Scientists identify 100 important questions facing plant science

Posted on 16 March 2023 • Science, maths, computing and technology

An international panel of scientists, including Dr Yoseph Araya of The Open University, have identified 100 of the most important questions facing plant science.

The international initiative has identified key research priorities and highlights the importance of diversity, collaboration, and funding for plant research to tackle climate change, the biodiversity crisis and sustainable food production.

What are the key research priorities that will help tackle the global challenges of climate change, the biodiversity crises and feed a growing population in a sustainable way? Ten years after these priorities were first debated and summarised by a panel of scientists and published in New Phytologist, the panel reflects on the changes to plant science and the progress made to address these research areas, published today as a Letter in New Phytologist.

To re-evaluate research priorities, a new panel was formed in 2022 to provide an international perspective on the important areas for plant science research. This project, led by Prof. Claire Grierson (University of Bristol, UK), is a novel piece of research that gathered over 600 questions about plant science, from botanically curious members of the public to scientific and industrial leaders around the world.

A team of 20 plant scientists from 15 nations were assembled to identify 100 of the most important questions facing plant science.

These 100 questions are published today in a Viewpoint in New Phytologist and highlight how climate change, biodiversity loss, and interdisciplinary and international collaborations are critical global priorities across diverse plant science research fields. The study demonstrates how critically important plant scientists believe the fight against climate change is, highlights global disparities in science funding and showcases a diverse range of important future research topics.

Dr Araya, Senior Lecturer in Ecology & Environmental Science at the OU was involved as a panel member for Africa, in the collation, assessment and write-up of key topics in biodiversity, plant biology and food security.

On the research, Dr Araya said:

“I thoroughly enjoyed interacting with scientists and practitioners across the breadth of plant biology spread around the globe. The commonality of our challenges emphasises a concerted effort. This paper is one step towards setting our future agenda.”

This inclusive study demonstrates how a global community of plant scientists, with a wide range of expertise, view the strategic priorities for plant research and offers insight into how different areas of research are important to different global regions. The study emphasises how an inclusive, international exercise can be used to identify diverse research questions.

As panellist Dr Shyam Phartyal (Nalanda University, India) said:

“One of the most significant steps of this study is maintaining a high level of diversity – not only in question gathering but also in the selection of panellists from the Global South.”

Prof. Claire Grierson said:

“These two papers form a unique and valuable resource for researchers and newcomers to plant science, including collaborators on interdisciplinary projects, students and early career researchers, and for policy development”.

Together, these two papers provide an excellent introduction to how plant science is developing and the significance, range and depth of research that needs to be addressed.