The Role of Plant Growth Regulators in Plant Response to Stress Factors

Dear Colleagues,

Ecological and management factors that negatively impact plant growth, development, and survival are known as stress factors. Plants can sense changes in their environment and respond or acclimate to stress through integrated events at all levels of organization, including their anatomy, morphology, physiology, biochemistry, and gene expression. Various Plant Growth Regulators (PGRs), such as abscisic acid, jasmonic acid, nitric oxide, and ethylene, mediate plant sensing and acclimation mechanisms, providing both general and specific responses to stress conditions. Many plant species exhibit high phenotypic plasticity, meaning they can express a wide range of phenotypes, allowing them to cope with changing environmental conditions, and be distributed or cultivated across a broader range of locations. However, the expansion of cultivation sites and the effects of global warming can create extreme biotic and abiotic conditions, potentially overwhelming plant defense mechanisms and resulting in oxidative damages. For example, biotic stress includes insect pests, fungal diseases, bacterial pathogens, viruses, and weed competition, while abiotic stress encompasses drought, salinity, extreme temperatures, UV radiation, and strong winds. Acclimation responses involve changes in the vegetative/reproductive ratio and the accumulation of primary/secondary metabolites within plant tissues, which subsequently influence the chemical and sensory attributes of harvested products. This Special Issue aims to gather original research papers focusing on the signaling and regulation of PGR-mediated acclimation mechanisms in various plants species under a range of stressful biotic and abiotic factors. Additionally, it seeks to include papers that evaluate PGRs as management tools to control vegetative growth, fruit yield, and the profiles of primary and secondary metabolites, thereby influencing the nutritional attributes of consumable parts.

Dr. Federico J. Berli
Dr. Mariela Pontin
Dr. Rodrigo Alonso
Guest Editors

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• acclimation mechanisms
• climate change
• phenotypic plasticity
• plant signaling
• secondary metabolites
• stress defense
• oxidative damage
• cultivation expansion
• nutritional attributes