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Integrating Molecular Insights on Plant Microbes and Insect Pests

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Plant Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 December 2025 | Viewed by 1252

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
Interests: virus diseases; cereal crops; control; transmission; epidemics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Plants are constantly exposed to various pathogenic microbes which can result in diseases and insect pests that can affect their growth, development, and productivity. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of the occurrence, epidemiology, and control of plant disease-associated microbes and insect pests is crucial for developing resilient crop varieties and sustainable control practices.

This Special Issue, entitled “Integrating Molecular Insights on Plant Microbes and Insect Pests”, seeks to explore the dynamic interactions between plants and various pathogenic microbes as well as insect pests at the molecular level. We encourage submissions that address, but are not limited to, the following areas:

  • Molecular and genetic basis of plant resistance and plant disease-associated microbes and insect pests.
  • Signaling pathways and regulatory networks involved in plant responses to microbe and insect attack.
  • Role of epigenetics in plant adaptation to plant disease-associated microbes and insect pests.
  • Advances in ‘omics’ technologies (genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, etc.) to dissect interactions between plants, microbes, and insect pests.
  • Development of innovative strategies for disease management in plants.
  • Impact of climate change on plant disease epidemiology.
  • Interdisciplinary approaches combining molecular biology, bioinformatics, and plant physiology to tackle plant diseases and insect pests.

We welcome original research articles, reviews, and short communications that provide novel insights into the molecular science of the occurrence, epidemiology, and control of plant disease-associated microbes and insect pests. In addition to basic research at the molecular levels, research focused on future applied research and technology, including agrochemicals and genetical modifications, will also be considered.

Prof. Dr. Xifeng Wang
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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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. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

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Keywords

  • pathogenic microbes
  • resistance mechanisms
  • signaling pathways
  • omics technologies
  • plant and insect interactions

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

20 pages, 4425 KiB  
Article
Integrated Transcriptome and Metabolome Analysis Reveals the Resistance Mechanisms of Brassica napus Against Xanthomonas campestris
by Cong Zhou, Li Xu, Rong Zuo, Zetao Bai, Tongyu Fu, Lingyi Zeng, Li Qin, Xiong Zhang, Cuicui Shen, Fan Liu, Feng Gao, Meili Xie, Chaobo Tong, Li Ren, Junyan Huang, Lijiang Liu and Shengyi Liu
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(1), 367; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26010367 - 3 Jan 2025
Viewed by 996
Abstract
Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) is an important crop for healthy edible oil and stockfeed worldwide. However, its growth and yield are severely hampered by black rot, a destructive disease caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris (Xcc). Despite the identification of [...] Read more.
Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) is an important crop for healthy edible oil and stockfeed worldwide. However, its growth and yield are severely hampered by black rot, a destructive disease caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris (Xcc). Despite the identification of several quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with resistance to black rot in Brassica crops, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain largely unexplored. In this study, we investigated Xcc-induced transcriptomic and metabolic changes in the leaves of two rapeseed varieties: Westar (susceptible) and ZS5 (resistant). Our findings indicated that Xcc infection elicited more pronounced overall transcriptomic and metabolic changes in Westar compared to ZS5. Transcriptomic analyses revealed that the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, cutin, suberine and wax biosynthesis, tryptophan metabolism, and phenylalanine metabolism were enriched in both varieties. Notably, photosynthesis was down-regulated in Westar after infection, whereas this down-regulation occurred at a later stage in ZS5. Integrated analyses of transcriptome and metabolome revealed that the tryptophan metabolism pathway was enriched in both varieties. Indolic glucosinolates and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) are two metabolites derived from tryptophan. The expression of genes involved in the indolic glucosinolate pathway and the levels of indolic glucosinolates were significantly elevated in both varieties post-infection. Additionally, exogenous application of IAA promoted the development of black rot, whereas the use of an IAA synthesis inhibitor attenuated black rot development in both resistant and susceptible rapeseed varieties. These findings provide valuable molecular insights into the interactions between rapeseed and Xcc, facilitating the advancement of black rot resistance breeding in Brassica crops. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrating Molecular Insights on Plant Microbes and Insect Pests)
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