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Integrative insights into physiology, nutrient dynamics and multi-omics reveal climate stress adaptation and genomic gaps in Rhododendron

Year: 2026
Type: review
Abstract: Rhododendron species are valued for their ecological, horticultural and cultural importance and are increasingly threatened by climate-related stresses, including drought, frost, extreme heat and nutrient imbalance. Over the past decade, physiological, biochemical and nutrient-based studies, combined with the rapid expansion of transcriptomic, proteomic, metabolomic and emerging epigenomic datasets, have provided new insights into stress-responsive pathways in this genus. However, these findings remain unevenly distributed across species and stress types and are rarely integrated across biological scales or linked directly to whole-plant performance. This review critically synthesises recent advances in nutrient dynamics, mycorrhizal associations, hormonal regulation and omics-based molecular responses underlying climate stress adaptation in Rhododendron. By integrating physiological traits with multi-omics evidence, we identify conserved regulatory modules, key metabolic and redox pathways, and trade-offs between growth and stress tolerance. We further highlight major genomic and experimental limitations, including taxonomic bias, short-term experimental designs, incomplete genome resources and limited functional validation of candidate genes. Finally, future research priorities are proposed that emphasise integrative multi-omics approaches, genome-enabled functional studies and systems-level modelling to advance climate-resilient Rhododendron conservation and breeding strategies. This synthesis provides a framework for translating molecular insights into horticultural and ecological applications under ongoing climate change.
DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcag217
Language: English
Subfield: Plant Science
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7169672587
FWCI:
Cites: 104
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Related to: 10