About this Research Topic
Plants are exposed to a variety of environmental stressors that negatively impact their performance, physiology, and yield. Several studies have identified mechanisms involving genes, proteins, and metabolites that underlie plant responses to stress conditions. Some of these molecules have been used to improve plant responses to abiotic and biotic stress. However, the underlying structural and functional relationships of these molecular mechanisms require more research. Computational and biophysical approaches are viable options for in silico analysis of target molecules to understand their dynamics and interactions underlying biochemical and physiological responses of plants. These responses in turn form the basis for plant tolerance and resistance to sub-optimal environmental conditions.
This research topic aims to address how structural bioinformatics and computational biophysical approaches are applied to study the structure-function relationships of plant proteins and small molecules involved in biotic and abiotic stress conditions. These molecules are at the core of plant defense mechanisms that allow plants to mitigate stresses and enhance plant abilities to respond to unfavorable environmental conditions.
We believe that the continued communication on this topic amongst plant scientists is critical for improving our understanding of how plants respond to abiotic and biotic stresses that form a foundation for genetic improvement. We invite researchers across the frontiers of this field to contribute with their innovative research findings and perspectives from different aspects to this collection, including articles of original research, methods, topic reviews, perspectives, and thought-provoking opinions, around:
• Structural bioinformatics and phylogeny of stress-related proteins.
• Comparative modeling of stress-related proteins and molecules.
• Molecular docking of stress-related proteins and molecules.
• Molecular dynamics simulations of stress-related proteins and molecules.
• X-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy of stress-related proteins.
This research topic aims to address how structural bioinformatics and computational biophysical approaches are applied to study the structure-function relationships of plant proteins and small molecules involved in biotic and abiotic stress conditions. These molecules are at the core of plant defense mechanisms that allow plants to mitigate stresses and enhance plant abilities to respond to unfavorable environmental conditions.
We believe that the continued communication on this topic amongst plant scientists is critical for improving our understanding of how plants respond to abiotic and biotic stresses that form a foundation for genetic improvement. We invite researchers across the frontiers of this field to contribute with their innovative research findings and perspectives from different aspects to this collection, including articles of original research, methods, topic reviews, perspectives, and thought-provoking opinions, around:
• Structural bioinformatics and phylogeny of stress-related proteins.
• Comparative modeling of stress-related proteins and molecules.
• Molecular docking of stress-related proteins and molecules.
• Molecular dynamics simulations of stress-related proteins and molecules.
• X-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy of stress-related proteins.
Keywords: structural modeling, protein docking, molecular dynamics, 3D structure, protein crystallization, bioinformatics and phylogeny, plant defense
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
