Microbiome Driven Strategies in Amelioration of Abiotic and Biotic Stress in Crop Plants

Dear Colleagues,

Crop plants are continuously exposed to various abiotic and biotic stresses such as drought, heat, salinity, cold, herbivores, and pathogens, which greatly limit crop productivity. However, our understanding of how plants resist these stresses is limited and requires more investigation. Crop improvement programs generally focus on developing stress-tolerant varieties for one stress type, while crop plants respond uniquely to different or simultaneous stresses. Plants respond to avoid these abiotic and biotic stresses by bringing morpho-biochemical changes like reduced leaf growth and by increasing root length, stomatal closure, reduced photosynthesis, production of proline, stress hormone, and antioxidants. Their sustenance under such limited conditions largely depends on their genetic makeup and also their association with beneficial microbiota that constitute plant microbiome. We encourage researchers to submit their research or review articles on the application of the plant microbiome (culturable as well as unculturable) for improving plant health and productivity under various abiotic and biotic stress conditions.

This Special Issue of Plants will present research on the role of plant microbiome in the alleviation of abiotic and biotic stresses, and their positive impact on plant growth and health. Studies focusing on morpho-biochemical/molecular changes under abiotic and biotic stresses, alleviation of stress by using plant-growth-promoting bacteria, the role of mycorrhiza in stress alleviation, biological control of pathogens, studies related to omics, and next-generation sequencing and microbiome-mediated stress alleviation are welcome.

Dr. Ashwani Kumar
Dr. Harsh Bais
Guest Editors

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