Organ and Tissue Development in Crop Domestication and Performance

Dear Colleagues,

The domestication and continued improvement of crops by breeders involves efforts to enhance crop performance. ‘Performance’ is an all-encompassing term that represents an amalgamation of numerous traits, many of which have a developmental basis. Elimination of seed shattering involved reinforcement of rachis tissues or changes to abscission zones. Changes in inflorescence architecture led to increased seed numbers. Enhanced tolerance to increased planting density is accomplished by changes in branch and leaf angles, root architecture, and a decreased shade-avoidance response. Increases in seed or fruit size necessitate changes in the rate or duration of growth and storage compound accumulation.

New sophisticated phenotyping platforms allow detailed analysis of plant growth and development at ever increasing levels of resolution. Genomic approaches allow the deciphering of gene regulatory networks that underpin developmental processes. Comparative studies can pinpoint genomic loci that were subject to selection during domestication or that contribute to extant trait variation. These capabilities equip modern crop breeders with an unprecedented toolset that will allow the production of ‘designer crops’, ideotypic plants exquisitely adapted to particular growth conditions and tailored to specific end uses.

This Special Issue aims to explore how “developmental traits” contribute to crop performance and provide examples of current research into the genetic underpinnings of such traits. Submissions could address subject matter including but not limited to:

1. Analysis of architectural traits
2. Cellular composition of tissues in relation to higher order function and crop performance
3. Control of growth rate or duration of organs or tissues
4. Developmental responses to environmental cues
5. Timing of developmental transitions
6. Hormone biology associated with developmental traits
7. Genomic changes that accompanied developmental changes under selection
8. Changes in transcriptomes or gene networks that accompanied developmental changes

Submissions are invited of research articles, reviews, as well as technical notes and communications, on these related topics.

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agronomy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• crop development
• plant morphology
• plant anatomy
• growth
• plant architecture
• crop domestication
• crop performance
• genomics
• transcriptomics