Multi-Omics Approaches for Plant Responses to Abiotic and Biotic Stresses

Dear Colleagues,

Abiotic and biotic stresses are the primary environmental stressors that negatively impact overall plant growth, survival, and productivity. This is a comprehensive research topic on which many studies have been carried out worldwide to unravel the molecular and physiological cross-talk under various abiotic and biotic stress conditions. Regardless of all these efforts, the diverse adaptive mechanisms of plants under stressful environments are still major roadblocks. Thus, new high-throughput technologies and mitigation strategies are prerequisites for producing stress-tolerant plants with improved agronomical traits.

In recent years, emerging multi-omics, bioinformatics, and AI tools have been used to uncover novel molecular mechanisms underlying plant tolerance to various abiotic and biotic stress mechanisms. Therefore, this Special Issue aims to integrate various high-throughput sequencing datasets, multi-omics (genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, hormonomics, metabolomics, interactomics, and phenomics) approaches, AI and bioinformatics tools, and other related topics, such as biotechnology, genetic transformation, systems biology, and breeding, to develop new progress in explaining the molecular-level aspects of stress-resistant plant production.

This Special Issue aims to unite the plant research community by publishing research findings and comprehensive reviews on strategies for enhancing stress avoidance and/or tolerance to abiotic and biotic stresses.

Dr. Pandiyan Muthuramalingam
Dr. Hyunsuk Shin
Prof. Dr. Manikandan Ramesh
Guest Editors

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• abiotic stress

• biotic stress
• bioinformatics
• artificial intelligence
• biotechnology
• transcription factors
• breeding
• crop plants
• horticultural plants
• multi-omics
• genomics
• epigenomics
• transcriptomics
• proteomics
• metabolomics
• hormonomics
• interactomics
• phenomics
• genetic diversity
• systems biology
• gene expression

Comprehensive Proteomics and Metabolomics Analysis Reveals Heat Stress-Induced Changes in Arabidopsis thaliana Seedlings

Xu Yuan et al.  email: [email protected]

Abstract: Understanding the molecular response of plants to abiotic stress, particularly heat stress, is crucial for developing strategies to enhance stress tolerance. Protein turnover, the dynamicbalance between protein synthesis and degradation, plays a pivotal role in regulating cellular processes during stress adaptation. However, the systematic investigation of how metabolites and proteome turnover are influenced in plants under heat stress remains limited. Here, we conducted a comprehensive study integrating proteomics and metabolomics approaches to elucidate the effects of heat stress on Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings. Using stable isotope labeling coupled with ultra-performance liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry, we analyzed metabolites and proteins extracted from stable isotopically labeled plant material. Untargeted metabolomics identified stress markers, while protein turnover was measured to assess changes in proteome turnover in different fractions of Arabidopsis seedling shoots and roots under 22°C and 30°C growth conditions. Our analysis revealed significant alterations in the turnover rate of 571 proteins and 46 metabolites in response to elevated temperature in Arabidopsis seedling tissues. These findings provide valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying heat stress response in Arabidopsis seedlings and highlight the dynamic changes occurring at the proteome and metabolome levels. The integration of proteomics and metabolomics approaches in this study contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the heat stress response, paving the way for further investigations and the development of targeted strategies to enhance stress tolerance in plants.