Novel genetic approaches for enhancing abiotic stress tolerance in forage plant species

Abiotic stress tolerance in forage plants represents a vital area in plant science, particularly given the increasing frequency of extreme weather events linked to global climate change. These stresses—ranging from drought and salinity to temperature extremes—pose significant threats to the sustainability and productivity of forage crops such as alfalfa and oats, which are fundamental to the global animal husbandry industry. Despite the existence of forage and grass species with inherent stress resilience, the complex polyploidy and diverse genetic backgrounds of these plants traditionally present significant challenges for conventional breeding efforts. The rapid advancement of biotechnological tools, alongside multi-omics analysis, has generated new opportunities for identifying, validating, and utilizing key stress-resistance genes and pathways in these important crops.This Research Topic aims to consolidate the latest advances and foster innovative research in the mining and deployment of genes conferring abiotic stress tolerance in forage plants. Emphasis will be placed on integrating multidisciplinary biotechnological approaches, including molecular marker-assisted selection, genome editing, and gene transformation, to identify, analyze, and apply stress-tolerance genes. The objective is to address crucial questions regarding molecular mechanisms underlying stress adaptation, the potential for transfer of superior genetic traits across species, and the practical breeding and improvement of forage crops for enhanced resilience and quality. By synthesizing current knowledge and new breakthroughs, this Research Topic seeks to guide future research directions and breeding programs oriented towards stress-resilient forage agriculture.This Research Topic covers advances in biotechnological mining, characterization, and utilization of genes related to abiotic stress tolerance in forage plants, while excluding topics not directly linked to genetic, molecular, or omics approaches. To gather further insights in the genetic improvement for stress tolerance in forage plants and related applications, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:o Molecular mechanisms of abiotic stress responses in forage cropso Emerging technologies for mining and identifying key stress-tolerant geneso Functional characterizations and validation of stress resistance geneso Integration of multi-omics approaches to unravel stress tolerance mechanismso Biotechnological utilization of genetic resources for enhancing forage crop resilienceWe invite original research articles, reviews, methods, and perspectives that explore these and related themes. Topic editors: Junchao Zhang, Xueyang Min, Ndiko Ludidi, Rui Dong, Maneet Rana Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/80256/novel-genetic-approaches-for-enhancing-abiotic-stress-tolerance-in-forage-plant-species