Genetic and physiological perspective of adaptation mechanisms of tropical plants against climate change

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Background

Climate change poses a significant and escalating threat to tropical plants in both the present and the foreseeable future. Alterations in climatic conditions amplify the occurrence of extreme weather events, ranging from heatwaves and cold waves to droughts, floods, and disruptions in precipitation and osmotic patterns. These detrimental impacts are pervasive across diverse tropical plant species, encompassing fruits like bananas, mangoes, citrus fruits, and pineapples, essential food crops such as cassava and rice, and economically vital crops like rubber, sisal, coffee, and cocoa. These plants are pivotal in sustaining the economic equilibrium of tropical and subtropical regions globally. Nevertheless, their susceptibility to the abiotic stresses induced by climate change substantially threatens their productivity.

Hence, it is imperative to delve into stress-adaptive mechanisms in order to cultivate resilient varieties within tropical plants and across the entire spectrum of plant species. Leveraging advanced technology and methodologies, researchers have undertaken comprehensive investigations into the genetic and molecular foundations of intricate agronomic traits. The objective is to pinpoint and characterize the principal genetic regulatory factors governing plants, thereby establishing a basis for the selection of novel varieties equipped to withstand diverse forms and intensities of abiotic stress conditions.

Understanding the responses of plants to abiotic stress is critical for the development of climate-resilient varieties. Scientists have employed a variety of omics approaches, including genomics, transcriptomics, phenomics, metabolomics, and proteomics, to unravel these responses. These platforms have produced extensive datasets containing numerous stress-responsive genes. However, a gap exists between identifying these genes through data analysis and validating their functional roles. Bridging this gap necessitates a comprehensive examination of plants' physiological responses and the underlying molecular mechanisms under various abiotic stress conditions. While numerous studies have functionally validated genes and networks regulating specific quantitative traits under optimal growth conditions, the characterization of these genes under unfavorable conditions is still incomplete. Therefore, it is crucial to investigate the physiological responses of tropical plants to diverse abiotic stresses, functionally validating the responsible genes and exploring the molecular responses that can alleviate challenges induced by climate change during plant growth. This Research Topic aims to gather contributions from esteemed plant scientists specializing in understanding the mechanisms of abiotic stress tolerance in tropical plants using physiological and molecular approaches. The primary focus includes tropical plants, such as tropical fruits, food crops, and economically significant crops. Authors are invited to submit original research articles, review articles, methods, and opinion articles related to, but not limited to, the following topics:

- Genetic engineering and biotechnological advances of biotic and abiotic stresses on tropical plants

- Physiological and molecular responses to different stress conditions in tropical plants

- Comparative analysis of different stress conditions to identify stress-specific responses and signal transduction mechanisms

- Multi-omics analysis for identifying stress-responsive genes, proteins, and metabolites in tropical plants

- Mechanism analysis of tropical plants under different stresses from genetic to phenotypic levels

- Effects of combined stress conditions and potential tolerance mechanisms of tropical plants

- Identification and functional verification of potential genetic regulatory factors under different stress conditions

Keywords: Plants germplasm improvement, Multi-Omics technologies, Molecular mechanism, Gene regulatory network, Abiotic and biotic stress, Signal transduction

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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