About this Research Topic
Their resilience to various edaphoclimatic conditions, coupled with their ability to biologically fix atmospheric nitrogen, makes them essential for sustainable agricultural systems. The diversity within the Fabaceae family allows different species and cultivars to adapt to a wide range of soil and climate conditions, enabling their cultivation across diverse agroclimatic regions.
However, the response of these plants to biotic and abiotic stress varies significantly among species and cultivars. Secondary metabolites play a pivotal role in the defense mechanisms of these plants, offering protection against stresses such as drought, salinity, UV radiation, extreme temperatures, herbivores, pathogens, and adverse soil conditions. Despite the characterization of approximately 200,000 compounds in the Plantae kingdom, there remains a need for a deeper understanding of the metabolic pathways associated with stress responses in legumes. Recent advancements in high-resolution analytical technologies, such as mass spectrometry, have revitalized metabolomic studies, yet gaps in knowledge persist.
This Research Topic aims to enhance our understanding of the response mechanisms of legumes to biotic and abiotic stress conditions through the detailed characterization of their secondary metabolite profiles. The primary objectives include identifying specific metabolomic pathways and secondary metabolites that are activated in response to various stressors, understanding the physiological and biochemical responses of legumes under stress, and exploring agronomic practices that can mitigate these stresses. Additionally, the research seeks to integrate metabolomic studies with other omics techniques to provide a comprehensive understanding of legume stress responses.
To gather further insights into the metabolomic changes caused by biotic and abiotic stress in Fabaceae plants, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:
• Metabolomic pathways and secondary metabolites profile in legumes as a response to biotic and abiotic stresses.
• Physiological and biochemical responses of plants exposed to biotic and abiotic stresses.
• Agronomic practices for mitigation of legume abiotic and biotic stresses and secondary metabolite pathways and profiles.
• New advances on the metabolomic characterization of Fabaceae plants.
• Integration of metabolomic studies with other omics techniques.
Keywords: Abiotic stress, legumes, mass spectrometry, metabolomics, secondary metabolites, structural analysis, biotic stress
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.