One hundred important questions facing plant science research

Plant science has never been more important. The growing and increasingly prosperous human population needs abundant safe and nutritious food, shelter, clothes, fibre, and renewable energy, and needs to address the problems generated by climate change, while preserving habitats. These global challenges can only be met in the context of a strong fundamental understanding of plant biology and ecology, and translation of this knowledge into field-based solutions. Plant science is beginning to address these grand challenges, but it is not clear that the full range of challenges facing plant science is known or has been assessed. What questions should the next generation of plant biologists be addressing? To start to answer this question we set out to compile a list of 100 important questions facing plant science research. We had three main goals. We aimed to stimulate discussion amongst the plant science and related communities, and identify areas of research that would have a substantial impact. We hoped to encourage plant scientists to think beyond the limits of their own sphere of research and consider the most important research that could possibly be carried out. We sought to illustrate the importance and potential of plant science to the broader public. This paper addresses aims 1 and 2, but questions were selected with all three aims in mind. This is intended to be a starting point. Research priorities and challenges change continuously and unpredictably as new concerns and needs arise, and new knowledge is revealed, and it will be important to review and reassess this list in the future. Here we present, with brief explanations of their significance, our list of the important questions facing plant science research today. Questions were invited online over a 3-month period at http://www.100plantsciencequestions.org.uk/index.php. The website was publicized by email using distribution lists of plant scientists in the UK and abroad, on websites aimed at plant scientists and farmers, and in a press release, which led to coverage by some news websites and newspapers. The questions submitted to the website are listed in full at http://www.100plantsciencequestions.org.uk/viewquestions.php, along with the names of the people who submitted them, apart from a few cases where submitters chose to be anonymous. The online consultation process allowed input from contributors with a range of nationalities and experience. The full list of 350 questions was provided in advance to a panel of 15 individuals (Steve Barnes, Ruth Bastow, Mark Chase, Matthew Clarke, Claire Grierson, Alastair Fitter, Don Grierson, Keith Edwards, Graham Jellis, Jonathan Jones, Sandy Knapp, Giles Oldroyd, Guy Poppy, Paul Temple and Roger Williams) representing the academic, commercial and public service communities that produce or benefit from plant science research, and able to take part in a 2-d workshop at Bristol (UK) in 2009. During the process the list was reduced to 96 questions by mutual agreement, which we hope will stimulate more local variants particularly adapted to research and societal priorities in both the developing and developed world. Before the panel meeting the full list of 350 submitted questions was roughly organized into groups according to topic. Each panel member independently selected their top 20 questions and these lists were combined. During this process other possible questions under each topic were suggested and considered for inclusion. Each question selected by a panel member was discussed by the whole panel, along with other questions that addressed similar issues. The most important question on each topic was agreed upon by the whole panel and a final wording chosen. In some cases the panel decided that a new question was required, and the panel worked together to produce the wordings for these new questions. As plant science is a broad and diverse field, we provide brief explanations of the background, context and prospects for addressing each question with the aim of making the questions accessible to the broadest possible audience. There is no ideal way to divide the questions into topic areas. Many questions inevitably and desirably span more than one category, and some particularly substantial topics merit multiple questions. For the purposes of this paper, the panel decided to categorize the questions into five broad areas that reflect the breadth and depth of plant research discussed during the 2-d workshop: Society, Environment and adaptation, Species interactions, Understanding and utilizing plant cells, and Diversity. Here we consider the overall significance of plants and plant science to human society in general. We open with 10 questions that the panel felt encapsulated the most burning societal issues that should be addressed by plant science, followed by other societal questions selected by the panel. More specific biological questions in plant science follow in later sections. The 10 questions most important to society How do we feed our children’s children? By 2050 the world population will have reached c. 9 billion people. This will represent a tripling of the world population within the average lifetime of a single human being. The population is not only expanding, but also becoming more discerning, with greater demands for energy-intensive foods such as meat and dairy. Meeting these increasing food demands over the years to come requires a doubling of food production from existing levels. How are we going to achieve this? Through the cultivation of land currently covered in rainforests, through enhanced production from existing arable land or by changing people’s habits to change food consumption patterns and reduce food waste? The reality is probably a combination of all three. However, if we are to reduce the impact of food production on the remaining wilderness areas of the planet then we need significant investment in agricultural science and innovation to ensure maximum productivity on existing arable land. Which crops must be grown and which sacrificed, to feed the billions? The majority of agricultural land is used to cultivate the staple food crops wheat (Triticum aestivum), maize (Zea mays) and rice (Oryza sativa), the oil-rich crops soy (Glycine max), canola (Brassica napus), sunflower (Helianthus spp.) and oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) and commodity crops such as cotton (Gossypium spp.), tea (Camellia sinensis) and coffee (Coffea spp.). As the world population expands and meat consumption increases, there is a growing demand for staples and oil-rich crops for both human needs and animal feed. Without significant improvements in yields of these basic crop plants, we will experience a squeeze on agricultural land. It is therefore essential that we address the yield gap; the difference between future yield requirements and yields available with current technologies, management and gene pools. Otherwise we may be forced to choose between production of staple food crops to feed the world population and the production of luxury crops, such as tea, coffee, cocoa (Theobroma cacao), cotton, fruits and vegetables. When and how can we simultaneously deliver increased yields and reduce the environmental impact of agriculture? The first green revolution of the late 1950s and early 1960s generated unprecedented growth in food production. However, these achievements have come at some cost to the environment, and they will not keep pace with future growth in the world population. We need creative and energetic plant breeding programmes for the major crops world-wide, with a strong public sector component. We need to explore all options for better agronomic practice, including better soil management and smarter intercropping, especially in the tropics. Finally, we need to be able to deploy existing methods of genetic modification that reduce losses to pests, disease and weeds, improve the efficiency of fertilizer use and increase drought tolerance. We also need to devise methods to improve photosynthetic efficiency, and move the capacity for nitrogen fixation from legumes to other crops. These are all desirable and, with public support, feasible goals. What are the best ways to control invasive species including plants, pests and pathogens? Invasive species are an increasingly significant threat to our environment, economy, health and well-being. Most are nonindigenous (evolved elsewhere and accidentally introduced) and have been removed from the constraints regulating growth in their native habitat. The best method of control is to prevent establishment in the first place or to quickly identify establishment and adopt an eradication programme. However, if an invasive species becomes established many of the options for removal can cause environmental damage, for example chemical control or mechanical excavation. Biological control (introduction of a natural predator/pathogen) can work well as long as the control organism targets only the invasive species. Otherwise there is a risk that the control organism might also become an invasive species. Alternatives, such as manipulating existing natural enemies and/or the environment to enhance biological control, are also being developed. Sustainable solutions are required if we are to deal with the continually growing problem of invasive species. Considering two plants obtained for the same trait, one by genetic modification and one by traditional plant breeding techniques, are there differences between those two plants that justify special regulation? The products of traditional plant breeding are subject to no special regulations, even though the wild sources of germplasm often used by breeders may contain new components that have not been assessed before. A plant derived by genetic modification, however, is highly regulated, even though the target genotype and the modification itself may both be highly characterized and accepted as innocuous for their intended use. This is a major exception to the norm for safety regulation in food and other areas, which is normally based on the properties of the object being regulated. It is important for food safety and for the public’s perception of science and technology in general to establish whether there are any objective differences between these groups of products that justify the different approaches to their regulation. How can plants contribute to solving the energy crisis and ameliorating global warming? Plants use solar energy to power the conversion of CO2 into plant materials such as starch and cell walls. Plant material can be burnt or fermented to release heat energy or make fuels such as ethanol or diesel. There is interest in using algae (unicellular aquatic plants) to capture CO2 emissions from power stations at source. Biomass cellulose crops such as Miscanthus × giganteus (Poaceae) are already being burnt with coal at power stations. There is understandable distaste for using food crops such as wheat and maize for fuel, but currently 30% of the US maize crop is used for ethanol production, and sustainable solutions are being found. Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) significantly reduces Brazil’s imports of fossil fuels. Agave (Agavea fourcroydes) in hot arid regions can provide very high yields (> 30 T ha−1) of dry matter with low water inputs compared with other crops. To ameliorate global warming, CO2 must be taken out of the air and not put back. There is considerable interest in ‘biochar’ in which plant material is heated without air to convert the carbon into charcoal. In this form, carbon cannot readily re-enter the air, and, if added to the soil, can increase fertility. Carbon markets do not currently provide sufficient incentive for farmers to grow crops simply to take CO2 out of the air. How do plants contribute to the ecosystem services upon which humanity depends? Ecosystem services are those benefits we human beings derive from nature. They can be loosely divided into supporting (e.g. primary production and soil formation), provisioning (e.g. food, fibre and fuel), regulating (e.g. climate regulation and disease regulation) and cultural (e.g. aesthetic and recreational) services. Plants are largely responsible for primary production and therefore are critical for maintaining human well-being, but they also contribute in many other ways. The Earth receives virtually no external inputs apart from sunlight, and the regenerative processes of biological and geochemical recycling of matter are essential for life to be sustained. Plants drive much of the recycling of carbon, nitrogen, water, oxygen, and much more. 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