Drought Stress in Crops: Challenges and Adaptive Strategies

Amid escalating global climate change, drought has emerged as a critical threat to food security. Through long-term evolution, crops have developed sophisticated adaptive mechanisms: root systems extending into deeper soil layers to access moisture, dynamic stomatal regulation to minimize water loss, osmotic substance accumulation to maintain cellular functions, antioxidant systems to scavenge excess reactive oxygen species, and molecular level activation of stress-responsive gene networks to prevent water loss. Modern technologies are injecting new momentum into this survival battle: gene editing enables precise modification of stress-resistant pathways, phenomics accelerates the screening of elite germplasm, and microbiome engineering enhances drought tolerance through rhizosphere environment modulation. This special issue focuses on the advances in crop drought resistance research, covering innovative achievements from molecular mechanisms to field applications. We sincerely invite global scholars to share latest research findings and insights, to explore sustainable pathways for ensuring food security.

The goal of this research topic is to address the challenges posed by drought stress in crops and explore adaptive strategies to enhance their resilience. By investigating the physiological, genetic, and molecular mechanisms underlying drought tolerance, we aim to identify key genes and pathways that can be targeted for crop improvement. Additionally, we will evaluate novel agricultural practices that optimize water use efficiency and maintain productivity under water-limited conditions. This topic seeks to contribute valuable insights and practical solutions to help farmers mitigate the impacts of drought and ensure food security in the face of climate change.

In this Research Topic, we invite high-quality original research, reviews, perspectives, and methods papers that explore the broad spectrum of drought stress in crops. Specific themes of interest include, but are not limited to:

1.Stomatal regulation of plants in response to drought: phytohormone signaling cascades, reactive oxygen species (ROS) signaling, Ca2+ signaling.

2.Root morphology regulation: root structure, root growth angle, deep rooting, root system architecture remodeling, root-shoot signaling.

3. Identification of new drought-resistant genes: Discovery and functional characterization of genes associated with drought resistance using multi-omics technologies, QTL mapping, genome-wide association studies (GWAS), epigenetic regulation.

4.Novel approaches to enhance crop drought resistance in the field: Identification of new drought-tolerant varieties, developing new drought-tolerant varieties using gene-editing tools, application of chemical regulation technology to improve drought resistance in real-world, water-limited environments.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Drought, Crops, stomatal closure, root system architecture, antioxidant system, osmotic substance

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.