Exploring the Role of Plant Biotechnology and Microbiology in Breeding for Climate-Resilient Crops: a focus on Rice, Wheat, Sorghum and Millets

Edited by:
Shakeel Ahmad, PhD, Seed Center and Plant Genetic Resources Bank, Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, Saudi Arabia
Beatriz Andreo Jimenez, PhD, Wageningen University & Research, the Netherlands

Submission Status: Open | Submission Deadline: 20 March 2025

Rice is calling for submissions to our Collection on Exploring the Role of Plant Biotechnology and Microbiology in Breeding for Climate-Resilient Crops: a focus on Rice, Wheat, Sorghum and Millets. This collection aims to explore the intricate interactions between plants and microorganisms, leveraging microbiology and advances in plant biotechnology tools in important cereal crops (wheat, rice, sorghum and millets).

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Meet the Guest Editors

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Shakeel Ahmad, PhD, Seed Center and Plant Genetic Resources Bank, Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, Saudi Arabia

Shakeel Ahmad, PhD, is currently working as a Lead Molecular Biologist and Biotechnologist in the Plant Biotechnology facility of the Seed Center of Saudi Arabia. He is curating the Saudi gene bank and breeding new desirable crop varieties employing genomics and biotechnology. He obtained his doctoral degree in crop genetics and breeding from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China. Then, being one of the pioneer postdoc fellows at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan, he strengthened his expertise in molecular cloning, transformation, gene editing, and bioinformatics. His research interests include but are not limited to the identification of new gene/s, cloning and characterization, gene editing, stress physiology, molecular breeding, and genomics. He is particularly interested in developing climate-resilient field crop varieties using next-generation sequencing and new molecular plant breeding technologies to achieve zero hunger worldwide for current and future generations.

Beatriz Andreo Jimenez, PhD, Wageningen University & Research, the Netherlands

Beatriz is a microbiologist with a great passion about microbial functions and behavior. The main target of her research is to find out how we can take advantage of microbes to improve our quality of life and reduce our environmental impact. Her current research topics are related to microbial bioremediation and microbial social behavior. She studied biology and was trained as lab technician in molecular biology and genetics. Later, she specialized in fungal physiology and biological control. During the PhD thesis she studied beneficial root traits that help plants to adapt under drought conditions via root signaling molecules and their fungal symbionts. Currently, she is an associated researcher in the group Biointeractions & Plant Health at Wageningen University & Research. She performs soil microbial ecology and functionality studies in projects assessing the impact of side streams as fertilizers for crops while 1) avoiding any human risk such as transmission of human pathogens and 2) improving crop resilience.

About the Collection

Rice is calling for submissions to our Collection on Exploring the Role of Plant Biotechnology and Microbiology in Breeding for Climate-Resilient Crops: a focus on Rice, Wheat, Sorghum and Millets.

In the pursuit of a more sustainable agriculture, it is crucial to advance our understanding of the role of plant biotechnology and microbiology in breeding for climate-resilient crops. This collection aims to explore the intricate interactions between plants and microorganisms, leveraging microbiology and advances in plant biotechnology tools in important cereal crops (wheat, rice, sorghum and millets). By delving into these areas, we can unravel the mechanisms underlying stress tolerance, genetic diversity, and the potential for targeted breeding strategies. Significant advances have already been made in these fields, including the application of new plant breeding and gene editing technologies such as Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)-associated proteins (Cas), multi-omics studies to unravel complex biological processes, and the exploration of host-microbe interactions to enhance plant resilience and productivity. These breakthroughs have paved the way for the development of climate-resilient crops, offering promising solutions to address the challenges posed by climate change and extreme weather events. Continued research in this area holds immense promise for the future to therefore accelerate the development of climate-resilient crop varieties. The exploration of wild varieties and molecular genetic markers involved in different stress adaption mechanisms, such as the interaction with beneficial microorganisms, would be paving the ground to later integrating that genetic information into breeding programs. This offers exciting prospects for enhancing biotic and abiotic stress tolerance in crops such as rice, wheat, sorghum and millets.

Subtopics:
1. Gene editing technologies and their application in non-human plant breeding for rice, wheat, sorghum and millets

2. Omics studies to unravel complex biological processes in rice, wheat, sorghum and millets

3. Epigenetic regulation of rice, wheat, sorghum and millet traits for stress tolerance

4. Systems biology approaches in developing climate-resilient rice, wheat, sorghum and millet

5. Molecular breeding techniques for enhancing biotic and abiotic stress tolerance in rice, wheat, sorghum and millets

6. Microbiome research and its impact on climate-resilient rice, wheat, sorghum and millets

7. Pathogen resilience and resistance in rice, wheat, sorghum and millet breeding programs

8. Host-microbe interactions and their role in enhancing plant resilience

9. Utilization of molecular genetic markers in breeding programs for climate-resilient rice, wheat, sorghum and millets

10. Exploration of wild varieties for developing rice, wheat, sorghum and millets

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Submission Guidelines

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This Collection welcomes submission of research articles and reviews. Should you wish to submit a different article type, please read our submission guidelines to confirm that type is accepted by the journal.

Articles for this Collection should be submitted via our submission system, Snapp. Please, select the appropriate Collection title “Exploring the Role of Plant Biotechnology and Microbiology in Breeding for Climate-Resilient Crops: a focus on Rice, Wheat, Sorghum and Millets" under the “Details” tab during the submission stage.

Articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published.

The Editors have no competing interests with the submissions which they handle through the peer-review process. The peer-review of any submissions for which the Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.