From Halophytes to Crops: Plant–Microbe Strategies for Biosaline Agriculture, Phytoremediation, and Climate-Resilient Food Systems

Agricultural and environmental sciences are at a turning point as escalating abiotic stresses—such as salinity, drought, heat, and pollution, threaten sustainable crop production and global food security. Climate change, irrigation mismanagement, and land degradation intensify these pressures, making the development of resilient and resource efficient agricultural systems an urgent priority. Plants naturally employ sophisticated mechanisms to withstand stress, including osmotic adjustment, ion homeostasis, antioxidant defenses, and stress responsive gene regulation. Halophytes, as native inhabitants of saline ecosystems, offer valuable insights into these adaptive mechanisms, providing both genetic and ecological foundations for translational research. Likewise, plant associated microbiomes—comprising rhizobacteria, endophytes, and mycorrhizae—play crucial roles in enhancing stress tolerance through improved nutrient uptake, ionic balance, and phytohormone regulation.Technological advances are transforming our capacity to harness halophyte and microbiome interactions for agricultural innovation. High throughput omics, gene editing, and systems biology approaches have identified stress adaptive genes, metabolites, and microbial consortia that inform breeding and biotechnological applications. Microbial communities and targeted bioinoculants derived from halophytes are emerging as promising tools for improving the performance of conventional glycophytic crops under saline and other marginal conditions. Nonetheless, key challenges remain in scaling research from controlled studies to the field, integrating multi omics datasets, and designing environmentally compatible and farmer friendly biosaline strategies.This Research Topic aims to bridge the gap between fundamental research and applied innovations by exploring the mechanisms of stress tolerance in halophytes and their microbiomes, and by translating this knowledge into sustainable biosaline agriculture, phytoremediation, and climate resilient food production. It seeks to deepen our understanding of plant–microbe cooperation under salinity and co occurring abiotic stresses, identify novel molecular targets and microbial partners for crop improvement, and highlight integrative strategies that turn saline affected landscapes into productive agroecosystems.To gather further insights spanning halophyte biology to translational crop resilience, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:• Mechanisms of salinity and combined abiotic stress tolerance (drought, heat, cold, heavy metals) in halophytes and crops• Halophyte associated and synthetic microbiomes (endophytes, rhizobacteria, mycorrhizae) as bioinoculants for stress mitigation and productivity• Translational deployment of halophyte traits, genes, metabolites, and microbial partners for crop breeding, improvement, and stress adaptation• Phytoremediation, biosaline agriculture, and the reclamation or valorization of saline, sodic, and contaminated soils• Omics, systems biology, and synthetic biology approaches for uncovering stress adaptive networks and engineering multi stress tolerance• Agroecosystem level and integrative field laboratory approaches for resilient and circular biosaline cropping systemsWe welcome contributions from researchers across the field, and we are glad to support you as you prepare your submission. If you would like early feedback on whether your planned manuscript fits the scope of this Research Topic, please write to us at plantscience@frontiersin.org before submitting. A quick check at this stage helps confirm your work is a strong fit and can save you time later in the process.To take part, click “Participate in this topic” at the top right of this page, then confirm through the “Participate” link in the follow-up email. This lets us know to expect your contribution, keeps you informed of key deadlines, and gives you access to resources that guide you through submission. We look forward to your participation and to building a vibrant, cohesive Research Topic together. Topic editors: Ganesh Chandrakant Nikalje, Karim Ben Hamed, Ilinka Pecinar Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/86145/from-halophytes-to-crops-plant-microbe-strategies-for-biosaline-agriculture-phytoremediation-and-climate-resilient-food-systems