Environmental and Genetic Factors in Field Crop Production and Improvement: Mechanisms and Regulation

Dear Colleagues,

Crop production with improved quality and yield is generally affected by both genetic and environmental factors. Need-to germplasms have been largely produced via multiple approaches, such as agronomic breeding, genetic engineering, and biotechnology. Recently, gain-of-function and loss-of-function genetic materials have shown potential applications in modern crop breeding programs. In addition, genome editing for targeted traits and other methods with genetic information changes, such as chromosome introgression and distant hybridization, are available via toolkits to enhance crop production, improve yield, and achieve nutrient enrichment. Therefore, it is essential to understand the mechanisms of how genetic information is precisely transduced at different field conditions and in various consequential development transitions. With dramatic changes in the globe’s climate, how to increase plant stress tolerance in response to drought, waterlogging, and extreme temperatures is a key research area for the crop industry and for food security. However, the mechanism underlying these changes are still largely unknown. This Special Issue of Plants plans to decipher how both genetic and environmental factors contribute to crop improvement, showcasing perspectives on agronomy, ecophysiology, biochemistry, bioengineering, and crop biology.

Dr. ShuiJin Hua
Dr. Yang Zhu
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.

• field crop
• production
• improvement
• regulation
• genetic
• environment
• yield
• quality

Title: The Interplay of Reactive Oxygen Species, Redox Metabolism and Phytohormones in Plant Response to Drought
Authors: Ygor de Souza-Vieira; Douglas Jardim-Messeder; Gilberto Sachetto-Martins
Affiliation: Laboratório de Genômica Funcional e Transdução de Sinal, Departamento de Genética, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, 373 Carlos Chagas Filho Ave. Cidade Universitária, 21941-590, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
Abstract: The plants must effectively respond to various environmental stimuli to achieve optimal growth. Abiotic stresses, frequently linked with climatic conditions and soil quality, can limit plant development. This is especially relevant in the context of climate changes, where alterations in water availability and temperature pose significant threats to crops with potential implications for global food security. In this scenario, drought emerges as a major factor globally impacting crops and limiting overall yield potential. Throughout evolution, plants have developed adaptative strategies for environmental stimuli, with plant hormones and reactive oxygen species (ROS) playing indispensable roles in growth, development, and stress responses. Phytohormones, like abscisic acid (ABA), gibberellic acid (GA), auxin, jasmonic acid (JA), cytokinin (CK), ethylene (ET) and brassinosteroid (BR) orchestrate diverse molecular responses during environmental adversities. The coordination between phytohormones and the maintenance of ROS homeostasis are interconnected and crucial for transcriptional regulation and effective plant response to environmental stresses. Despite ROS being important signalling molecules, long-term exposure to high ROS levels poses oxidative risks to cells, potentially affecting plant growth. Plants employ various strategies to control and maintain cellular redox status composed of different antioxidant systems, including enzymatic defence and non-enzymatic antioxidant molecules. These mechanisms are essential to regulate the concentration, cellular location, and lifespan of ROS during the signalling pathways. Thus, understanding the interplay of ROS and phytohormones is pivotal for elucidating molecular mechanisms behind plant stress responses. This review provides an overview of the intricate relationship between ROS, redox metabolism, ABA, GA JA, CK, ET, BR and auxin signalling in plants, shedding light on potential strategies for enhancing drought tolerance for sustainable crop production.