Recent Advances in Micronutrient Sensing and Molecular Signaling Networks Governing Plant Growth and Development

Micronutrients, such as iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), boron (B), copper (Cu), and molybdenum (Mo), are essential for the growth, development, and overall crop yield. These nutrients play crucial roles in physiological processes, including photosynthesis, respiration, redox balance, and enzymatic reactions. Additionally, they enhance plants' ability to cope with both biotic and abiotic stresses. Each micronutrient possesses distinct biological significance and plays a direct role in the metabolism of plants. Although plants require these micronutrients in trace amounts, maintaining a proper balance is critical for plant health. Excessive accumulation of these nutrients can become toxic to plant cells, while their deficiencies could lead to chlorosis and stunted growth. The changing climate significantly affects the availability of essential soil nutrients needed for crop growth, presenting considerable challenges for modern agriculture globally. Plants possess complex regulatory networks that respond distinctly to each micronutrient. The mechanisms of sensing and response to these micronutrients operate on multiple levels, encompassing from gene expression to post-translational modifications. Decoding these regulatory layers will significantly enhance our understanding of how nutrient signals are detected, translocated, and communicated throughout plant tissues. This will allow identifying genes playing an essential role in nutrient assimilation and their crosstalk with various environmental stresses. Future research is required to understand the micronutrient homeostasis at both local and systemic levels. This includes investigating multiscale dynamics such as cellular sensing, intra- and inter-tissue signaling, source-to-sink translocation, feedback loops, storage, and subcellular compartmentalization.This Research Topic aims to gather articles that include original research, comprehensive reviews, mini-reviews, opinions, and perspectives on the homeostasis of micronutrients in plants. We invite contributions on a variety of topics, including but not limited to:• The responses of plants to deficiencies and toxicities of micronutrients, as well as their adaptive mechanisms.• Molecular perspectives on the characterization of micronutrient signaling pathways, including transcriptional changes, post-translational modifications, and protein-protein interactions.• The function of regulatory genes and proteins in the acquisition, uptake, transport, long-distance signaling, and related processes concerning micronutrients.• The interactions between micronutrients and other nutrients or plant growth regulators, including phytohormones and peptides.• Multi-omics approaches aimed at enhancing the uptake and utilization of micronutrients in response to environmental stresses.• CRISPR Based Genome Editing: New Insights into Micronutrient Sensing and Signaling in Plants Topic editors: Dipali Srivastava, Debasis Chakrabarty, Shalini Tiwari Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/80572/recent-advances-in-micronutrient-sensing-and-molecular-signaling-networks-governing-plant-growth-and-development