Plant Physiology and Molecular Adaptation to Sequential and Alternating Abiotic Stresses

Environmental stress events rarely occur in isolation; plants are frequently challenged by dynamic scenarios involving sequential, alternating, or recurring abiotic stresses—such as drought followed by flooding, periods of salinity alternating with temperature extremes, or cycles of heat and cold. The mechanisms by which plants perceive, process, and adapt to these multi-phase stress exposures are fundamentally distinct from those triggered by individual or simultaneous stresses.

Despite recent advances, many key questions remain about the physiological and molecular cascades underpinning plant acclimation to these complex stress patterns. Emerging evidence highlights the roles of stress priming, signaling networks, hormonal crosstalk, gene expression reconfiguration, and epigenetic memory in orchestrating plant responses to sequential and alternating stresses. Understanding these mechanisms is pivotal for advancing basic science and improving crop resilience in a rapidly changing climate.

This Research Topic seeks original research articles, reviews, hypothesis and theory papers, and cutting-edge communications that address:

- Unique physiological and biochemical adaptations induced by sequential or alternating abiotic stresses (e.g., drought–heat–drought cycles, flooding followed by salinity)

- Transcriptomic, proteomic, metabolomic, and epigenetic remodeling underlying stress memory and priming

- Hormonal networks (abscisic acid, jasmonic acid, salicylic acid, etc.) and signaling molecules involved in dynamic multi-stress responses

- Signal transduction cascades, transcriptional regulators, and post-translational mechanisms driving adaptation and survival

- Comparative studies elucidating the differences between single, combined, and sequential/alternating stress responses

- The impact of stress magnitude, duration, and order on morpho-physiological outcomes

- Innovative imaging, phenotyping, or integrative omics approaches unlocking new dimensions of multi-stress adaptation

- Conceptual advances and new models for predicting plant responses to variable stress regimes

We specifically encourage submissions targeting discoveries in model plants, crops, and wild species, spanning laboratory, controlled environment, and field studies, provided there is a clear focus on fundamental plant physiological and molecular processes.

By gathering state-of-the-art research on these topics, this collection aims to bridge knowledge gaps in plant stress adaptation and help chart the next generation of strategies for crop improvement under increasingly complex and unpredictable environmental conditions.

Descriptive studies reporting stress responses without exploring underlying mechanisms will not be considered for peer review.

Article types and fees

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

• Brief Research Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• ... 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
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Systematic Review

Keywords: sequential abiotic stress, alternating stress, plant physiology, molecular adaptation, stress resilience

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.