About this Research Topic
Feeding the growing world population will require a significant increase in agricultural production. However, food overproduction needs to be achieved while crops and plants face salinized soils, water deficits, lesser arable lands, drought, and climate change, among other factors. Salinity impairs plant functioning at multiple levels. For instance, excess salt contents cause higher osmotic pressures, nutritional disorders, seed germination inhibition, and growth suppression. Plants respond to this aggression by activating several metabolic pathways, including but not limited to regulating hormone-dependent processes, repressing growth-related genes, and eliciting the antioxidant response system.
Worldwide, lands under irrigation practices are experiencing higher salt content, impacting plant performance and causing significant drops in yields. Therefore, understanding how cultivars and plants respond to adverse environments such as salt excess in soils, as well as investigating novel approaches to boost stressed-plant physiological performance, are vital components that need to be addressed if we are to achieve food security. Multiple genes involved in the ABA signaling pathways are known to respond and start plant adaptive responses when facing salt stress. In addition, several transcription factors, such as the phytochromes and zinc finger proteins, play roles in regulating the morphological responses of plants under stress. Antioxidant enzymes are also upregulated in response to higher content of salt. Recently, nanobiotechnological approaches aimed at delivering cargoes such as micronutrients or chemicals in a cell-specific manner are a promising alternative to aid plants in combating stress. Similarly, using nanofertilizers shows favorable effects in plants under hostile environments. CRISPR-CAS is an emerging, powerful, and feasible tool to modify genes and be applied to plants to make them more tolerant to salt in excess.
This Research Topic aims to collect contributions focused on understanding plant responses to salt stress at physiological, cell, and molecular levels. In addition, research using novel methods, approaches, and technologies to aid plants in overcoming the impairments caused by salt in excess is also very welcome. Examples of specific themes to consider for this issue are:
• Hormone-mediated responses to salt stress;
• Use of omics approaches to understand how metabolic pathways intersect in response to salt stress;
• Regulation of plant defense- and growth-related genes under salt stress;
• Genetic approaches (from classic methodologies to up-to-date gene editing approaches) to understand the role of key genes in controlling molecular and phenotypic responses to salt stress conditions;
• Nanotechnological approaches such as the use of nanofertilizers or nanopesticides to improve plant fitness.
Please note that purely descriptive studies that report responses to abiotic stress treatments without contributing to the mechanistic, or genetic, understanding of the responses observed will not be considered for peer review.
Worldwide, lands under irrigation practices are experiencing higher salt content, impacting plant performance and causing significant drops in yields. Therefore, understanding how cultivars and plants respond to adverse environments such as salt excess in soils, as well as investigating novel approaches to boost stressed-plant physiological performance, are vital components that need to be addressed if we are to achieve food security. Multiple genes involved in the ABA signaling pathways are known to respond and start plant adaptive responses when facing salt stress. In addition, several transcription factors, such as the phytochromes and zinc finger proteins, play roles in regulating the morphological responses of plants under stress. Antioxidant enzymes are also upregulated in response to higher content of salt. Recently, nanobiotechnological approaches aimed at delivering cargoes such as micronutrients or chemicals in a cell-specific manner are a promising alternative to aid plants in combating stress. Similarly, using nanofertilizers shows favorable effects in plants under hostile environments. CRISPR-CAS is an emerging, powerful, and feasible tool to modify genes and be applied to plants to make them more tolerant to salt in excess.
This Research Topic aims to collect contributions focused on understanding plant responses to salt stress at physiological, cell, and molecular levels. In addition, research using novel methods, approaches, and technologies to aid plants in overcoming the impairments caused by salt in excess is also very welcome. Examples of specific themes to consider for this issue are:
• Hormone-mediated responses to salt stress;
• Use of omics approaches to understand how metabolic pathways intersect in response to salt stress;
• Regulation of plant defense- and growth-related genes under salt stress;
• Genetic approaches (from classic methodologies to up-to-date gene editing approaches) to understand the role of key genes in controlling molecular and phenotypic responses to salt stress conditions;
• Nanotechnological approaches such as the use of nanofertilizers or nanopesticides to improve plant fitness.
Please note that purely descriptive studies that report responses to abiotic stress treatments without contributing to the mechanistic, or genetic, understanding of the responses observed will not be considered for peer review.
Keywords: salt stress, abiotic stress, stress response, stress tolerance, plant hormones
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.
