yousef, Binqi Li, Andrea Luvisi, Luigi De Bellis, Alessio Aprile and Faxing Chen
Plants 2021, 10(2), 358; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10020358
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/2/358

5. “Salinity Duration Differently Modulates Physiological Parameters and Metabolites Profile in Roots of Two Contrasting Barley Genotypes”
by Emilia Dell’Aversana, Kamel Hessini, Selma Ferchichi, Giovanna Marta Fusco, Pasqualina Woodrow, Loredana F. Ciarmiello, Chedly Abdelly and Petronia Carillo
Plants 2021, 10(2), 307; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10020307
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/2/307

6. “Comparative Study of Drought Stress Effects on Traditional and Modern Apple Cultivars”
by Ines Mihaljević, Marija Viljevac Vuletić, Domagoj Šimić, Vesna Tomaš, Daniela Horvat, Marko Josipović, Zvonimir Zdunić, Krunoslav Dugalić and Dominik Vuković
Plants 2021, 10(3), 561; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10030561
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/3/561

7. “Hormetic Responses of Photosystem II in Tomato to Botrytis cinerea”
by Maria-Lavrentia Stamelou, Ilektra Sperdouli, Ioanna Pyrri, Ioannis-Dimosthenis S. Adamakis and Michael Moustakas
Plants 2021, 10(3), 521; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10030521
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/3/521

8. “Downstream Signalling from Molecular Hydrogen”
by John T. Hancock and Grace Russell
Plants 2021, 10(2), 367; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10020367
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/2/367

9. “Comparative Effects of Different Light Sources on the Production of Key Secondary Metabolites in Plants In Vitro Cultures”
by Mariam Hashim, Bushra Ahmad, Samantha Drouet, Christophe Hano, Bilal Haider Abbasi and Sumaira Anjum
Plants 2021, 10(8), 1521; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10081521
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/8/1521

10. “LED Illumination Spectrum Manipulation for Increasing the Yield of Sweet Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.)”
by Md Momtazur Rahman, Mikhail Vasiliev and Kamal Alameh
Plants 2021, 10(2), 344; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10020344
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/2/344

11. “Rootstocks with Different Vigor Influenced Scion–Water Relations and Stress Responses in AmbrosiaTM Apple Trees (Malus Domestica var. Ambrosia)”
by Hao Xu and Danielle Ediger
Plants 2021, 10(4), 614; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10040614
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/4/614

12. “Impacts of Microcystins on Morphological and Physiological Parameters of Agricultural Plants: A Review”
by Alexandre Campos, El Mahdi Redouane, Marisa Freitas, Samuel Amaral, Tomé Azevedo, Leticia Loss, Csaba Máthé, Zakaria A. Mohamed, Brahim Oudra and Vitor Vasconcelos
Plants 2021, 10(4), 639; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10040639
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/4/639

13. “Breeding of High Cooking and Eating Quality in Rice by Marker-Assisted Backcrossing (MABc) Using KASP Markers”
by Me-Sun Kim, Ju-Young Yang, Ju-Kyung Yu, Yi Lee, Yong-Jin Park, Kwon-Kyoo Kang and Yong-Gu Cho
Plants 2021, 10(4), 804; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10040804
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/4/804

14. “The TOR–Auxin Connection Upstream of Root Hair Growth”
by Katarzyna Retzer and Wolfram Weckwerth
Plants 2021, 10(1), 150; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10010150
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/1/150

15. “Canopy Size and Light Use Efficiency Explain Growth Differences between Lettuce and Mizuna in Vertical Farms”
by Theekshana C. Jayalath and Marc W. van Iersel
Plants 2021, 10(4), 704; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10040704
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/4/704

16. “Cryopreservation of Woody Crops: The Avocado Case”
by Chris O’Brien, Jayeni Hiti-Bandaralage, Raquel Folgado, Alice Hayward, Sean Lahmeyer, Jim Folsom and Neena Mitter
Plants 2021, 10(5), 934; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10050934
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/5/934

17. “The Optical Properties of Leaf Structural Elements and Their Contribution to Photosynthetic Performance and Photoprotection”
by George Karabourniotis, Georgios Liakopoulos, Panagiota Bresta and Dimosthenis Nikolopoulos
Plants 2021, 10(7), 1455; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10071455
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/7/1455