JXB Advance Access published online on October 3, 2005
Journal of Experimental Botany, doi:10.1093/jxb/eri297
1 Agronomy Physiology Laboratory, PO Box 110965, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611-0965, USA
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Currently, the major thrust of plant physiology research is to identify and understand the regulation of genes that might be relevant in plant development and growth. The dominance of a genocentric view of plant behaviour has, unfortunately, resulted in the development of major disconnects in the classical view of plant physiology as a partnership between fundamental and practical research contributing to improved plant production. One disconnect is that much of the genocentric research appears to be organized and executed without regard to the practical needs of enhancing plant performance under applied conditions. Although practical benefits from genocentric research are often claimed, basic assumptions guiding much research and the experimental protocols used are commonly not relevant for real-world plant production. A second disconnect is a failure fully to appreciate the lessons learned in 40 years of classical plant physiology research concerning the role of physiological processes in altering whole plant performance. Regulation of plant systems has proved to be complex and redundant. Alteration of a single physiological process is compensated or dampened so that commonly very little change in plant growth and yield results from modification of a single physiological process. Based on a few successful projects employing classical plant physiology to achieve crop yield increase, key characteristics for research projects that truly seek to increase plant performance in production systems are identified. Basically, the partnership between the fundamental and practical research long espoused for plant physiology needs to be re-established in an intimate and meaningful way. This paper was presented by invitation at the 2005 Kriton Hatzios Symposium of the Southern Section of the American Society of Plant Biologists. Florida Agricultural Experimental, Journal Series No. R-10954.
Received June 21, 2005
Accepted August 22, 2005
OPINION PAPER
Is a physiological perspective relevant in a ‘genocentric’ age?*
2 Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Arkansas, 1366 W. Altheimer Drive, Fayetteville, AR 72704, USA
Thomas R. Sinclair, E-mail: trsincl{at}ifas.ufl.edu
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