Introducing the Future Crops Collection
2
We are excited to be launching our Future Crops Collection, the result of an interdisciplinary call for papers convened
by PLOS
ONE and our fabulous team of Guest Editors. The theme of the
Collection encompasses a broad range of research aimed at the development and
delivery of resilient, climate-smart crops and cropping systems for the 21st century. We are pleased that the Collection
features research articles that span a considerable diversity of crop species,
geographical locations, and fields of research.
All submitted research was evaluated by the Guest Editors, who
have selected articles for inclusion in the Collection. At the time of launch,
there are twenty-one research articles featured in the Collection- and
discussed below- but more papers will be added as they are published over the
coming weeks.
Wheat is the focus of three articles featured in the initial
Collection release. In South Africa, Mathew and colleagues used a panel of 100
genotypes to perform a genome-wide association study of drought tolerance and
biomass allocation (1). They identified a number of markers for further validation
and application in breeding programmes. Meanwhile, in Germany, Dadshani and
colleagues evaluated salinity tolerance in lines resulting from back-crossing
synthetic hexaploid wheat with an elite winter wheat cultivar (2). The
back-crossed lines showed enhanced performance relative to the parents on a
range of measures, suggesting potential for application in future breeding for
salinity tolerance and other
desirable traits. Finally, in Hungary, Balla and colleagues
investigated the influence of the timing and duration of heat stress on
responses shown by winter wheat cultivars (3). The researchers found
substantial heterogeneity in response profiles among cultivars, highlighting
the importance of leveraging existing genetic diversity in breeding efforts.
Five studies among the first batch of Collection articles focus
on maize. In Brazil, Couto and colleagues looked at whether the F1 or F2
generation represented the better choice for haploid induction, a cornerstone
of maize breeding (4). Their results suggest that, for tropical germplasm, the
F1 generation showed a superior balance between time saving and genetic
variability. Erasmus and colleagues in South Africa introgressed a Bt transgene
into an open-pollinated maize variety and quantified the concentration of the
defensive Cry1Ab protein accumulated in maize tissues, as well as the survival
of maize stalk borer larvae in the transgenic plants (5). They found that
introgression of the transgene could produce plant progenies that express
Cry1Ab at sufficient concentrations to control pest larvae. In China, Li and
colleagues evaluated the utility of fitting large-effect SNPs as fixed effects
and including a genotype-by-environment component in modelling genomic
selection for developmental traits (6). This approach improved prediction
accuracy and could find application in future maize breeding strategies. Cuello
and colleagues in France used a multiscale systems approach to examine the
genetic basis of maize cell wall degradability (7). Their results shed light on
the regulatory mechanisms by which a major locus influences cell wall
degradability, and lay the foundations for future engineering of cell wall
properties. Finally, Ewing and colleagues in the USA uncovered evidence for a
‘home field advantage’ in maize breeding, whereby genotype-by-environment
interactions can be exploited to develop varieties with reliable high
productivity in narrow environments (8).
Four articles now available in the Collection investigate rice
biology and cultivation. In China, Fang and colleagues analysed the
transcriptome of the rice leaf streak pathogen under oxidative stress, finding
evidence that key components of the stress response are derived from horizontal
gene transfer (9). Working in the USA, Kraus and Stout explored the potential
of methyl jasmonate seed treatment for the induction of resistance to rice
water weevil (10). They found that the treatment was effective, despite some
reductions in plant growth. In Japan, Ogawa and colleagues demonstrated the
potential of unmanned aerial vehicles and image analysis to quantify rice plant
architecture under field conditions (11). Meanwhile, in Germany, Bierschenk and
colleagues screened rice wild relative genotypes for tolerance to iron toxicity
(12). They uncovered significant levels of variation in tolerance among
genotypes, suggesting potential for the use of interspecific crosses to produce
more stress-resilient cultivars.
Two other cereal crops appear in the first batch of Collection
articles. Sakamoto and colleagues, working in Japan, compared the effect of
shape quantification method selection on the results of genomic prediction and
genome wide association studies of seed morphology in sorghum (13). They found
that choice of direction and scaling standardisation procedures affected the
results of the analyses. Meanwhile, in the USA, Palmer and colleagues compared
the transcriptomes of two switchgrass cultivars during leaf development (14).
Their results highlight differences between cultivars in the expression of genes
encoding proteins involved in environmental signal transduction.
Fruit crops are the focus of three articles highlighted in the
Collection. In Canada, Marty and colleagues looked at the impact of competition
from weeds on blueberry growth and fruit yield under different nitrogen
fertilisation regimes (15). They concluded that inorganic nitrogen fertilisers
were most effective at improving yield, but that this effect was mediated by
the identity and density of neighbouring weeds. In the USA, Hendrickson and
colleagues found evidence for pre-climacteric activation of alternative oxidase
transcription in pear fruit during cold-induced ripening (16). Finally, in
Spain, Garmendia and colleagues performed a systematic review of studies of
role of gibberellic acid in citrus flowering and fruiting, finding strong
evidence in support of a number of hypotheses (17).
Many other crop species are also represented in the Future Crops
Collection. In the UK, Huang and colleagues found that a quantitative trait
locus (QTL) for resistance against fungal blackleg infection in leaves of young
oilseed rape plants overlapped with a QTL for quantitative resistance in stems
of adult plants (18). Meanwhile, in Bhutan, Katwal and Bazile performed the
first trials of quinoa varieties in the Himalayan context (19). They describe
the potential for quinoa production in the country’s mountainous environments,
and initiatives underway to promote its adoption. In the USA, Sharpe and
colleagues investigated the effects of organic and conventional fertilisers on
the phytonutrient and transcriptomic profiles of tomato fruit and leaf tissues
(20). They found evidence for transcriptional and metabolic adaptation to the
different fertiliser regimes, with implications for future breeding strategies.
Finally, one paper featured in the first batch to be highlighted
in the Collection focuses on the contribution of crop diversification to
agricultural intensification in India during recent decades (21). Smith and
colleagues emphasised the importance of considering multiple spatial scales
when analysing changes in crop diversity and production through time, with
important lessons for modelling future trends.
The breadth of research submitted to our Future Crops call for
papers meant that we relied on the time and expertise of many members of PLOS
ONE’s editorial board for this project, and we extend our sincere
thanks to them for all their invaluable contributions.
If you’re interested in keeping up to date with the latest
research in Crops, Food Security and Food Systems, check out our PLOS Channel. Keep an eye out too for an exciting announcement about a
new PLOS
ONE Collection on plant phenotyping, with a Call for Papers to
be launched in the coming weeks!
About the Guest Editors
Gert Kema
Gert Kema has 33 years of experience in plant pathology, host and
pathogen genetics and genomics, specializing in foliar diseases of cereals and
banana. Since five years major lead of international programs on Fusarium wilt
in banana. Published over 100 peer reviewed scientific articles, holder of
patents and international speaker. Interests are plant diseases (in the
tropics) and their management and food security. He obtained a BSc degree in
agronomy and a MSc in plant breeding. He obtained his PhD in 1996 on research
into Zymoseptoria
tritici, the Septoria tritici blotch
fungus of wheat. Currently he also holds a special chair as professor of
tropical plant pathology and heads the Department of Phytopathology at
Wageningen University, The Netherlands. His research focus is currently on
banana and the fungal pathogens causing Panama disease (Fusarium spp.)
and Black Sigatoka (Pseudocercospora fijiensis). He is
a co-founder of three companies related to banana crop and cultivation
innovation. Dr Kema is also a Channel Editor for the PLOS Crops, Food Security and Food Systems Channel.
Lee Hickey
Dr Lee Hickey is a Senior Research Fellow and ARC DECRA Fellow at The
University of Queensland in Australia who conducts discovery and applied
research on major food crops like wheat and barley. This includes the genetic
dissection of key traits that limit productivity on farms and the development
of novel technologies to assist plant breeders. Dr Hickey has played a pivotal
role in developing crop ‘speed breeding’ technology for rapid generation
advance, which enables growing up to six generations of major crops per year
and dramatically reduces the length of the breeding cycle. Speed breeding is
adopted by research institutes and companies around the world and is
fast-tracking development of more productive and robust crop varieties for
farmers. For his speed breeding innovation, Dr Hickey was awarded the 2017
Queensland Young Tall Poppy Scientist of the Year. He is passionate about
training the next generation of plant breeders and communicating plant science to
the broader community.
Sean Mayes
Sean Mayes BA (Hons), PhD, is an Associate Professor in Crop Genetics
in the University of Nottingham and Theme Leader/Mentor with Crops For the
Future in Malaysia. He joined the University in 2004 and was made an Associate
Professor in 2008. During a leave of absence between 2012 and 2015 he was based
in Malaysia while helping to establish Crops For the Future as a programme and
theme leader. He still runs research groups in both UK and CFF, as well as
collaborating with researchers at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus
and is co-director of the CFF-UNMC-Doctoral Training Partnership. His research
interests are focused around the use of marker assisted selection within crop
species and he has research in wheat, oil palm and a number of minor or
underutilised crops, including bambara groundnut; an African drought tolerant
legume. He has developed and applied genetic markers to a wide range of species
(including studying population structures within insect populations) and many
tropical crop species. In 2016 he took over the chief editor position for
Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering Reviews and has just co-edited a
comprehensive book on oil palm breeding, genetics and. To date, he has
published over 100 peer reviewed journal articles.
Rob Sharwood
Dr Sharwood completed his PHD at ANU in 2006 in Plant Sciences and
then moved to the Boyce Thompson Institute at Cornell University to understand
the intricacies of chloroplast gene regulation. In 2010 he returned to the
Hawkesbury Institute, UWS to continue an independent photosynthesis research
program focusing on C4 grasses, Eucalypts and Cotton. Currently, he is a Senior
Lecturer within the ARC Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis
at the Research School of Biology, ANU. The overarching theme of his research
is to improve plant productivity under future climates. This will be achieved
by deciphering chloroplast gene regulatory mechanisms critical for engineering
chloroplasts. The second theme of his research is to understand the adaptive
evolution of Rubisco catalysis within food and fibre crops to provide the next
generation solutions for tailoring CO2 fixation to variable future climate
conditions. He also works within the Cotton Industry to translate fundamental
research into future cotton crops to improve resource use and mitigate climate
extremes. Dr Sharwood is also a Channel Editor for the PLOS Crops, Food Security and Food Systems Channel.
Zerihun Tadele
Dr Tadele is Group Leader at the Institute of Plant Sciences,
University of Bern in Switzerland and Adjunct Associate Professor at Addis
Ababa University, Institute of Biotechnology in Ethiopia. He is also a member
of CDE (Centre for Development and Environment) at the University of Bern. He
received PhD from the University of Basel and habilitation from the University
of Bern. He is interested in contributing to global food security through
improving productivity of orphan crops from the developing world. His current
research focuses on tef (Eragrostis tef), an important
indigenous cereal in the Horn of Africa which is annually cultivated on over
three million ha of land and is a staple food for over 60 million people in
Ethiopia alone. Tef is a versatile crop which performs better than most other
cereals under extreme climatic and soil conditions. It is also considered as a
life style crop due to its nutritional- and health-related benefits. Using
genetic and genomic tools, his group focuses on tackling major yield limiting
factors in tef. Dr Tadele’s group closely works with the Ethiopian Agricultural
Research System in developing and disseminating improved tef varieties to
farmers. Dr Tadele is also a Channel Editor for the PLOS Crops, Food Security and Food Systems Channel.
Sieglinde
Snapp
Sieglinde Snapp is a Professor of Soils and Cropping Systems Ecology and
Associate Director of the Center for Global Change and Earth Observations,
Michigan State University. She has been a member of the American Society of
Agronomy and Soil Science Society of America since 1983, was elected a fellow
in 2010, awarded the International Service Award in 2015, and Fulbright
Fellowships in 2009 and 2016. She has published two text books, 128 journal
articles and dozens of extension bulletins as well as an innovative learning lab website for sustainable land management and food security in
Africa.She carries out participatory action research and extension in Malawi
and the region, to support co-generation of agronomic knowledge, and
disseminate. Her highly collaborative approach to sustainable systems science
has brought to the world’s attention the inadvertent negative consequences,
tradeoffs and synergies of sole versus diversified cropping, and the urgent
need for biologically sound soil and crop management. She co-edited the text
book ‘Agricultural Systems’ and is ‘Mother of the Mother and Baby Trial
Design’, used in over 30 countries by agricultural scientists to communicate
with farmers and extension educators, in support of relevant, adaptive
research. Open science to engage stakeholders in agricultural systems design is
her current focus, as a key component of contested agronomy approaches to
sustainable agriculture.
Olivia Wilkins
Olivia Wilkins leads the Plant Systems Biology research group at McGill
University. She received her PhD from the University of Toronto in 2010. From
2011 to 2015, she was an NSERC postdoctoral researcher at the Centre for Genomics
and Systems Biology at New York University where she collaborated extensively
with scientists at the International Rice Research Institute. In 2015, she was
a Visiting Scientist at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT. In 2013, she
was awarded a Basic Research to Enable Agricultural Development Award from the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Her lab studies the effect of water and
temperature extremes on early development of cereal crops. She is particularly
interested in regulatory network prediction and the interplay between episodic
stressors and photoperiod. Her research group will be moving to the University
of Manitoba in July 2019.
Kate Tully
Dr Kate Tully is the Assistant Professor of Agroecology in the
Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture at the University of
Maryland. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English, Spanish, and Biology from
Kenyon College and a master’s and doctorate in Ecology from the University of Virginia.
She conducted her postdoctoral research at Columbia University’s Earth
Institute, where she studied the environmental impacts of the African Green
Revolution. Her research assesses the sustainability of food production systems
by examining how they affect the interactions between plants, soils, carbon,
nutrient, and water cycles.
Sophien Kamoun
Sophien Kamoun grew up in Tunisia where he developed a passion and
curiosity about nature. He studied genetics in Paris and Davis, California,
before working in Wageningen, Ohio and Norwich, where he is currently a Senior
Scientist at The Sainsbury Laboratory and Professor of Biology at The
University of East Anglia. He is known for his seminal contributions to our
understanding of plant diseases and plant immunity. Professor Kamoun pioneered
genomics and molecular biology methods to reveal fundamental insights into the
biology and evolution of eukaryotic plant pathogens. He discovered virulence
effector families from pathogenic oomycetes and fungi, and showed how they can
modulate plant immunity. He demonstrated how antagonistic coevolution with host
plants has impacted the architecture of pathogen genomes, accelerated the
evolution of effector genes, and drove the emergence of immune receptors
networks. His inventive work in plant pathology has resulted in new approaches
to mitigate some of the world’s most serious crop diseases. Professor Kamoun
has received many awards and recognitions, notably the Kuwait Prize and The
Linnean Medal.
References
1. Mathew I, Shimelis H, Shayanowako AIT, Laing M,
Chaplot V (2019) Genome-wide association study of drought tolerance and biomass
allocation in wheat. PLoS ONE 14(12): e0225383. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0225383
2. Dadshani S, Sharma RC, Baum M, Ogbonnaya FC, Léon J,
Ballvora A (2019) Multi-dimensional evaluation of response to salt stress in
wheat. PLoS ONE 14(9): e0222659. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0222659
3. Balla K, Karsai I, Bónis P, Kiss T, Berki Z, Horváth
Á, et al. (2019) Heat stress responses in a large set of winter wheat cultivars
(Triticum
aestivum) depend on the timing and duration of stress. PLoS ONE
14(9): e0222639. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0222639
4. Couto EGdO, Cury MN, Bandeira e Souza M, Granato ÍSC,
Vidotti MS, Domingos Garbuglio D, et al. (2019) Effect of F1and F2 generations
on genetic variability and working steps of doubled haploid production in
maize. PLoS ONE 14(11): e0224631. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0224631
5. Erasmus R, Pieters R, Du Plessis H, Hilbeck A,
Trtikova M, Erasmus A, et al. (2019) Introgression of a cry1Abtransgene
into open pollinated maize and its effect on Cry protein concentration and
target pest survival. PLoS ONE 14(12): e0226476. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0226476
6. Li D, Xu Z, Gu R, Wang P, Lyle D, Xu J, et al. (2019)
Enhancing genomic selection by fitting large-effect SNPs as fixed effects and a
genotype-by-environment effect using a maize BC1F3:4 PLoS ONE 14(10): e0223898. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0223898
7. Cuello C, Baldy A, Brunaud V, Joets J, Delannoy E,
Jacquemot M-P, et al. (2019) A systems biology approach uncovers a gene
co-expression network associated with cell wall degradability in maize. PLoS
ONE 14(12): e0227011. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0227011
8. Ewing PM, Runck BC, Kono TYJ, Kantar MB (2019) The
home field advantage of modern plant breeding. PLoS ONE 14(12): e0227079. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0227079
9. Fang Y, Wang H, Liu X, Xin D, Rao Y, Zhu B (2019)
Transcriptome analysis of Xanthomonas oryzaeoryzicola exposed
to H2O2 reveals
horizontal gene transfer contributes to its oxidative stress response. PLoS ONE
14(10): e0218844. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0218844
10. Kraus EC, Stout MJ (2019) Seed treatment using methyl
jasmonate induces resistance to rice water weevil but reduces plant
growth in rice. PLoS ONE 14(9): e0222800. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0222800
11. Ogawa D, Sakamoto T, Tsunematsu H, Yamamoto T, Kanno
N, Nonoue Y, et al. (2019) Surveillance of panicle positions by unmanned aerial
vehicle to reveal morphological features of rice. PLoS ONE 14(10):
e0224386. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0224386
12. Bierschenk B, Tagele MT, Ali B, Ashrafuzzaman Md, Wu
L-B, Becker M, et al. (2020) Evaluation of rice wild relatives as a source of traits
for adaptation to iron toxicity and enhanced grain quality. PLoS ONE 15(1):
e0223086. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0223086
13. Sakamoto L, Kajiya-Kanegae H, Noshita K, Takanashi H,
Kobayashi M, Kudo T, et al. (2019) Comparison of shape quantification methods
for genomic prediction, and genome-wide association study of sorghum seed
morphology. PLoS ONE 14(11): e0224695. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0224695
14. Palmer NA, Chowda-Reddy RV, Muhle AA, Tatineni S,
Yuen G, Edmé SJ, et al. (2019) Transcriptome divergence during leaf development
in two contrasting switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) cultivars. PLoS
ONE 14(9): e0222080. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0222080
15. Marty C, Lévesque J-A, Bradley RL, Lafond J, Paré MC
(2019) Lowbush blueberry fruit yield and growth response to inorganic and
organic N-fertilization when competing with two common weed species. PLoS ONE
14(12): e0226619. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0226619
16. Hendrickson C, Hewitt S, Swanson ME, Einhorn T,
Dhingra A (2019) Evidence for pre-climacteric activation of AOX transcription
during cold-induced conditioning to ripen in European pear (Pyrus
communis). PLoS ONE 14(12): e0225886. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0225886
17. Garmendia A, Beltrán R, Zornoza C, García-Breijo FJ,
Reig J, Merle H (2019) Gibberellic acid in Citrus flowering and
fruiting: A systematic review. PLoS ONE 14(9): e0223147. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0223147
18. Huang Y-J, Paillard S, Kumar V, King GJ, Fitt BDL,
Delourme R (2019) Oilseed rape (Brassica napus) resistance to
growth of Leptosphaeria maculansin leaves of
young plants contributes to quantitative resistance in stems of adult plants.
PLoS ONE 14(9): e0222540. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0222540
19. Katwal TB, Bazile D (2020) First adaptation of quinoa
in the Bhutanese mountain agriculture systems. PLoS ONE 15(1): e0219804. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0219804
20. Sharpe RM, Gustafson L, Hewitt S, Kilian B, Crabb J,
Hendrickson C, et al. (2020) Concomitant phytonutrient and transcriptome
analysis of mature fruit and leaf tissues of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.
cv. Oregon Spring) grown using organic and conventional fertilizer. PLoS ONE
15(1): e0227429. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0227429
21. Smith JC, Ghosh A, Hijmans RJ (2019) Agricultural
intensification was associated with crop diversification in India (1947-2014).
PLoS ONE 14(12): e0225555. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0225555
2
Jamie
Males
·
Jamie received an undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences
from the University of Oxford, where he became especially fascinated by plant
ecophysiology, before undertaking a PhD in Plant Sciences at the University of
Cambridge. His doctoral research focussed on the evolutionary physiology and
ecology of one of the largest families of tropical plants. He has extensive
experience of fieldwork in the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, and
Australia, and has participated in a range of science education and outreach
initiatives. Through interacting with researchers in the developing world,
Jamie developed an interest in science communication and the opportunities of
Open Access publishing, leading him to join PLOS ONE in June 2017.
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Rice exports grew 26.30% as 2.02 million tons
in firs half of FY 2019-20
January 20, 2020
118
ISLAMABAD, Jan 20 (APP):Rice exports from the country during
first half of current financial year grew by 26.30% as compared the exports of
the corresponding period of last year.
During the period from July-December 2019-20, rice over 2.020
million metric tons worth $1.033 billion exported as compared to the exports of
1.587 million tons valuing $817.923 million of same period of last year.
According the latest trade data released by the Pakistan Bureau
of Statistics, exports of Basmati rice witnessed overwhelming growth of 55.89%
as about 415,083 metric tons of above mentioned commodity worth $380.623
million exported as compared to the exports of 241,491 metric tons valuing
$244.169 million of same period of last year.
Meanwhile, exports of rice other then Basmati also grew by
13.71% during the period under review as 1,605,613 metric tons of rice worth
$652.428 million exported as against 1,345,961 metric tons valuing $573.754
million of same period of last year.
However, on month on month basis, rice exports decreased by
8.19% in December, 2019 as 403,923 metric tons of rice valuing $197.185 million
against exports of 431,744 metric tons of same month of last year.
It is worth mentioning here that in first six months of current
financial year, food group exports from the country witnessed 10.96% growth as
food commodities worth $2.199 billion exported as compared to the exports of
$1.994 billion of same period of last year.
On the other hand, food imports during the period under review decreased by 13.48% as it came down from $2.966 billion in July-December, 2018-19 to $2.556 billion in same month of current financial year.
On the other hand, food imports during the period under review decreased by 13.48% as it came down from $2.966 billion in July-December, 2018-19 to $2.556 billion in same month of current financial year.
The other food commodities that witnessed positive growth in
their respective exports included fish and fish products by 22.56%, vegetables
40.44% and meat and meat products 51.89%.
The import of the food commodities that had witnessed negative
growth included milk, cream and milk for infants 26.69%, wheat 0%, dry fruits
nuts 9.96% tea imports reduced by 24.12%, the data revealed.
