Molecular Markers of Plant Adaptation to Multiple Environmental Stressors

Environmental interactions in plants encompass a broad spectrum of biotic and abiotic factors that influence plant survival, growth, and distribution. As sessile organisms, plants must adapt to varying environmental conditions, including climate factors, intra- and inter-species relationships, and anthropogenic influences. Rapid climate changes pose significant challenges, pushing plants beyond their physiological limits and threatening their survival. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of understanding molecular and physiological responses to these stressors, revealing potential adaptive traits and plasticity mechanisms. However, there remains a gap in identifying specific molecular and physiological markers involved in plant adaptation under complex, multiple stress conditions. Addressing these gaps is crucial for enhancing plant productivity, preserving vulnerable species, and developing more tolerant genotypes.

This research topic aims to identify target genes involved in plant growth and development under simultaneous exposure to multiple stressors. By incorporating new approaches, the research seeks to distinguish the nature and strength of interdependence between different stress combinations. The ultimate goal is to provide valuable insights for breeders to create genotypes with higher production capabilities under various environmental stimuli.

To gather further insights into the complex interactions between plants and their environment, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

- Beneficial interactions such as biostimulators, microsymbiotic interactions, heterospecific facilitation, and mutualism
- Plant responses to adverse interactions, including biotic and abiotic environmental stress, plant-plant competition, and allelopathy
- Physiological adaptive strategies in positive and negative environmental interactions, including photosynthetic performance, plant water relations, canopy analysis, phenotyping, stomatal control, and chlorophyll fluorescence
- Advanced biological techniques for monitoring plant status, such as environmental regulation and gene expression, transcriptome, proteome, and metabolome profiling
- Implementation of innovative eco-friendly methods, including plasma technologies, in environmental studies, along with their advantages and limitations.

Keywords: abiotic and biotic stress, environmental interactions, microsymbiotic interactions, photosynthetic performance

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.