This Research Topic is part of the Phenotyping at Plant and Cell Levels: The Quest for Tolerant Crop Development series: Phenotyping at Plant and Cell Levels: The Quest for Tolerant Crop Development This Research Topic aims at accelerating the discovery of crop varieties that are able to withstand environmental stresses, via the use of phenotyping approaches at the plant and cellular levels. Climate change is expected to have a drastic impact on agriculture, notably by impacting water availability, precipitations, temperatures, soil nutrients, and the incidence of diseases and pests. A better use of plant genetic resources and plant breeding are key to tackling this challenge from climate change and for food security. Many landraces and wild relatives of crops are conserved in seed and gene banks. These collections are potentially valuable for breeders, but are presently underexploited. Moreover, the contribution of the soil microbiome to enhance the performance of specific plant genotypes has been overlooked. The aim is to generate crops that are resistant against biotic stress or can tolerate abiotic stress without significant impact on their performance. Current studies in the field of sensor technologies and phenomics are mainly empirically based and do not link the phenotypic parameters to the molecular scale. Similarly, many molecular studies do not correlate their findings to the whole plant phenotype. The quantitative high throughput analysis of crop potential and behavior during stress is a form of Genotype x Environment interaction and is a major bottleneck. We urgently need to identify resilient genotypes and to understand the underlying mechanisms of this resilience. Phenotyping science is quickly developing to characterize plant behavior, it's dynamic dimensions, and to quantify features such as growth and stress resilience, which increasingly permit to link the phenotype to genetic control.

Fully covers the biology, biochemistry, genetics, and genomics of Medicago truncatula Model plant species are valuable not only because they lead to discoveries in basic biology, but also because they provide resources that facilitate translational biology to improve crops of economic importance. Plant scientists are drawn to models because of their ease of manipulation, simple genome organization, rapid life cycles, and the availability of multiple genetic and genomic tools. This reference provides comprehensive coverage of the Model Legume Medicago truncatula. It features review chapters as well as research chapters describing experiments carried out by the authors with clear materials and methods. Most of the chapters utilize advanced molecular techniques and biochemical analyses to approach a variety of aspects of the Model. The Model Legume Medicago truncatula starts with an examination of M. truncatula plant development; biosynthesis of natural products; stress and M. truncatula; and the M. truncatula-Sinorhizobium meliloti symbiosis. Symbiosis of Medicago truncatula with arbuscular mycorrhiza comes next, followed by chapters on the common symbiotic signaling pathway (CSSP or SYM) and infection events in the Rhizobium-legume symbiosis. Other sections look at hormones and the rhizobial and mycorrhizal symbioses; autoregulation of nodule numbers (AON) in M. truncatula; Medicago truncatula databases and computer programs; and more. Contains reviews, original research chapters, and methods Covers most aspects of the M. truncatula Model System, including basic biology, biochemistry, genetics, and genomics of this system Offers molecular techniques and advanced biochemical analyses for approaching a variety of aspects of the Model Legume Medicago truncatula Includes introductions by the editor to each section, presenting the summary of selected chapters in the section Features an extensive index, to facilitate the search for key terms The Model Legume Medicago truncatula is an excellent book for researchers and upper level graduate students in microbial ecology, environmental microbiology, plant genetics and biochemistry. It will also benefit legume biologists, plant molecular biologists, agrobiologists, plant breeders, bioinformaticians, and evolutionary biologists.

The field of proteomics has advanced considerably over the past two decades. The ability to delve deeper into an organism’s proteome, identify an array of post-translational modifications and profile differentially abundant proteins has greatly expanded the utilization of proteomics. Improvements to instrumentation in conjunction with the development of these reproducible workflows have driven the adoption and application of this technology by a wider research community. However, the full potential of proteomics is far from being fully exploited in plant biology and its translational application needs to be further developed. In 2011, a group of plant proteomic researchers established the International Plant Proteomics Organization (INPPO) to advance the utilization of this technology in plants as well as to create a way for plant proteomics researchers to interact, collaborate and exchange ideas. The INPPO conducted its inaugural world congress in mid 2014 at the University of Hamburg (Germany). Plant proteomic researchers from around the world were in attendance and the event marked the maturation of this research community. The Research Topic captures the opinions, ideas and research discussed at the congress and encapsulates the approaches that were being applied in plant proteomics.

Since photosynthetic performance is a fundamental determinant of yield in the vast majority of crops, an understanding of the factors limiting photosynthetic productivity has a crucial role to play in crop improvement programmes. Photosynthesis, unlike the majority of physiological processes in plants, has been the subject of extensive studies at the molecular level for many years. This reductionist approach has resulted in the development of an impressive and detailed understanding of the mechanisms of light capture, energy transduction and carbohydrate biosynthesis, processes that are clearly central to the success of the plant and the productivity of crops. This volume examines in the widest context the factors determining the photosynthetic performance of crops. The emphasis throughout the book is on the setting for photosynthesis rather than the fundamental process itself. The book will prove useful to a wide range of plant scientists, and will encourage a more rapid integration of disciplines in the quest to understand and improve the productivity of crops by the procedures of classical breeding and genetic manipulation.

This volume aims to provide a timely view of the state-of-the-art in systems biology. The editors take the opportunity to define systems biology as they and the contributing authors see it, and this will lay the groundwork for future studies. The volume is well-suited to both students and researchers interested in the methods of systems biology. Although the focus is on plant systems biology, the proposed material could be suitably applied to any organism.

Plant Perspectives to Global Climate Changes: Developing Climate-Resilient Plants reviews and integrates currently available information on the impact of the environment on functional and adaptive features of plants from the molecular, biochemical and physiological perspectives to the whole plant level. The book also provides a direction towards implementation of programs and practices that will enable sustainable production of crops resilient to climatic alterations. This book will be beneficial to academics and researchers working on stress physiology, stress proteins, genomics, proteomics, genetic engineering, and other fields of plant physiology. Advancing ecophysiological understanding and approaches to enhance plant responses to new environmental conditions is critical to developing meaningful high-throughput phenotyping tools and maintaining humankind's supply of goods and services as global climate change intensifies. - Illustrates the central role for plant ecophysiology in applying basic research to address current and future challenges for humans - Brings together global leaders working in the area of plant-environment interactions and shares research findings - Presents current scenarios and future plans of action for the management of stresses through various approaches