About this Research Topic
Crops often accumulate special substances in response to different habitats to cope with biotic and abiotic stresses, such as polyphenols, carotenoids, certain special fatty acids, and alkaloids, which are beneficial to human health. These bioactive substances positively affect the human body through various mechanisms like antioxidant, anti-inflammatory actions, and hormone level regulation. The accumulation levels of these bioactive substances in crops determine their application value in industries such as pharmaceuticals, healthcare, cosmetics, and food and beverages. This research topic focuses on crop qualities enabling multifunctional uses in nutrition, environmental sustainability, and industrial applications. The aim is to showcase the latest advancements in the identification and screening of genetic resources and regulations related to bioactive substances or special nutrients for multifunctional crop development. This includes genetic improvements in crops through genetic modification and other technological means and provides a platform for multidisciplinary collaboration among experts in plant science, agronomy, food science, environmental science, and economics.
This Research Topic welcomes contributions on crop improvements based on quality traits involved in bioactive substances or special nutrients. Themes include, but are not limited to:
1) Utilizing modern biotechnological techniques and analytical testing methods for crop metabolite detection and analysis, expanding crop applications in pharmaceuticals, healthcare, beverages, and cosmetics.
2) Employing genetic and biological approaches, including genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, and integrative omics strategies, to decipher the genetic basis of special crop metabolites and provide a foundation for enhanced nutritional and multifunctional development.
3) Enhancement of crop nutritional and medicinal values through genetic editing and breeding technologies aimed at addressing global nutritional deficiencies and developing new sources of pharmaceuticals.
Keywords: Crop, Multi-functional applications, Bioactive substances, Genetic improvement, Nutritional enrichment
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.