This Research Topic is part of the Molecular Interactions between Crops and Phytopathogens series:
Volume I: Wheat and Maize
Volume II: Rice
Volume III: Vegetables and other crops

Crop diseases are a major threat to global food security as the world population continues to expand dramatically. Crops have evolved sophisticated strategies to cope with various phytopathogens. Accordingly, invading phytopathogens have also evolved intricate virulence mechanisms to facilitate their invasions and propagation. Effectors introduced by phytopathogens into host cells play an increasingly important role in suppressing the host immune response.

Although progress has been made in the last two decades in crop resistance to phytopathogens, further investigations on the molecular basis of crop-pathogen interactions are required. To discover crop-specific resistance mechanisms against different pathogens, further investigation based on genome sequencing and genetic diversity, and the identification and functional characterization of genetic loci in crop plants is still urgently needed. On the other hand, functional genomics approaches to identify effectors and other pathogenicity-related factors in phytopathogens using omics technologies need to be further explored. Studies on the molecular interaction between crops and phytopathogens will provide a valuable basis for the genetic improvement of crop resistance.

In this Research Topic, we aim to collect manuscripts covering the advanced knowledge, techniques, perspectives and outlooks on the study of molecular interaction between crop and phytopathogens. The topic is divided into three volumes— Volume I: Wheat and Maize; Volume II: Rice; Volume III: Vegetables and other crops. We welcome submissions of original research papers, reviews, and methods, including (but not limited to) research on the following sub-themes:

-Genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic and epigenomic approaches to understanding the molecular interactions between crops and phytopathogens.
-Identification of novel resistance genes or genetic loci conferring crop resistance to phytopathogens.
-Identification and functional characterization of defense-related genes in crop resistance to phytopathogens.
-Effector biology of phytopathogens.
-Discovery of pathogenicity-related factors in phytopathogens.
-Microbiome-mediated crop resistance to phytopathogens.

Disclaimer: The findings based on data integration should be also validated by observational/experimental data. Descriptive studies will not be considered for review unless they are extended to provide meaningful insights into gene/protein function and/or the biology of the subject described. Studies that fall into the following categories will also not be considered for review:
1. Comparative transcriptomic analyses that report only a collection of differentially expressed genes, some of which have been validated by qPCR under different conditions or treatments;
2. Re-analysis of existing genomic and transcriptomic data that attempts to identify a set of diagnostic or prognostic markers for disease.
3. Descriptive studies that merely define gene families using basic phylogenetics and assign cursory functional attributions (e.g. expression profiles, hormone or metabolites levels, promoter analysis, informatic parameters).

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Frontiers in Plant Science

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