Stress Metabolites of Plants: Protective and Regulatory Functions

Submission Deadline: 31 October 2025 View: 32 Submit to Special Issue

Guest Editors

Prof. Dr. Yuriy E. Kolupaev

Email: plant_biology@ukr.net

Affiliation: 1) Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, Yuriev Plant Production Institute, National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, Kharkiv, Ukraine

2) Department of Plant Protection, Poltava State Agrarian University, Poltava, Ukraine

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Research Interests: Mechanisms of stress and adaptation of plants, the participation of signaling mediators and plants hormones in the formation of adaptive responses. 

Prof. Dr. Alexander P. Dmitriev

Email: dmitriev.ap@gmail.com

Affiliation: Institute of Cell Biology and Genetic Engineering, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine

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Research Interests: Molecular plant pathology, systemic acquired resistance, ROS, salt stress, temperature stresses

Associated Prof. Dr. Tetiana O. Yastreb

Email: t_howk@ukr.net

Affiliation: Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, Yuriev Plant Production Institute, National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, Kharkiv, Ukraine

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Research Interests: Mechanisms of stress and adaptation of plants, cell signaling, plant hormones

Dr. Klára Kosová 

Email: kosova@vurv.cz

Affiliation: Laboratory of Plant Stress Biology and Biotechnology, Department of Plant genetics and Crop Breeding, Crop Research Institute, Prague, Czechia

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Research Interests: proteomics, stress proteins (dehydrins), stress metabolites of plants, abiotic stress

Summary

It is predicted that climate change, combined with adverse anthropogenic factors, may cause a loss of 50% of crop yields in the coming decades. However, the discovery of new mechanisms of plant adaptation opens the possibility of improving their resistance both by breeding and genetic methods and by the use of various exogenous bioregulators. In this context, stress metabolites that can be altered by transgenesis and exogenous influences are dynamically studied. These include both primary and secondary metabolites. Many of them differ in polyfunctionality and can act as antioxidants, osmoprotectors, membrane protectors, chaperones, stabilizers of intracellular pH, chelators of heavy metals, etc. Of particular interest, however, is the ability of some stress metabolites to participate in the functioning of cellular signaling networks and to interact with signaling mediators and hormones functionally. In this context, stress-protective functions of melatonin, gamma-aminobutyric acid, proline, some polyamines, and soluble carbohydrates have been considered in recent years. However, the list of compounds with important stress-protective functions is constantly expanding, also due to the development of omics research methods. For this special issue of the journal, we invite review manuscripts and original articles on the following aspects of the study of plant stress metabolites:

- Synthesis and functions of non-proteinogenic amino acids under plant stress;

- Proline: antioxidant and chaperone functions in plant cells;

- Regulatory functions of polyamines under plant stress;

- Trehalose, raffinose, and other soluble carbohydrates with unique stress-protective properties;

- Carboxylic acids as potential regulatory molecules;

- Stress-protective functions of flavonoids and other secondary metabolites;

- Melatonin, serotonin, and other plant neurotransmitters: involvement in adaptation to stressors

- Regulation of plant resistance by genetic modifications that alter the synthesis of stress metabolites;

- Induction of plant resistance by exogenous stress metabolites and their analogs/mimetics;

- The role of stress metabolites in the regulation of seed germination under normal and stress conditions.

Of course, this list of possible topics is not exhaustive and may be expanded upon by the initiative of potential authors.

Keywords