About this Research Topic

Background

Abiotic stresses like drought, salinity, and extreme temperatures threaten global food security by significantly reducing crop yield. Advancements in crop abiotic stress tolerance, using omics approaches such as genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics, have led to a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying abiotic stress responses in plants. Identification of genes and metabolic pathways involved in abiotic stress tolerance has enabled genetic engineering or selective breeding of crops with improved tolerance to stress conditions. Omics data integration with other approaches like phenotyping and modeling has accelerated the development of resilient crops. Advances in omics technologies and computational tools are becoming increasingly important in crop improvement programs to develop crops capable of withstanding changing environmental conditions.

Environmental stresses have a negative impact on crop productivity and yield, leading to significant losses in agricultural production and severe consequences for food security and the global economy. To address this problem, various approaches have been developed to improve the abiotic stress tolerance of crops. One promising approach is the use of omics approaches, and recent advances in omics approaches, such as genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics, have enabled researchers to identify key genes and pathways involved in abiotic stress tolerance in crops. This knowledge has been used to develop new crop varieties with improved stress tolerance. Other recent advances in this area include the development of new technologies for precise gene editing, such as CRISPR-Cas9, and new methods for high-throughput phenotyping and imaging. By utilizing omics approaches and other advanced technologies, researchers are making significant progress towards developing more resilient crops that can better withstand abiotic stresses and contribute to global food security.

This research topic aims to address the negative impact of environmental stresses on crop productivity and yield and to identify various approaches to improve the abiotic stress tolerance in crops.

Contributors could address the studies incorporating omics in the following subthemes but are not limited to:

1. Omics approaches for identifying abiotic stress-responsive genes, proteins, and metabolites in crops
2. Molecular mechanisms underlying abiotic stress tolerance in crops
3. Genetic engineering and biotechnology approaches for developing abiotic stress-tolerant crop varieties
4. Traditional breeding approaches for developing abiotic stress-tolerant crop varieties
5. Strategies for improving crop resilience under multiple abiotic stresses

This research topic is interested in original research articles, reviews, mini-reviews, perspectives, and opinion articles related to the above-mentioned themes.

Disclaimer: Descriptive collection of transcripts, proteins or metabolites, including comparative sets as a result of different conditions or treatments, will not be considered for review unless they provide biological or mechanistic insight into the system being studied. 
Moreover, all quantitative omics studies must be performed on a minimum number of 3 biological replicates to enable an assessment of significance.

Keywords: Crop improvement, Abiotic stresses, Multi-Omics technologies, Genome editing, Resilient Crops

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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