Role of Steroids and Triterpenoids in Plant Growth, Development and Stress Response 2.0
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Plant Sciences".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 May 2024 | Viewed by 191
Special Issue Editor
Interests: triterpenoids; steroids; plant general and specialized metabolism; plant in vitro cultures; elicitation; bioactive natural products; occurrence of triterpenoids in edible and medicinal plants; plant chemical defense
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Steroids and triterpenoids are isoprenoids produced by folding and cyclization of their common C30 precursor, the long-chain hydrocarbon squalene. These two groups of squalene derivatives distinctly differ in the functions they perform in plants, and therefore they are commonly regarded as primary and secondary (or more aptly: general and specialized) metabolites, respectively. Sterols, a characteristic subgroup of steroids, are integral components of plant membranes and contribute to maintaining the membrane permeability and fluidity. Some sterols form special structures with sphingolipids, referred to as microdomains (also known as nanodomains or lipid rafts), that are believed to play an important role in processes such as channel regulation, protein trafficking, signal transduction and plant-pathogen interactions. Thus, in addition to their membrane architectural function, sterols also affect the activity of integral membrane proteins, including enzymes, ion channels, receptors and components of signal transduction pathways such as ATPases. Moreover, sterols also serve as precursors of brassinosteroid hormones and some specialized metabolites, such as steroidal sapogenins, steroidal glycoalkaloids or cardenolides, therefore, they are involved in many processes occurring in plants, ranging from regulation of growth and development to stress resistance. In turn, triterpenoids, considered typical specialized metabolites, are believed to play an important role in plant chemical defense and interactions with the environment. The interplay between steroids and triterpenoids, compounds sharing the biosynthetic pathway up to the common precursor, seems to be crucial in the metabolic strategy of the plant facing stress factors. This Special Issue invites researchers to contribute original research or updated review articles that aim to cover a wide spectrum of aspects concerning the role of steroids and triterpenoids in plant growth and development, as well as in stress response to various abiotic and biotic factors.
Prof. Dr. Anna Szakiel
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
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. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. 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.
Keywords
- biosynthesis
- chemical defense
- plant growth and development
- steroids
- sterols
- stress response
- triterpenoids
