Plant scientists issue global call to advance plant resilience

Plant and agricultural sciences must make rapid and significant changes to ensure global food security in the face of climate change, according to a Michigan State University-led international group of plant researchers, including two EEB core faculty members.

The coalition, organized by MSU’s Plant Resilience Institute, or PRI, said in a paper published by Trends in Plant Science that global action is needed to advance plant resilience. They said farmers, scientists and policymakers must work closely together to cultivate crops that can withstand increasingly harsh environmental conditions.

“As rising temperatures and extreme weather events threaten crop yields and nutritional quality, our ability to feed a growing population becomes more and more uncertain,” said Seung Yon “Sue” Rhee, MSU Research Foundation Professor and PRI director. “The urgency is clear: without climate-adapted crops, we face risks of famine, mass migration and global conflict.”

This paper comes as an increasing population and growing consumption have placed a greater strain on agriculture, according to the authors. Meanwhile, worsening climate instability could have major negative impacts on crop production.

n addition to Rhee, co-authors on the paper include MSU PRI’s Daniel Anstett (now an assistant professor at Cornell University), EEB members Kadeem Gilbert and David Lowry, Hatem Rouached and MSU-Department of Energy Plant Research Laboratory’s Berkley Walker.

The group of 21 co-authors from eight countries was formed as an outcome of the First International Summit on Plant Resilience, spearheaded by the PRI earlier this year. The summit promoted global cooperation in plant resilience research efforts, bringing together MSU researchers with other preeminent plant scientists from diverse disciplines. Together, they created a roadmap to position plant resilience research as a cornerstone of global climate change solutions.

In their new paper, the authors call attention to serious impediments to plant resilience, including the gap between scientific breakthroughs in the lab and practical use in farming. While significant advances have

been made in understanding how plants handle environmental stresses, turning that knowledge into solutions for farmers is difficult due to financial, logistical and technical hurdles. These challenges are even greater in the Global South, where limited resources hinder the development of solutions tailored to local needs. Improving plant resilience isn’t just a scientific issue, the authors argue — it’s also a societal one that requires public support, clear communication and favorable policies.

The researchers propose several practical recommendations to leverage plant resilience to fight climate change and secure food supplies globally. They call for closer collaboration between scientists and policymakers and to establish research partnerships between the Global North and South. The group recommends adopting a “farm to lab to farm” approach, where real farming challenges inform research, and discoveries are quickly applied back in the field. They also stress the importance of engaging the public about new technologies and being open about their benefits and risks to build trust. Finally, they advocate for science-based, efficient regulations to expedite the adoption of innovations.

Rhee remains optimistic about the future of plant resilience. “By prioritizing innovation and working as a global community, we can create agricultural systems that not only withstand climate change but also ensure a sustainable, healthy future for generations to come,” she said.

Read the full story in The College of Natural Science.