Reading through the past ten years of Trends in Plant Science, we can see impressive progress in our understanding of plant science. Focusing on the model plant Arabidopsis was crucial for this progress, but we need to keep the momentum going. The molecular plant community is still small compared with other life science disciplines, and funding remains problematic in many countries. The research is time consuming and so the need for cooperation and exchange of materials and experience remains high. In spite of all the progress we have made, many questions still remain. In particular, we need better in vitro systems to study cell biology and to gain a deeper understanding of epigenetics, hybrid vigor, the dynamics of the chromatin domains, and the flow and function of microRNA.
However, some of the most riveting aspects of modern plant science are plant biotechnology and molecular breeding. Many new tools have helped to unravel the molecular basis of plant genetics, heredity, and growth and development, which has led to high expectations among consumers. Now we are faced with the challenge of applying this knowledge to improve crop plants used in food, feed and industrial production. Twenty years ago, it was shown that even without this detailed knowledge, the mere addition of a well chosen gene could bring tremendous advantages. Since 1996, Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer has enabled us to produce GM-varieties of corn, soya and cotton, which were grown on more than 500 million ha of land. But it is important to remember the role that plant breeders play in developing these crops. Plant breeding has a long history – thousands of years ago, primitive farmers already understood the benefit of selecting plants so that they could use the best seeds in the following season.
This tradition continues today and, with the aid of sophisticated molecular technologies, plant breeders aim to develop new improved varieties adapted to each region of our planet. Therefore, it is imperative that the best of our molecular knowledge be shared with breeders so that this can happen efficiently. Let us hope that using the best of our molecular technologies for improving plant breeding will make this discipline more attractive to competitive students. Both the developing and developed world have an urgent need for experienced molecular breeders.
The economic and environmental benefits of developments such as Bt-cotton cannot remain the sole privilege of the developed world.This issue of Trends in Plant Science summarizes and discusses some pioneering work in constructing new pathways in plants. Through such approaches it should be possible to engineer valuable crop varieties. Reports from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) continue to stress the need for greater quantities of food and for a much better quality of food for fighting malnutrition. Science goes on proving that it can deliver the improved crops requested. Let us hope that the professional organizations of scientists, the many academics and the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU) can convince the FAO, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and many other important organizations that we urgently need to create the structures that will allow production of these improved crops in the developing countries. Capacity building and technology transfer is an essential prerequisite for economic and democratic development of the so-called Third World, which will soon be home to 85% of the world’s population.
Recombinant DNA Safety Considerations: Safety Considerations for Industrial, Agricultural and Environmental Applications of Organisms Derived by Recombinant DNA Techniques, the ‘bluebook’ of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), was published 20 years ago. Since then, numerous GM crops have been produced, none of which has caused any health problems for humans or animals (World Health Organization report June 2005). Just as predicted by many plant population geneticists and agronomists, none of the pollen flow in the environment has created a problem. So, as a society, it is now time to reconsider the many regulatory and legislative pressures that have been built up around the breeding industry. Small and medium enterprises and developing countries cannot afford the cost involved in developing these urgently needed novel crops.
The cost of maintaining just one crop breeding program is estimated to be more than £1 million or US$1.8 million per year, which means that these programs are monopolized by five or six international agrochemical companies. All plant scientists should be aware of the difficulties that are facing the market introduction of the improved Golden Rice and the biofortification crops described in this issue. Scientists should be driving the process of active and open discussion otherwise the ongoing progress in characterizing and engineering biosynthetic pathways and developing plants with higher resistance to biotic stresses will become available too late, and is unlikely to benefit the present generation of consumers. The same might be true for other developments that are urgently needed, such as plants with a better water management and nutrient uptake.Over the next decade, plant scientists should also consider tackling the topic of molecular ecology, a discipline with difficult experimental set ups and lengthy periods of observation. The dynamics of plant evolution, diversification and adaptability need to be studied and understood. We all want a sustainable, environmentally friendly agriculture, a less polluting industry, and better protection of the remaining wildlife. To achieve this, we will have to rely on the implementation of new technologies driven by innovative plant science. With the increasing growth of the world’s population and the economic push for an agriculture that can produce not only food but also materials for industry, including biofuels, the remaining ‘pristine’ nature is threatened more than ever.
