JXB Advance Access originally published online on June 6, 2005
Journal of Experimental Botany 2005 56(417):1699-1709; doi:10.1093/jxb/eri212
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Perspectives on the Future |
European plant science: a field of opportunities
The Journal of Experimental Botany would be pleased to receive comments, possibly for publication, either as an e-letter (see the box to the top-right of the screen when you view the manuscript online) or as an e-mail (j.exp.bot{at}lancaster.ac.uk).
European Plant Science Organization, Technologiepark 927, 9052 Gent, Belgium
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Fax: +32 9 331 3811. E-mail: Karin.Metzlaff{at}psb.ugent.be
Plants have a pivotal role in eco- and agricultural systems. Genomics is driving a rapid expansion of our understanding of how genes, individually and in networks, determine plant function. Technological developments in breeding and genomics are providing strategies to translate this knowledge into crop improvement. The possibilities range from improvement of existing crops and the systematic use of natural diversity through to the domestication of completely new species. As examples of possible goals, it is discussed how profiling of composition will integrate plant breeding and agronomic practice with emerging knowledge about nutrition and health, how improved and novel crops will contribute to the creation of new bio-based economies revolving around plant products, and how advances in our knowledge about plant–environment and plant–pathogen interactions will provide novel strategies to stabilize agricultural yield in a fluctuating environment and contribute to integrated approaches in which modern agriculture is carried out in concert with the environment. In addition, knowledge generated by plant science will be needed to monitor, understand, and cope with climate change and its impact on agriculture and ecosystems. Realization of these goals will require close interactions with related disciplines including agronomy and ecology. Further, it will be important to continue and deepen open support for research in the developing world.
Key words: Agronomic practice, biodiversity, domestication, ecosystems, environment, genomics, novel crops, plant breeding, plant products, yield
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