Perspectives

Plants often need to bend their organs during their growth and development. It is a complex process, and the different mechanisms involved are discussed in the light of recent findings about genes, signalling, modelling and biomechanics.

This Perspective reviews recent advances in crop transformation technologies that promise to lead to the widespread adoption of genome editing in crop species.

CLE peptides control stem-cell activity in meristems. Recent studies in Marchantia and Arabidopsis support the idea that an ancestral function of CLE peptides was to promote stem cells. After gene duplication in angiosperms, a subset of CLE peptides became stem-cell suppressors.

This Perspective analyses how biological and economic factors determine whether a commercial plant breeder will opt for a hybrid breeding system, and finds that the cost of seed production is a key factor.

Plant malectin-like receptor kinases (also known as CrRLK1Ls) have functions in plant development such as pollen tube growth and cell wall integrity sensing. This Perspective reviews recent evidence suggesting a critical role of these receptors in plant immunity.

Remote sensing methods enable detection of solar-induced chlorophyll a fluorescence. However, to unleash the full potential of this signal, intensive cross-disciplinary work is required to harmonize biophysical and ecophysiological studies.

While diurnal cycling of carbon and water use are critical for plant and ecosystem research, existing polar-orbiting satellites are incapable of providing such measurements. This Perspective evaluates the potential contributions of new satellites and platforms for Earth system models.

This Perspective discusses the applications of nanotechnology and artificial intelligence in agriculture, highlighting the opportunities and challenges of using these technologies to achieve sustainable and precision agriculture.

How do plants acquire their shape? In this Perspective, the authors discuss how morphogenesis and patterning occur in the Arabidopsis shoot apical meristem, and the benefits of computational modelling to understand this complex process.

Increases in tree mortality affect the ability of forests to absorb and store atmospheric carbon, but how the largest trees die is still relatively understudied. This Perspective posits and examines several biotic and abiotic drivers affecting these trees and their disproportionate impacts.

Agriculture attempts to satisfy the demand for food of a growing human population but contributes to environmental degradation. However, there are technological options for agriculture to deliver food security and potentially reduce atmospheric CO₂.

Asia has a rich variety of nutritious ‘neglected crops’, including cereals, roots and pulses. Adopting a diverse cropping portfolio using these forgotten crops is a promising approach to closing the current production and nutrition gaps.

All living organisms require proper environmental pH for normal growth and development. Unlike in bacteria, fungi and animal cells, the mechanisms for environmental pH sensing in plants are underexamined. In this Perspective, the authors summarize the current understanding of the process in various organisms and propose possible molecular mechanisms underlying the perception of external pH in plants.

The landscape of forest and human activity is ever shifting, but new large-scale trends are causing exceptional changes and potential space for new conservation and development for communities dependent on forests.

This perspective highlights the new species-independent analytical tools with a focus on plant nanosensors and portable Raman spectroscopy, and evaluates their applications in agriculture, such as detecting plant stresses and monitoring crop physiology.

Genebanks are repositories of genetic diversity, and getting the seeds to the facilities depends on committed researchers going, if necessary, into war-torn areas in order to save and transport their resources. This narrative recounts one such journey and the system that underpins these facilities and individuals.

The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 2 encompasses targets ranging from the eradication of hunger and malnutrition to ensuring a sustainable food production system. Conflicts between these goals gives rise to gaps in our understanding that hamper attempts at evidence-based policy-making.

This Perspective discusses the genetic approaches to study auxin signalling and the limitations due to redundancy of the major components of this pathway, namely ARFs and Aux/IAAs. The authors make a case for a renewal of genetic analyses using multiple mutants.

One consequence of climate change is an increased frequency of flood and drought episodes. This Perspective explores how water availability regulates root architecture and water transport capacity (hydraulics), from sensing mechanisms to novel responses.

This Perspective summarizes recent advances made on in planta haploid induction systems and how these advances contribute to our understanding of plant reproduction and innovations of plant breeding.