miRNA-Mediated Cross-Talk in Plant Responses to Combined and Sequential Stress

Plant stress biology increasingly recognizes that drought, heat, salinity, pathogens, and herbivory occur in combination or sequence rather than independently. These conditions can produce responses that differ substantially from those triggered by individual stressors, raising questions about how plants prioritize growth, defense, acclimation, and recovery. Recent transcriptomic, small-RNA sequencing, and multi-omics studies have identified extensive miRNA regulation under individual stresses, while emerging work suggests that combined stress generates distinct miRNA signatures, target interactions, and stress-memory effects. However, the miRNA modules connecting intersecting stress pathways remain poorly understood. A mechanistic investigation of these regulatory intersections is therefore needed.This Research Topic aims to clarify where and how miRNA pathways intersect during combined and sequential stress responses in plants. It will examine how miRNA–target modules, signaling networks, and feedback loops amplify, buffer, or redirect responses when multiple stressors occur simultaneously or successively. Contributions may address stress integration, priming and memory, and the functional validation of candidate miRNAs for improving crop resilience. Studies combining integrative omics, comparative genomics, computational modeling, or functional genetic approaches (including CRISPR/Cas, artificial microRNAs [amiRNAs], RNAi, and host-induced gene silencing [HIGS]) are particularly encouraged when they provide insight into cross-talk rather than a single stress pathway.To gather further insights into miRNA-mediated integration of combined and sequential stress, this Research Topic will focus on agriculturally relevant stress combinations, stress sequences, and their molecular consequences in model and crop plants. Research may include Arabidopsis, rice, wheat, maize, tomato, soybean, and any other plant species that illuminate cross-talk mechanisms. We welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:• miRNA expression, processing, and network dynamics under combined or sequential abiotic and biotic stress • Shared or antagonistic miRNA–target modules connecting drought, heat, salinity, pathogen, and herbivore responses • miRNA-mediated stress priming, memory, and epigenetic regulation • Signaling nodes and feedback loops governing miRNA activity during multi-stress exposure • Comparative, evolutionary, and genotype-specific analysis of miRNA-mediated stress cross-talk • Functional validation and manipulation of cross-talk pathways using CRISPR/Cas, artificial microRNAs (amiRNAs), and RNAi • Deployment of HIGS and small-RNA technologies to evaluate or engineer dual biotic–abiotic resilience • Computational modeling, systems biology, and translational applications of miRNA regulation in breeding climate-resilient crops Topic editors: Aarti Gupta, Flavia Thiebaut Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/85393/mirna-mediated-cross-talk-in-plant-responses-to-combined-and-sequential-stress