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Tropical Plant Responses to Climate Change
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Tropical Plant Responses to Climate Change

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Plant Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2021) | Viewed by 18688

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Isabel Marques

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Forest Research Centre, Associate Laboratory TERRA, School of Agriculture, University of Lisbon, 1349-017 Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: evolution; agro-forestry; biomarkers; genomics; ecosystem services
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Ana I Ribeiro-Barros

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
GeoBioTec, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia (FCT), Universidade NOVA de Lisboa (UNL), 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
Interests: plant–environment interactions; biodiversity
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. José C. Ramalho

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Plant Stress & Biodiversity Lab, Linking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture and Food Unit (LEAF), Dept. Recursos Naturais, Ambiente e Território (DRAT), Instituto Superior de Agronomia (ISA), Universidade de Lisboa (ULisboa), Av. República, Quinta do Marquês 2784-505 Oeiras, Portugal
Interests: coffee
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Climate changes (CCs) are expected to have a wide range of impacts on plant physiology and metabolism, soil fertility and carbon sequestration, and microbial diversity and activity. This imposes direct limitations on plant growth, fertility, and productivity. Tropical regions harbor most of the world’s biodiversity-rich areas and at the same time are particularly vulnerable to CCs. To promote the sustainability of tropical ecosystems, efforts are necessary to enhance our knowledge of molecules governing key processes that might play a role in the mechanisms of stress resilience in plants.

This Special Issue aims at publishing a collection of studies that use integrated molecular tools to unveil tropical plant responses to environmental stresses associated with CCs. Authors are invited to submit related original research articles, reviews, and communications.

Note: Papers submitted within two months later after the deadline (before 31 May) are also welcomed.

Dr. Isabel Marques
Prof. Ana I Ribeiro-Barros
Dr. José C. Ramalho
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • abiotic stress (drought, heat, salinity, cold, flooding)
  • biotic stress (bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, insects, weeds)
  • genes and proteins
  • management strategies
  • metabolome
  • microbiome
  • physiological/biochemical responses
  • proteome
  • selection and breeding
  • symbiosis
  • transcriptome

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Editorial

Jump to: Research

3 pages, 213 KiB  
Editorial
Editorial: Tropical Plant Responses to Climate Change
by Isabel Marques, Ana Ribeiro-Barros and José Cochicho Ramalho
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(13), 7236; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms23137236 - 29 Jun 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1027
Abstract
The climate crisis is pushing the planet’s tropical plants towards their limits [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tropical Plant Responses to Climate Change)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

16 pages, 2979 KiB  
Article
The Endophytic Fungus Piriformospora indica Reprograms Banana to Cold Resistance
by Dan Li, David Mahoudjro Bodjrenou, Shuting Zhang, Bin Wang, Hong Pan, Kai-Wun Yeh, Zhongxiong Lai and Chunzhen Cheng
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(9), 4973; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms22094973 - 07 May 2021
Cited by 32 | Viewed by 3656
Abstract
Banana (Musa spp.), one of the most important fruits worldwide, is generally cold sensitive. In this study, by using the cold-sensitive banana variety Tianbaojiao (Musa acuminate) as the study material, we investigated the effects of Piriformospora indica on banana cold [...] Read more.
Banana (Musa spp.), one of the most important fruits worldwide, is generally cold sensitive. In this study, by using the cold-sensitive banana variety Tianbaojiao (Musa acuminate) as the study material, we investigated the effects of Piriformospora indica on banana cold resistance. Seedlings with and without fungus colonization were subjected to 4 °C cold treatment. The changes in plant phenotypes, some physiological and biochemical parameters, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, and the expression of eight cold-responsive genes in banana leaves before and after cold treatment were measured. Results demonstrated that P. indica colonization reduced the contents of malondialdehyde (MDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) but increased the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) and the contents of soluble sugar (SS) and proline. Noteworthily, the CAT activity and SS content in the leaves of P. indica-colonized banana were significant (p < 0.05). After 24 h cold treatment, the decline in maximum photochemistry efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm), photochemical quenching coefficient (qP), efficient quantum yield [Y(II)], and photosynthetic electron transport rate (ETR) in the leaves of P. indica-colonized banana was found to be lower than in the non-inoculated controls (p < 0.05). Moreover, although the difference was not significant, P. indica colonization increased the photochemical conversion efficiency and electron transport rate and alleviated the damage to the photosynthetic reaction center of banana leaves under cold treatment to some extent. Additionally, the expression of the most cold-responsive genes in banana leaves was significantly induced by P. indica during cold stress (p < 0.05). It was concluded that P. indica confers banana with enhanced cold resistance by stimulating antioxidant capacity, SS accumulation, and the expression of cold-responsive genes in leaves. The results obtained from this study are helpful for understanding the P. indica-induced cold resistance in banana. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tropical Plant Responses to Climate Change)
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26 pages, 5197 KiB  
Article
Genome-Wide Analysis of the Late Embryogenesis Abundant (LEA) and Abscisic Acid-, Stress-, and Ripening-Induced (ASR) Gene Superfamily from Canavalia rosea and Their Roles in Salinity/Alkaline and Drought Tolerance
by Ruoyi Lin, Tao Zou, Qiming Mei, Zhengfeng Wang, Mei Zhang and Shuguang Jian
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(9), 4554; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms22094554 - 27 Apr 2021
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 2411
Abstract
Canavalia rosea (bay bean), distributing in coastal areas or islands in tropical and subtropical regions, is an extremophile halophyte with good adaptability to seawater and drought. Late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins typically accumulate in response to various abiotic stresses, including dehydration, salinity, high [...] Read more.
Canavalia rosea (bay bean), distributing in coastal areas or islands in tropical and subtropical regions, is an extremophile halophyte with good adaptability to seawater and drought. Late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins typically accumulate in response to various abiotic stresses, including dehydration, salinity, high temperature, and cold, or during the late stage of seed development. Abscisic acid-, stress-, and ripening-induced (ASR) genes are stress and developmentally regulated plant-specific genes. In this study, we reported the first comprehensive survey of the LEA and ASR gene superfamily in C. rosea. A total of 84 CrLEAs and three CrASRs were identified in C. rosea and classified into nine groups. All CrLEAs and CrASRs harbored the conserved motif for their family proteins. Our results revealed that the CrLEA genes were widely distributed in different chromosomes, and all of the CrLEA/CrASR genes showed wide expression features in different tissues in C. rosea plants. Additionally, we introduced 10 genes from different groups into yeast to assess the functions of the CrLEAs/CrASRs. These results contribute to our understanding of LEA/ASR genes from halophytes and provide robust candidate genes for functional investigations in plant species adapted to extreme environments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tropical Plant Responses to Climate Change)
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21 pages, 3309 KiB  
Article
Contrasting Rootstock-Mediated Growth and Yield Responses in Salinized Pepper Plants (Capsicum annuum L.) Are Associated with Changes in the Hormonal Balance
by Amparo Gálvez, Alfonso Albacete, Cristina Martínez-Andújar, Francisco M. del Amor and Josefa López-Marín
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(7), 3297; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms22073297 - 24 Mar 2021
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 1880
Abstract
Salinity provokes an imbalance of vegetative to generative growth, thus impairing crop productivity. Unlike breeding strategies, grafting is a direct and quick alternative to improve salinity tolerance in horticultural crops, through rebalancing plant development. Providing that hormones play a key role in plant [...] Read more.
Salinity provokes an imbalance of vegetative to generative growth, thus impairing crop productivity. Unlike breeding strategies, grafting is a direct and quick alternative to improve salinity tolerance in horticultural crops, through rebalancing plant development. Providing that hormones play a key role in plant growth and development and stress responses, we hypothesized that rootstock-mediated reallocation of vegetative growth and yield under salinity was associated with changes in the hormonal balance. To test this hypothesis, the hybrid pepper variety (Capsicum annuum L. “Gacela F1”) was either non-grafted or grafted onto three commercial rootstocks (Creonte, Atlante, and Terrano) and plants were grown in a greenhouse under control (0 mM NaCl) and moderate salinity (35 mM NaCl) conditions. Differential vegetative growth versus fruit yield responses were induced by rootstock and salinity. Atlante strongly increased shoot and root fresh weight with respect to the non-grafted Gacela plants associated with improved photosynthetic rate and K+ homeostasis under salinity. The invigorating effect of Atlante can be explained by an efficient balance between cytokinins (CKs) and abscisic acid (ABA). Creonte improved fruit yield and maintained the reproductive to vegetative ratio under salinity as a consequence of its capacity to induce biomass reallocation and to avoid Na+ accumulation in the shoot. The physiological responses associated with yield stability in Creonte were mediated by the inverse regulation of CKs and the ethylene precursor 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid. Finally, Terrano limited the accumulation of gibberellins in the shoot thus reducing plant height. Despite scion compactness induced by Terrano, both vegetative and reproductive biomass were maintained under salinity through ABA-mediated control of water relations and K+ homeostasis. Our data demonstrate that the contrasting developmental and physiological responses induced by the rootstock genotype in salinized pepper plants were critically mediated by hormones. This will be particularly important for rootstock breeding programs to improve salinity tolerance by focusing on hormonal traits. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tropical Plant Responses to Climate Change)
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20 pages, 4333 KiB  
Article
A Transcriptomic Approach to Understanding the Combined Impacts of Supra-Optimal Temperatures and CO2 Revealed Different Responses in the Polyploid Coffea arabica and Its Diploid Progenitor C. canephora
by Isabel Marques, Isabel Fernandes, Octávio S. Paulo, Fernando C. Lidon, Fábio M. DaMatta, José C. Ramalho and Ana I. Ribeiro-Barros
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(6), 3125; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms22063125 - 18 Mar 2021
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 2989
Abstract
Understanding the effect of extreme temperatures and elevated air (CO2) is crucial for mitigating the impacts of the coffee industry. In this work, leaf transcriptomic changes were evaluated in the diploid C. canephora and its polyploid C. arabica, grown at [...] Read more.
Understanding the effect of extreme temperatures and elevated air (CO2) is crucial for mitigating the impacts of the coffee industry. In this work, leaf transcriptomic changes were evaluated in the diploid C. canephora and its polyploid C. arabica, grown at 25 °C and at two supra-optimal temperatures (37 °C, 42 °C), under ambient (aCO2) or elevated air CO2 (eCO2). Both species expressed fewer genes as temperature rose, although a high number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were observed, especially at 42 °C. An enrichment analysis revealed that the two species reacted differently to the high temperatures but with an overall up-regulation of the photosynthetic machinery until 37 °C. Although eCO2 helped to release stress, 42 °C had a severe impact on both species. A total of 667 photosynthetic and biochemical related-DEGs were altered with high temperatures and eCO2, which may be used as key probe genes in future studies. This was mostly felt in C. arabica, where genes related to ribulose-bisphosphate carboxylase (RuBisCO) activity, chlorophyll a-b binding, and the reaction centres of photosystems I and II were down-regulated, especially under 42°C, regardless of CO2. Transcriptomic changes showed that both species were strongly affected by the highest temperature, although they can endure higher temperatures (37 °C) than previously assumed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tropical Plant Responses to Climate Change)
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14 pages, 3175 KiB  
Article
Why Is the Invasive Plant Sphagneticola trilobata More Resistant to High Temperature Than Its Native Congener?
by Minling Cai, Xiaohua Lin, Jindi Peng, Junjie Zhang, Minghao Chen, Jundong Huang, Lihua Chen, Feng Sun, Wenqiao Ding and Changlian Peng
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(2), 748; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms22020748 - 13 Jan 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2256
Abstract
Climate change and invasive alien species threaten biodiversity. High temperature is a worrying ecological factor. Most responses of invasive plants aimed at coping with adversity are focused on the physiological level. To explore the molecular mechanisms underlying the response of an invasive plant [...] Read more.
Climate change and invasive alien species threaten biodiversity. High temperature is a worrying ecological factor. Most responses of invasive plants aimed at coping with adversity are focused on the physiological level. To explore the molecular mechanisms underlying the response of an invasive plant (Sphagneticola trilobata L.) to high temperature, using a native species (Sphagneticola calendulacea L.) as the control, relevant indicators, including photosynthetic pigments, gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence, the antioxidant system, and related enzyme-coding genes were measured. The results showed that the leaves of S. calendulacea turned yellow, photosynthetic pigment content (Chl a, Chl b, Car, Chl) decreased, gas exchange (Pn) and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters (Fv/Fm, ΦPSII) decreased under high temperature. It was also found that high temperature caused photoinhibition and a large amount of ROS accumulated, resulting in an increase in MDA and relative conductivity. Antioxidant enzymes (including SOD, POD, CAT, and APX) and antioxidants (including flavonoids, total phenols, and carotenoids) were decreased. The qPCR results further showed that the expression of the PsbP, PsbA, and RubiscoL, SOD, POD, CAT, and APX genes was downregulated, which was consistent with the results of physiological data. Otherwise, the resistance of S. trilobata to high temperature was better than that of S. calendulacea, which made it a superior plant in the invasion area. These results further indicated that the gradual warming of global temperature will greatly accelerate the invasion area of S. trilobata. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tropical Plant Responses to Climate Change)
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24 pages, 1882 KiB  
Article
Transcriptomic Leaf Profiling Reveals Differential Responses of the Two Most Traded Coffee Species to Elevated [CO2]
by Isabel Marques, Isabel Fernandes, Pedro H.C. David, Octávio S. Paulo, Luis F. Goulao, Ana S. Fortunato, Fernando C. Lidon, Fábio M. DaMatta, José C. Ramalho and Ana I. Ribeiro-Barros
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020, 21(23), 9211; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms21239211 - 03 Dec 2020
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3351
Abstract
As atmospheric [CO2] continues to rise to unprecedented levels, understanding its impact on plants is imperative to improve crop performance and sustainability under future climate conditions. In this context, transcriptional changes promoted by elevated CO2 (eCO2) were studied [...] Read more.
As atmospheric [CO2] continues to rise to unprecedented levels, understanding its impact on plants is imperative to improve crop performance and sustainability under future climate conditions. In this context, transcriptional changes promoted by elevated CO2 (eCO2) were studied in genotypes from the two major traded coffee species: the allopolyploid Coffea arabica (Icatu) and its diploid parent, C. canephora (CL153). While Icatu expressed more genes than CL153, a higher number of differentially expressed genes were found in CL153 as a response to eCO2. Although many genes were found to be commonly expressed by the two genotypes under eCO2, unique genes and pathways differed between them, with CL153 showing more enriched GO terms and metabolic pathways than Icatu. Divergent functional categories and significantly enriched pathways were found in these genotypes, which altogether supports contrasting responses to eCO2. A considerable number of genes linked to coffee physiological and biochemical responses were found to be affected by eCO2 with the significant upregulation of photosynthetic, antioxidant, and lipidic genes. This supports the absence of photosynthesis down-regulation and, therefore, the maintenance of increased photosynthetic potential promoted by eCO2 in these coffee genotypes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tropical Plant Responses to Climate Change)
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