Plant Response Mechanisms Under Abiotic Stress and the Application of Plant-Microbe Interactions in Environmental Remediation

When confronted with abiotic stressors such as heavy metals, antibiotics, salinity, and alkalinity, plants employ a range of complex physiological, biochemical, and molecular mechanisms to cope with these adverse conditions. Heavy metal stress, for instance, induces the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in plant cells, leading to lipid peroxidation of cell membranes and disruption of normal cellular functions. To counteract these effects, plants upregulate antioxidant enzyme activities, such as superoxide dismutase and catalase, to scavenge excess ROS. Simultaneously, they alter the bioavailability of heavy metals through chelating agents like organic acids and polyphosphates, thereby reducing their toxicity. Similarly, the presence of antibiotics can impair plant growth and development. In response, plants increase the activity of detoxifying enzymes, such as cytochrome P450, to degrade or transform antibiotics. Additionally, changes in root exudate composition can modify the structure of rhizosphere microbial communities, indirectly alleviating antibiotic-induced stress. Under saline-alkali stress, plants primarily adjust osmotic pressure and ion balance to maintain cellular homeostasis in high-salt environments. These adaptive mechanisms not only enhance plant resilience but also provide a theoretical foundation for utilizing plants in environmental remediation strategies.

Plant-microbial combined remediation technology leverages the synergistic interactions between plants and their associated microorganisms, including rhizosphere bacteria, endophytes, and mycorrhizal fungi, to degrade or remove organic pollutants and heavy metals from the environment. This ecological approach is cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and sustainable, making it widely applicable for soil, water, and air pollution remediation. However, challenges remain, such as microbial colonization and persistence, secondary pollution during degradation, and complex environmental conditions. Future research should focus on elucidating plant-microbe interaction mechanisms, optimizing system construction, and enhancing remediation efficiency to address these issues and promote broader application of this technology.

In this research topic, we invite submissions of all article types published in Frontiers in Plant Science that explore the application of plant-microbial combined techniques in environmental remediation, with a particular emphasis on:

• Investigating the response mechanisms of plants to abiotic stresses, including heavy metals, antibiotics, salinity, and alkalinity.

• Harnessing plant-microbial combined remediation strategies to mitigate the adverse impacts of abiotic stress on plants.

• Elucidating the interaction mechanisms between plants and microorganisms to enhance the efficiency of phytoremediation.

We welcome submissions reporting experiments conducted either in the field or under controlled environmental conditions.

Please note: Descriptive studies that merely report plant responses to abiotic stress without advancing the physiological understanding of these mechanisms will not be considered.

Keywords: Abiotic Stress, Reactive Oxygen Species, Response, Rhizosphere Microbial Communities, Plant-microbial Combined Remediation

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.