About this Research Topic

Background

Environmental damage caused by human interference has disturbed several valuable interspecies associations in the planet’s ecosystem and a consequent food crisis looms on the horizon. Rebuilding the ecosystem requires an accurate understanding of valuable plant-microbe associations, and those causing plant distress and diseases. Interspecies chemical communication through signaling molecules should be the key factor controlling selective optimization of a beneficial symbiotic existence. Evaluating such a massive macro-ecosystem should begin at a microscopic level by examining and identifying molecular signaling networks.

Protein complexes often mediate signaling from microorganisms to plants, and vice versa. Exploratory research evaluating complex roles played by small molecules, including water, is another area that can contribute to the broader information cluster required for the planet-saving mission. Microspectroscopic evaluation of the soil ecosystem plays a crucial role in achieving this goal. On a macroscopic scale, standoff detection of plant-specific aromatic molecules in field experiments can serve as indicators of the plant as well as soil health. The vast number of chemicals released during stress can provide a spectrum of indicators for generating an agricultural health index. Research investigations encompassing interspecies chemical signaling in the plant biosphere are the subject to which we welcome article contributions.

We welcome original research manuscripts, reviews, mini-reviews, perspectives, and comments concerning the mechanism of chemical exchange, plant-microbe symbiosis, and agricultural field applications of spectroscopy methods. We plan to integrate multiple methodologies, missions, observations, and opinions under a common theme, which might prove valuable in addressing current challenges facing sustainable agriculture.

We welcome submissions of original research papers, reviews, and methods on the following themes but are not limited to:

-Fluorescence microscopic investigations of protein signaling in root structures
-Root infection thread formation and microbes
-Chemical signal exchange between rhizosphere and plants
-Cellular morphology of root and environmental factors
-Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS)-based plant stress evaluation
-Field applications of fluorescence, near-infrared (NIR), and Raman spectroscopies in sustainable farming
-HPLC and mass spectroscopic evaluation of plant extracts
-Electron microscopy evaluation of plant root and associated microbes

Keywords: NIR absorption spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, plant-microbe interactions, environmental health indicators, sustainable agriculture, chemical exchange, plant stress, microbe metabolites, soil health factors

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.

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