Dear Colleagues,

Plants must constantly adapt to a wide range of stresses both biotic and abiotic in order to survive, develop, and reproduce in their environment. Current constraints such as increasing temperatures, drought, salinity, high light, along with pest and pathogen attacks, occurring as isolated or combined events, trigger exquisitely tuned responsive mechanisms in plants. Some interactions between plants and microbes—for instance, symbiotic fungi and bacteria—can play a crucial role in helping plants develop resilience and better cope with environmental challenges.

Plant–microbe interactions have evolved to include a wide range of associations from pathogenic to commensal and mutualistic coexistences. Although these various interactions incur different biochemical needs, they all bear in common the exchange of secreted molecules, which enable the interacting partners to engage in a molecular dialogue, associate, alter each other’s structure and function, as well as have an impact on the surrounding environment. The molecules, proteinic (proteins and peptides) and non-proteinic (metabolites, phytohormones, and nucleic acids), mediating these interactions are collectively referred to as the secretome.

Secreted molecules are the hallmark of intercellular communication. Both plants and their associated microorganisms deploy diverse canonical and noncanonical secretion processes (e.g., extracellular vesicles), allowing them to establish and foster their mutualistic associations or to engage in defense mechanisms upon pathogenic invasion. Secreted molecules also allow plants and microbes to sense their environment, for example, to mobilize nutrients, promote symbiosis, and attract beneficial organisms while repelling harmful ones.

How all these secreted molecules are orchestrated, how they function, how they interact, and how they evolve to shape the whole spectrum of interactions between plants and microorganisms in the context of a changing climate constitute a research area of crucial importance. The exploration of these themes will help not only understand the big picture of secretomics in plants and microbes, but also develop effective crop protection strategies and future sustainable agricultural systems that increase productivity whilst reducing environmental impacts.

In this Special Issue, we aim at addressing recent advances and challenges in plant–microbe interactions as well as adaptations of plants to their changing environment through the lens of secretomics. We welcome original research articles, reviews, and communications focusing on topics within this framework.

Dr. Delphine Vincent
Prof. Dr. Dominique Job
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biomolecules is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• Plant Biotic and/or Abiotic Responses
• Environment Stress
• Plant–Microbe Interactions
• Plant Immunity
• Crop Diseases
• Microbial Threat to Natural Ecosystems
• Mutualistic Microbes
• Symbiotic Microbes
• Commensal Microbes
• Endophytes
• Phytopathogens
• Effectors
• Exosomes and Extracellular Vesicles
• In Vitro/In Vivo Secretomics
• Bioinformatics and Prediction Tools
• Biomolecules in Agriculture