Embracing plant plasticity or robustness as a means of ensuring food security

Saleh Alseekh; Annabella Klemmer; Jianbing Yan; Tingting Guo; Alisdair R Fernie

doi:10.1038/s41467-025-55872-4

Embracing plant plasticity or robustness as a means of ensuring food security

Nat Commun. 2025 Jan 7;16(1):461. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-55872-4.

Authors

Saleh Alseekh^{1

2}, Annabella Klemmer¹, Jianbing Yan³, Tingting Guo⁴, Alisdair R Fernie^{5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476, Potsdam-Golm, Germany.
² Centre of Plant Systems Biology and Biotechnology, 4000, Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
³ National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.
⁴ National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China. [email protected].
⁵ Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476, Potsdam-Golm, Germany. [email protected].
⁶ Centre of Plant Systems Biology and Biotechnology, 4000, Plovdiv, Bulgaria. [email protected].

Abstract

The dual challenges of global population explosion and environmental deterioration represent major hurdles for 21^st Century agriculture culminating in an unprecedented demand for food security. In this Review, we revisit historical concepts of plasticity and canalization before integrating them with contemporary studies of genotype-environment interactions (G×E) that are currently being carried out at the genome-wide level. In doing so we address both fundamental questions regarding G×E and potential strategies to best secure yields in both current and future climate scenarios.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Agriculture* / methods
Climate Change
Crops, Agricultural* / genetics
Food Security*
Food Supply
Gene-Environment Interaction*
Genotype
Humans