From Stress to Quality Assurance: Metabolic Regulation and Advanced Detection in Horticultural Crops under Biotic and Abiotic Challenges

Modern horticultural science operates at the intersection of plant metabolism, stress physiology, and quality trait development. As global environmental pressures intensify, understanding how horticultural crops contend with simultaneous biotic and abiotic stressors has become paramount for crop improvement and food security. While extensive research has outlined separate impacts of stresses like pathogens, drought, salinity, and temperature extremes on yield and some quality aspects, there is a conspicuous gap in deciphering the metabolic trade-offs and signaling networks that underpin both resilience and high-value trait synthesis. Recent advancements in high-throughput phenotyping, multi-omics technologies, and real-time, non-destructive analytical tools now provide unprecedented resolution to investigate not just what changes occur, but how crops dynamically regulate their metabolic machinery when challenged. Still, the precise regulatory logic and molecular crosstalk that enable crops to maintain or improve quality under complex stress environments remain incompletely defined.This Research Topic aims to bridge the gap between descriptive stress response studies and system-level functional understanding of metabolic adjustments affecting quality in horticultural crops. The goal is to consolidate evidence drawn from advanced analytical platforms and integrated systems biology to reveal how plants recalibrate their metabolic, molecular, and epigenetic landscapes—enabling sustained or enhanced crop quality even under adverse conditions. By focusing on mechanistic insight and application, this research theme encourages contributions that: utilize innovative precision phenotyping to monitor quality trait evolution in real time; apply deep metabolic and network analyses to map flux bottlenecks and master regulators; and translate findings into strategic breeding or agronomic interventions designed to buffer quality against stress-induced deterioration.This Research Topic is focused on horticultural crops affected by biotic and abiotic stresses, emphasizing holistic and integrative research that moves beyond simple observations towards predictive, actionable understanding. Both fundamental and applied studies are welcome, especially those leveraging cross-disciplinary approaches. To gather further insights in these areas, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:o Precision phenotyping under stress: employing advanced imaging, sensing, and AI technologies for real-time assessment of quality-related traits affected by environmental factorso Spatiotemporal metabolite dynamics: tracking the distribution and turnover of nutrients, bioactives, and other key metabolites at cellular, tissue, and organ scales during stress progressiono Multi-omics integration and network modeling: combining transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and computational tools to construct predictive models of stress-quality interactionso Molecular hubs and biomarker discovery: identifying master regulators, metabolic bottlenecks, and reliable biomarkers orchestrating both stress adaptation and quality maintenanceo Applied strategies for quality resilience: developing genome editing, chemical priming, microbial biostimulants, or agronomic tactics to reinforce quality traits amidst environmental challenges Topic editors: Yiwei Zhou, Brian Farneti, Stefano Brizzolara Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/81211/from-stress-to-quality-assurance-metabolic-regulation-and-advanced-detection-in-horticultural-crops-under-biotic-and-abiotic-challenges