Transposable Elements in Plant Adaptation, From Genomic Variation to Evolutionary Trajectories

Transposable elements (TEs) are powerful drivers of genomic innovation in plants. They shape genome architecture, phenotypic variation, and adaptive evolution. TE insertions, structural variants, and TE-derived regulatory elements influence traits such as stress tolerance, development, ecology, and domestication. New advances in long-read sequencing, graph-based pangenomes, epigenomic profiling, and functional genomics now allow high-resolution study of TE activity. These methods facilitate the identification of TE-driven mutations and regulatory changes associated with adaptation.This Research Topic seeks to unify recent advances across molecular biology, evolutionary genomics, epigenetics, structural variation, and functional validation, providing a cohesive perspective on the role of TEs in driving plant adaptation.Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:• Studies examining TE diversity and lineage-specific expansions.• Population-level TE insertion polymorphisms.• Epigenetic regulation of TE activity under stress.• TE-mediated chromatin remodeling and transcriptional rewiring.• TE-derived regulatory elements and gene fusions.• TE-driven structural variants contributing to adaptive traits.By integrating diverse plant systems and methodological innovations, this Research Topic will illuminate the evolutionary trajectories shaped by transposable elements and highlight their central role in plant adaptation to changing environments. We invite researchers worldwide to submit original research articles, reviews, perspectives, and short communications that align with the topics outlined above. We believe this Research Topic will serve the audience of genetics researchers by assembling a collection of cutting-edge rice studies that span disciplines and regions. Authors are encouraged to highlight novel insights into comparative analyses across crops and wild relatives, domestication studies, high-altitude or drought-adapted species, and research on non-model or large-genome plants. Contributions presenting new computational tools, TE annotation frameworks, mobile element detection algorithms, and evolutionary models are also welcome. Functional genomics approaches, including CRISPR deletions, reporter assays, chromatin accessibility mapping, and stress-induction experiments, are strongly encouraged to connect TE variation to molecular mechanisms and their phenotypic consequences. We look forward to your contributions to the research regarding TE-driven plant adaptation. Topic editors: Shahzad Munir, Zijiang Yang, Zizhao Xie, Shengchang Duan Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/77238/transposable-elements-in-plant-adaptation-from-genomic-variation-to-evolutionary-trajectories