About this Research Topic
Extreme climate variations and an ever-increasing global population present us with one of the most difficult challenges of this century, which is to adequately feed the world population amidst dwindling resources and unfavorable environments. Both biotic and abiotic factors influence overall plant health, however, stress during reproductive stages impacts seed yield and quality which affects productivity negatively, leading to under-utilization of land and other resources.
Researchers across the globe have been working to develop climate-resilient crops. At the same time, there have been many successful attempts toward improving photosynthesis, plant biomass, seed yield, nutritional parameters, and grain quality through both breeding and molecular genetics approaches. Recently, gene editing technologies like CRISPR-Cas9 have also had promising outcomes. This Research Topic aims to shed light on the overlap between two mainstays for crop protection programs, i.e., the improvement of environmental resilience and the enhancement of seed-associated traits. Several candidate genes and QTLs have been identified and characterized so far for these traits; however, this Research Topic will bring together studies that highlight the parallels between these research areas.
We invite articles addressing the following themes, which might be in the form of original research, reviews, methods, mini-reviews and perspectives:
• Understanding the molecular regulation of stress responses in line with seed associated traits;
• Exploration of germplasm and genomic resources to develop (a)biotic stress tolerance via molecular breeding strategies;
• The role of phytohormones in the crosstalk between stress tolerance and seed characters;
• Transcriptional control and their regulatory hubs involved in the coordination of seed and stress tolerance responses;
• The impact of abiotic stressors on nutrient accumulation, enhancing photosynthesis, plant biomass, and, reproductive stages leading to seed development;
• Gene pyramiding, QTLs, and molecular breeding targeting the desired overlap of stress resilience and enhancement of seed associated traits;
• Emerging roles for secondary metabolites to engineer improved stress tolerance potential;
• Recent advancements in, e.g., genome editing and nanotechnology and their implications for multi-stress tolerance;
• Priming responses in seeds and their impact on stress memory.
Researchers across the globe have been working to develop climate-resilient crops. At the same time, there have been many successful attempts toward improving photosynthesis, plant biomass, seed yield, nutritional parameters, and grain quality through both breeding and molecular genetics approaches. Recently, gene editing technologies like CRISPR-Cas9 have also had promising outcomes. This Research Topic aims to shed light on the overlap between two mainstays for crop protection programs, i.e., the improvement of environmental resilience and the enhancement of seed-associated traits. Several candidate genes and QTLs have been identified and characterized so far for these traits; however, this Research Topic will bring together studies that highlight the parallels between these research areas.
We invite articles addressing the following themes, which might be in the form of original research, reviews, methods, mini-reviews and perspectives:
• Understanding the molecular regulation of stress responses in line with seed associated traits;
• Exploration of germplasm and genomic resources to develop (a)biotic stress tolerance via molecular breeding strategies;
• The role of phytohormones in the crosstalk between stress tolerance and seed characters;
• Transcriptional control and their regulatory hubs involved in the coordination of seed and stress tolerance responses;
• The impact of abiotic stressors on nutrient accumulation, enhancing photosynthesis, plant biomass, and, reproductive stages leading to seed development;
• Gene pyramiding, QTLs, and molecular breeding targeting the desired overlap of stress resilience and enhancement of seed associated traits;
• Emerging roles for secondary metabolites to engineer improved stress tolerance potential;
• Recent advancements in, e.g., genome editing and nanotechnology and their implications for multi-stress tolerance;
• Priming responses in seeds and their impact on stress memory.
Keywords: abiotic stress, biotic stress, crops, stress tolerance, seed traits, phytohormes, qtl, molecular breeding, secondary metabolites, CRISPR
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.
