Quantitative genetics underpins plant breeding and understanding of trait variation. The increasing availability of high densities of genetic markers, genome sequences and advanced germplasm resources in most plant species, including major crops, presents many new opportunities for accelerated breeding. This special issue brings together a collection of papers looking at opportunities and applications of quantitative genetics in a range of plant species. Guest editors:Alison R. Bentley, The John Bingham Laboratory, NIAB and Lindsey J. Compton, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham

We are pleased to announce the winners of the first annual prize for the best student-led paper in Heredity. The quality of papers was in general very high but the award for this year goes to Donald McKnight, from James Cook University. We would like to thank all of the authors for submitting their research to Heredity and specifically congratulate those contributing to the long- and short-listed papers.

As a follow-up to the discussion started by the recent Heredity paper by Jensen and Lynch, "Considering mutational meltdown as a potential SARS-CoV-2 treatment strategy”, we have assembled a collection of papers from the Heredity archive that emphasise the contribution that population genetics theory and analyses have contributed to understanding the evolution of viruses. There is a much larger collection of those concerned with plant viruses (particularly in relation to crops) but here we have focused on those with implications for human or animal health.

See what scientists world-wide have been citing and sharing. In this Web Focus we highlight a selection of articles from 2019, which top the list of the journal’s most cited and most shared (including press coverage, blogs, Twitter, Facebook and Weibo). They showcase the breadth of scope and coverage that the journal consistently delivers to its readers.

I took over as editor-in-chief of Heredity in July, 2016 but agreed to stay on for an additional term because of the Genetics Society Centenary in 2019. It has been an exciting year for the Genetics Society and it has been a pleasure to be involved. There have been Centenary events scattered throughout the year (http://www.genetics.org.uk/centenary/) but highlights for me were: International Mendel day (see the paper by Daniel Fairbanks based on his presentation at this event: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41437-019-0289-9); the Chelsea Flower Show (a particularly rewarding public engagement event because of genuine interest in genetics among gardeners); the Centenary birthday party at the John Innes Centre (with a particularly inspiring talk by Sir Paul Nurse, along with DNA cocktails and a commissioned song that set the tone for the dinner); and the Century of Genetics conference in Edinburgh (combining centenaries for both the Genetics Society and Animal Genetics at the Roslin Institute). We also published a fascinating special issue in Heredity, which featured personal perspectives from past presidents of the Genetics Society (https://www.nature.com/hdy/volumes/123/issues/1), put together by guest editor Allison Woollard. We also are continuing to make changes at Heredity, to improve the author experience and to make sure that the journal is as relevant for the genetics community in its 72nd year as it was in its first. We have recently updated the remit and have added a new “computer notes” category; we have added an annual prize for best student paper; we have stopped charging for colour so publishing is now free unless authors choose gold open access; we are working with Springer Nature to make the initial submission process for authors easier, to develop a direct submission portal through BioRxiv, to improve social media presence, and take active measures to encourage open access publishing; we encourage authors to submit blogs as part of the Nature Ecology and Evolution Community. Our editorial assistant, Sandra Huettenbuegel, hired by the Genetics Society, provides a point of personal contact and ensures that the process is as efficient and author/reviewer friendly as possible. The focus at Heredity is on quality rather than quantity and we aim to select papers for publication that will have broad appeal to the wide readership of the journal. To highlight the breadth of focus of the journal and the expertise of our editorial team, I asked our Associate Editors to highlight papers that they handled in the past year. We have put together a web collection of these papers, with a commentary from the editors. We will also be featuring podcasts with our editors throughout the next year; you can hear the first interview with Alison Bentley here (https://www.nature.com/hdy/podcast). Barbara Mable Editor-in-Chief, Heredity

This year marks the centenary of the UK Genetics Society, founded amidst the clash of ideas following the rediscovery of Mendel’s work in the early twentieth century. It’s an important opportunity to reflect on our progress in understanding the nature of heredity. In this special issue, we celebrate the centenary through the ideas of its Presidents, past and present. They weren’t given much of a brief - just a platform to discuss their work, and that of others, their many joys, and their thoughts of the past and for the future. The result is a hugely enjoyable and distinctive collection of articles that poses many new questions.

See what scientists world-wide have been citing and sharing. In this Web Focus we highlight a selection of articles from 2018 which top the list of the journal’s most cited and most shared (including press coverage, blogs, Twitter, Facebook and Weibo). They showcase the breadth of scope and coverage that the journal consistently delivers to its readers.

In celebration of International Women's Day this year, we have put together a collection of papers by some prominent female geneticists who have published in Heredity. In each case, we are highlighting their oldest lead author publication in the journal, as well as their most recent contribution, excluding conference abstracts.

This Special Issue focuses on a combination of microbial experimental evolution with next-generation sequencing, and theoretical modelling to advance our understanding of the predictability of evolution, particularly in the light of “big data”.

This Special Issue provides an important snapshot of the state of the adaptive epigenetic inheritance field, highlighting both its evolutionary consequences and important directions for its future development.

In this Web Focus we highlight a selection of articles from 2016 and 2017 which top the list of the journal’s most cited and most shared (including press coverage, blogs, Twitter, Facebook and Weibo). They showcase the breadth of scope and coverage that the journal consistently delivers to its readers.