Plants are continuously challenged by biotic or abiotic stresses. The impact on the physiology and productivity of crop plants varies according to the intensity of the individual stresses and the simultaneous presence of different stressors. The presence of abiotic stress can increase or reduce the susceptibility of a plant to the effects of specific pathogens and pests. However, plants are not defenseless. Plant responses to stresses are complex and finely tuned at transcriptome, proteome, epigenetic and cellular levels. The interaction between biotic and abiotic stresses in the plant is not yet fully understood. Plant biotechnology represents an essential resource to decipher the mechanisms associated with plant responses to biotic and abiotic stresses while sustaining crop breeding and improving crop yields.

The current escalation of environmental issues in agriculture, including global warming, together with a rapidly growing population, pose the need for new and sustainable strategies to decrease the negative impact of biotic and abiotic stress factors on crop plants. This Research Topic aims at deciphering molecular mechanisms associated with plant responses to abiotic and biotic stressors. The article collection will focus on regulatory mechanisms important for both biotic and abiotic stresses and on management strategies to decrease their impact on crop productivity. Identification of key regulators of plant responses to both types of stresses will provide opportunities for the development of broad-spectrum stress-tolerant crops.

The article collection aims at gathering research articles and reviews covering basic or applied research topics addressing the following themes:

• Genetic resources for enhanced biotic and abiotic tolerance;
• Stress tolerance crop breeding;
• Sustainable management of plant pathogens and climate change;
• Molecular mechanisms associated to biotic and abiotic stress;
• Interaction between biocontrol agents, plant pathogens and abiotic stressors;
• Biotechnological approaches to increase plant tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses.

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.

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Frontiers in Plant Science

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