The Plant Disease Triangle: New Insights into Molecular and Physiological Mechanisms Underlying Plant–Microbe Interactions in Response to Environmental Factors

The occurrence and prevalence of crop diseases are fundamentally governed by the plant disease triangle, which posits that three conditions are required for plant disease development: a susceptible host plant, a virulent pathogen, and favorable environmental conditions. Variable environmental conditions act as critical regulatory drivers that shape the outcome of plant–microbe interactions and determine disease incidence in agricultural ecosystems. Environmental Factors alter not only the physiological susceptibility of host plants to pathogens but also the infectivity, colonization ability, and population dynamics of phytopathogens. Meanwhile, environmental fluctuations profoundly reshape the structure and function of plant-associated microbial communities. Unraveling the molecular and physiological mechanisms by which environmental cues modulate plant–pathogen–beneficial microbe tripartite interactions is crucial for clarifying the intrinsic rules of crop disease occurrence and for developing targeted microbial-based disease management strategies.This Research Topic focuses on cutting-edge research elucidating environment-dependent plant–microbe interactions and their roles in crop disease development and management within the plant disease triangle framework. It centers on how diverse abiotic conditions regulate the molecular and physiological crosstalk between host plants, pathogenic microorganisms, and beneficial microbiomes, thereby affecting disease susceptibility, pathogen infection efficiency, and field disease dynamics. By integrating original findings from molecular phytopathology, microbial physiological regulation, environmental microbiology, and crop disease ecology, this Research Topic aims to provide mechanistic insights to support for optimizing field disease prevention systems adapted to changing environmental conditions.We welcome Original Research articles, Reviews, Mini-Reviews, Opinions, Methods, and Perspectives that offer novel mechanistic, physiological, and ecological insights into environment-regulated plant–microbe interactions and their implications for crop disease occurrence and management. Relevant research themes should include environmentally regulated mechanisms underlying following scopes, but are not limited to:• Phytopathogen biology and disease epidemic dynamics• Plant microbiome remodeling and disease resistance• Biocontrol microorganism adaptability and disease suppression• PGPM-mediated enhancement of plant disease resistance• Microbe-induced plant cross-resistance• Plant holobiont molecular and metabolic responses to pathogen infection• Development and field application of adaptive microbial inoculants• Pathogen–beneficial microbe competition and disease suppression• Ecological and evolutionary adaptation of plant–microbe antagonistic and symbiotic relationships Topic editors: Mo Zhu, Ben Zhang, Mazarin Akami, Kai Sun, Wei Jiang Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/84068/the-plant-disease-triangle-new-insights-into-molecular-and-physiological-mechanisms-underlying-plant-microbe-interactions-in-response-to-environmental-factors