Applications of Plant Biotechnology: In Vitro Propagation and Plant Transformations

Dear Colleagues,

The intersection of genomics and gene editing has ushered in a transformative era in plant biology and biotechnology. The rapidly increasing number of sequenced plant genomes and information from functional genomic data to understand gene function, together with novel gene cloning and up-to-date tissue culture methods, is accelerating crop improvement and trait development.

Genetic transformation is key for these advances to contribute to breeding and research in plants, aiding the understanding of complex biological phenomena like pathogenesis, genome organization, light reception, signal transduction, epigenetic modulation, and others. Efforts for improving transformation techniques have contributed to speeding up precision breeding; newly created phenotypes have been the result of modulating the activity of the host’s gene by RNA interference mechanisms and, more recently, the powerful CRISPR-Cas gene-editing technology, which today aims to hold immense promise for global agriculture, food security, and scientific advancements.

These innovations have included improving procedures in Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer, protoplast protocols, direct organogenesis, somatic embryogenesis, and in planta techniques. The use of morphogenic genes has also been explored in different plant systems. In addition, there is also a continued search for progress in screening and selection procedures, including the design and application of new vectors and delivery systems.

Currently, while transgenic technology is beneficial for breeding, it faces challenges like low transformation efficiency and the complexity of molecular genetic mechanisms involved in the gene transfer process. Several aspects of genetic transformation achieved in model species have not been reached for relevant crops, including both monocots and dicots.

This Special Issue aims to cover new developments in the field of gene transfer and the regeneration procedures of species of relevance in breeding. We welcome manuscripts dealing with the following:

• The transformation of recalcitrant species;
• The employment of Agrobacterium strains with different transformation capabilities;
• In planta transformation procedures;
• Protoplast techniques;
• New vectors for transformation, including cisgenic and viral vectors;
• Gene silencing through the application of siRNA, miRNA, or artificial miRNA methodology;
• CRISPRmediated genome editing;
• Other new approaches to genetic transformation (for instance, the use of genes affecting plant regeneration).

Dr. Humberto Prieto
Guest Editor

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.

• gene transfer procedures
• Agrobacterium
• regeneration
• in planta genetic transformation
• RNA interference
• gene expression
• gene editing