Abiotic Stress Signalling and Plant Developmental Responses

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Response to Abiotic Stress and Climate Change".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2024) | Viewed by 5345

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
NPURU, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Washington, DC, USA
Interests: root symbiosis; plant nutrition & abiotic stress; phytohormones; photobiology; functional genomics
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Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Green Pesticide and Agricultural Bioengineering, Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide and Agricultural Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, Research and Development Center for Fine Chemicals, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
Interests: proteogenomics; abiotic stress; post-transcriptional regulation; genetic engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Plants face various abiotic stresses such as drought, high salinity, extreme temperatures, and heavy metals. These challenges, along with many others, can negatively impact plant growth and development. To cope with these stresses, plants have evolved complex signaling networks that sense and respond to environmental cues. This involves the activation of various signaling pathways that lead to the expression of stress-responsive genes, mediated by the accumulation of stress-related molecules such as reactive oxygen species, calcium ions, and phytohormones. Plant developmental responses to abiotic stress involve changes in growth and development patterns to optimize resource utilization and minimize damage.

Despite making significant progress in understanding abiotic stress signaling and plant developmental responses, several gaps remain to be filled. These include identifying specific signaling pathways and molecular mechanisms involved in stress responses, determing how plants integrate different stress signaling pathways when subjected to multiple stresses simultaneously, understanding the genetic basis of stress tolerance in different plant species and cultivars, and developing stress-tolerant crop varieties that can thrive in adverse environmental conditions. Developing effective breeding and genetic engineering strategies based on a thorough understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in this processes is essential.

Understanding abiotic stress signaling and plant developmental responses is critical to developing stress-tolerant crop varieties and sustainable agricultural practices. Research in this field provides insights into the complex mechanisms involved in plant stress responses, identifies potential targets for genetic engineering and breeding, and ultimately helps to ensure global food security.

Dr. Debatosh Das
Dr. Moxian Chen
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • abiotic
  • development
  • plants
  • signalling
  • stress
  • nutrient
  • calcium
  • drought
  • flooding
  • salinity
  • temperature

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 4117 KiB  
Article
Effects of Exogenous Ethanol Treatment in Nutrient Solution on Growth and Secondary Metabolite Contents of Three Herb Species in an Indoor Vertical Farming System
by Juhyung Shin, YongJae Lee, Seungyong Hahm, Kwangya Lee and Jongseok Park
Plants 2023, 12(22), 3842; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12223842 - 14 Nov 2023
Viewed by 1141
Abstract
This study aimed to explore the possibility of exogenous ethanol treatment as a technology to regulate the growth and the synthesis of secondary metabolites in herbaceous plants. After transplantation, sweet basil, Korean mint, and sweet wormwood were cultivated in a controlled vertical farming [...] Read more.
This study aimed to explore the possibility of exogenous ethanol treatment as a technology to regulate the growth and the synthesis of secondary metabolites in herbaceous plants. After transplantation, sweet basil, Korean mint, and sweet wormwood were cultivated in a controlled vertical farming system and consistently exposed to exogenous ethanol at concentrations of 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, and 8 mM. Their growth parameters, antioxidant activity, and secondary metabolite contents were Everything is fine. measured to investigate the effects of the exogenous ethanol treatment on the three plants. The low-concentration ethanol treatments increased the shoot dry weight of the sweet basil and sweet wormwood compared to that of the control. As the ethanol concentration increased, the shoot fresh weight and leaf area in the sweet basil and Korean mint decreased compared to those of the control (0 mM). The DPPH (2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging activity and total phenolic content of the three plants increased with the ethanol concentration, while the total flavonoid content did not demonstrate a significant trend. The chlorophyll and carotenoids of the basil showed no apparent concentration-dependent trends; however, the chlorophyll and carotenoids of the Korean mint and sweet wormwood decreased with high ethanol concentrations. Moreover, the antioxidant enzyme activity increased with high ethanol concentrations, indicating that high ethanol concentrations induce oxidative stress in plants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Abiotic Stress Signalling and Plant Developmental Responses)
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14 pages, 1747 KiB  
Article
The Impact of Increased CO2 and Drought Stress on the Secondary Metabolites of Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis) and Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata)
by Andreea Lupitu, Cristian Moisa, Flavia Bortes, Denisa Peteleu, Mihaela Dochia, Dorina Chambre, Virgiliu Ciutină, Dana Maria Copolovici and Lucian Copolovici
Plants 2023, 12(17), 3098; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12173098 - 29 Aug 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1207
Abstract
Elevated carbon dioxide and drought are significant stressors in light of climate change. This study explores the interplay between elevated atmospheric CO2, drought stress, and plant physiological responses. Two Brassica oleracea varieties (cauliflowers and cabbage) were utilized as model plants. Our [...] Read more.
Elevated carbon dioxide and drought are significant stressors in light of climate change. This study explores the interplay between elevated atmospheric CO2, drought stress, and plant physiological responses. Two Brassica oleracea varieties (cauliflowers and cabbage) were utilized as model plants. Our findings indicate that elevated CO2 accelerates assimilation rate decline during drought. The integrity of photosynthetic components influenced electron transport, potentially due to drought-induced nitrate reductase activation changes. While CO2 positively influenced photosynthesis and water-use efficiency during drought, recovery saw decreased stomatal conductance in high-CO2-grown plants. Drought-induced monoterpene emissions varied, influenced by CO2 concentration and species-specific responses. Drought generally increased polyphenols, with an opposing effect under elevated CO2. Flavonoid concentrations fluctuated with drought and CO2 levels, while chlorophyll responses were complex, with high CO2 amplifying drought’s effects on chlorophyll content. These findings contribute to a nuanced understanding of CO2–drought interactions and their intricate effects on plant physiology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Abiotic Stress Signalling and Plant Developmental Responses)
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14 pages, 4961 KiB  
Article
Cloning and Expression of Class I Chitinase Genes from Four Mangrove Species under Heavy Metal Stress
by Yue-Yue Zhou, You-Shao Wang, Cui-Ci Sun and Jiao Fei
Plants 2023, 12(15), 2772; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12152772 - 26 Jul 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1291
Abstract
Chitinases are believed to act as defense proteins when plants are exposed to heavy metal stress. Typical Class I chitinase genes were cloned from Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, Rhizophora stylosa, Kandelia obovata, and Avicennia marina using the methods of reverse-transcription–polymerase chain reaction [...] Read more.
Chitinases are believed to act as defense proteins when plants are exposed to heavy metal stress. Typical Class I chitinase genes were cloned from Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, Rhizophora stylosa, Kandelia obovata, and Avicennia marina using the methods of reverse-transcription–polymerase chain reaction and rapid amplification of cDNA ends. All four cDNA sequences of chitinase from the mangrove plants were 1092 bp in length and consisted of an open reading frame of 831 bp, encoding 276 amino acids. However, there were differences in the sequences among the four mangrove species. Four gene proteins have a signal peptide, are located in the vacuole, and belong to the GH19 chitinase family. The sequence of chitinase was highly similar to the protein sequences of Camellia fraternal chitinases. A real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to analyze the chitinase expressions of the above four mangrove species exposed to different concentrations of heavy metal at different times. The gene expression of chitinase was higher in Bruguiera gymnorrhiza leaves than in other mangrove plant species. With an increase in heavy metal stress, the expression level of Bruguiera gymnorrhiza increased continuously. These results suggest that chitinase plays an important role in improving the heavy metal tolerance of mangrove plants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Abiotic Stress Signalling and Plant Developmental Responses)
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14 pages, 3042 KiB  
Article
Loss-of-Function of ATS1 Enhances Arabidopsis Salt Tolerance
by Yakun Liu, Guifen Wu, Xingxing Ke, Zhifu Zheng and Yueping Zheng
Plants 2023, 12(14), 2646; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12142646 - 14 Jul 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1388
Abstract
Despite the importance of lipid metabolism in various biological processes, little is known about the functionality of ATS1, a plastid glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase catalyzing the initial step of the prokaryotic glycerolipids biosynthetic pathway, in plant response to salt stress. In this study, both the [...] Read more.
Despite the importance of lipid metabolism in various biological processes, little is known about the functionality of ATS1, a plastid glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase catalyzing the initial step of the prokaryotic glycerolipids biosynthetic pathway, in plant response to salt stress. In this study, both the loss-of-function mutants and the overexpression lines of ATS1 were analyzed for salt tolerance properties. The results showed that ATS1 overexpression lines had lower seed germination, shoot biomass, chlorophyll content, the proportion of relatively normal pod, and higher root/shoot ratio and anthocyanidin content compared with the wild type. Physiological and biochemical analysis revealed that ats1 mutants had more unsaturated fatty acids to stabilize the plasma membrane under salt damage. Additionally, less induction of three main antioxidant enzymes activity and lower MDA content in ats1 mutants indicated that mutation of the ATS1 gene could reduce the damage extent. Furthermore, the ats1 mutants maintained the K+/Na+ homeostasis by upregulating HAK5 expression to increase K+ absorption and down-regulating HKT1 expression to prevent Na+ uptake. This study suggested that the ATS1 gene negatively affects salt resistance in Arabidopsis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Abiotic Stress Signalling and Plant Developmental Responses)
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