Wounding Stress in Plants: Towards Perception, Plasticity, and Regeneration

Wounding stress in plants is a dynamic field offering insights into how living organisms cope with, recover from, and adapt to physical injury. Plants possess remarkable abilities to repair damaged tissues, regenerate lost structures, and even redirect developmental programs in response to environmental and mechanical injuries. Advances in molecular biology and evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo) have illuminated some of the genetic circuits and signaling pathways governing these processes; yet, key questions regarding the interplay between tissue regeneration, morphogenesis, and evolutionary adaptation remain unresolved. Current research is uncovering the intricate mechanisms that enable some plants not only to recover from injury but also to exploit wounding as a cue for adaptive plasticity and innovation at the tissue and organ levels.Recent studies reveal that plant responses to wounding can involve rapid activation of regeneration programs, induction of pluripotent cell states, and developmental reprogramming that results in de novo organ formation or tissue patterning. Furthermore, emerging data support the notion that the capacity for regeneration and morphogenesis after injury varies across species and lineages and may be shaped by evolutionary pressures and ecological strategies. Despite progress in identifying genes and regulators involved in these processes, the broader integration of cellular, developmental, and phylogenetic perspectives is still limited. This gap underscores the need for a deeper exploration of the evolutionary origins and adaptive significance of plant healing, as well as a better functional understanding of how regeneration and morphogenesis are coordinated after wounding.This Research Topic aims to advance comprehensive knowledge of plant tissue regeneration, organ and tissue morphogenesis following injury, and the evolutionary and developmental reprogramming underpinning these responses. The primary goal is to illuminate how classical wound responses interface with regeneration and how these abilities have evolved and diversified among plant taxa. By integrating empirical studies, comparative analyses, theoretical work, and evolutionary frameworks, this topic seeks contributions that chart the processes from injury detection to full structural recovery, and that address how developmental plasticity and innovation emerge in wounded plants.We invite contributions that explore, but are not limited to, the following themes:-Mechanisms of wound perception and early signaling events in plants-Induction and regulation of developmental plasticity following injury-Molecular, cellular, and hormonal pathways driving regeneration-Dynamic reprogramming and establishment of pluripotent states after wounding-Comparative and evolutionary analyses of wound response and regeneration capacity across plant taxa-Interplay between environmental cues, mechanical stress, and regenerative processes-Role of phytohormones and secondary messengers in modulating plasticity-Adaptive significance and ecological implications of plant wound healing-Integration of whole-plant and tissue-specific responses to physical damage Topic editors: Matteo Grenzi, Lingna Chen, Xuqin Yang Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/77255/wounding-stress-in-plants-towards-perception-plasticity-and-regeneration