Plants, and the biological systems around them, are key to the future health of the planet and its inhabitants. The Plant Science Decadal Vision 2020–2030 frames our ability to perform vital and far‐reaching research in plant systems sciences, essential to how we value participants and apply emerging technologies. We outline a comprehensive vision for addressing some of our most pressing global problems through discovery, practical applications, and education. The Decadal Vision was developed by the participants at the Plant Summit 2019, a community event organized by the Plant Science Research Network. The Decadal Vision describes a holistic vision for the next decade of plant science that blends recommendations for research, people, and technology. Going beyond discoveries and applications, we, the plant science community, must implement bold, innovative changes to research cultures and training paradigms in this era of automation, virtualization, and the looming shadow of climate change. Our vision and hopes for the next decade are encapsulated in the phrase reimagining the potential of plants for a healthy and sustainable future. The Decadal Vision recognizes the vital intersection of human and scientific elements and demands an integrated implementation of strategies for research (Goals 1–4), people (Goals 5 and 6), and technology (Goals 7 and 8). This report is intended to help inspire and guide the research community, scientific societies, federal funding agencies, private philanthropies, corporations, educators, entrepreneurs, and early career researchers over the next 10 years. The research encompass experimental and computational approaches to understanding and predicting ecosystem behavior; novel production systems for food, feed, and fiber with greater crop diversity, efficiency, productivity, and resilience that improve ecosystem health; approaches to realize the potential for advances in nutrition, discovery and engineering of plant‐based medicines, and "green infrastructure." Launching the Transparent Plant will use experimental and computational approaches to break down the phytobiome into a "parts store" that supports tinkering and supports query, prediction, and rapid‐response problem solving. Equity, diversity, and inclusion are indispensable cornerstones of realizing our vision. We make recommendations around funding and systems that support customized professional development. Plant systems are frequently taken for granted therefore we make recommendations to improve plant awareness and community science programs to increase understanding of scientific research. We prioritize emerging technologies, focusing on non‐invasive imaging, sensors, and plug‐and‐play portable lab technologies, coupled with enabling computational advances. Plant systems science will benefit from data management and future advances in automation, machine learning, natural language processing, and artificial intelligence‐assisted data integration, pattern identification, and decision making. Implementation of th...

The type III secretion system (T3SS) of plant-pathogenic Pseudomonas syringae is essential for virulence. Genes encoding the T3SS are not constitutively expressed and must be induced upon infection. Plant-derived metabolites, including sugars such as fructose and sucrose, are inducers of T3SS-encoding genes, yet the molecular mechanisms underlying perception of these host signals by P. syringae are unknown. Here, we report that sugar-induced expression of type III secretion A (setA), predicted to encode a DeoR-type transcription factor, is required for maximal sugar-induced expression of T3SS-associated genes in P. syringae DC3000. From a Tn5 transposon mutagenesis screen, we identified two independent mutants with insertions in setA. When both setA::Tn5 mutants were cultured in minimal medium containing fructose, genes encoding the T3SS master regulator HrpL and effector AvrRpm1 were expressed at lower levels relative to that of a wild-type strain. Decreased hrpL and avrRpm1 expression also occurred in a setA::Tn5 mutant in response to glucose, sucrose, galactose, and mannitol, demonstrating that setA is genetically required for T3SS induction by many different sugars. Expression of upstream regulators hrpR/S and rpoN was not altered in setA::Tn5, indicating that SetA positively regulates hrpL expression independently of increased transcription of these genes. In addition to decreased response to defined sugar signals, a setA::Tn5 mutant had decreased T3SS deployment during infection and was compromised in its ability to grow in planta and cause disease. These data suggest that SetA is necessary for P. syringae to effectively respond to T3SS-inducing sugar signals encountered during infection.

Biocuration plays a crucial role in building databases and complex systems-level platforms required for processing, annotating and analyzing ‘Big Data’ in biology. However, biocuration efforts cannot keep pace with a dramatic increase in the production of omics data; this presents one of the bottlenecks in genomics. In two pathway curation jamborees, Plant Reactome curators tested strategies for introducing researchers to pathway curation tools, harnessing biologists’ expertise in curating plant pathways and developing a network of community biocurators. We summarize the strategy, workflow and outcomes of these exercises, and discuss the role of community biocuration in advancing databases and genomic resources.

No abstract

Many plant-derived secondary metabolites have chemical properties that give them therapeutic value for the treatment of cancers, hypertension, and other illnesses (Balunas & Kinghorn, 2005). In the medicinal plant Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don, the terpene indole alkaloid (TIA) family of natural products includes many valuable medicinal compounds such as the clinically used antineoplastic agents vinblastine and vincristine, as well as the antihypertensive agent ajmalicine (Figure 1). Vinblastine and vincristine, used in the