Rajeev K Varshney FRS

The Crop Journal will be 10 years old in October 2023. The journal is sponsored by the Crop Science Society of China, the Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and China Science Publishing & Media Group Ltd. (Science Press). It is published by Science Press and KeAi (founded by China Science Publishing & Media Ltd. and Elsevier). As a bi-monthly, international, peer-reviewed research journal, The Crop Journal covers all aspects of crop sciences, including crop germplasm conservation, enhancement and utilization, crop genetics and breeding, crop physiology and metabolism, crop management practices, crop ecology and production, plant–microbe interaction and crop resistance, health-beneficial and nutritionally enhanced plants, grain chemistry, crop biotechnology, and biomathematics. The journal is now indexed in the international index systems SCIE, Scopus, DOAJ, AGRIS (FAO), CAB Abstracts, Food Science and Technology Abstracts, Japan Science & Technology Corporation, Chinese Science Citation Database, EBSCO Essentials, USDA-PubAg, and Cabells Journalytics...

The most impactful recent advances in life sciences technology include improvements in long-read DNA sequencing methods, computational approaches to genome characterization, and genome editing techniques. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) platforms have allowed the assembly and annotation of hundreds of plant genomes, while long-read sequencing has made many of these assemblies nearly complete. The well-annotated genomics information available for diverse plant species, from major and minor crops to wild relatives and model plant species, have engendered uniquely powerful tools to enhance our understanding of plants. Genome and transcriptome sequencing was found to be efficient in the identification of genes, in decoding metabolic pathways, and in understanding complex gene regulation at the molecular level. Apart from sequencing technology, recent advancements in statistical and computational approaches also contributed significantly in shaping plant genetics and the genomics field. Numerous genomics tools like genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS), genomic selection (GS), genome-wide association studies (GWAS), Mut-map, QTL-seq, and methylome sequencing are being widely used in plant science research. These computational methods are being widely used in the plant sciences, because of the ease with which we generate enormously large populations that segregate for targeted traits, to reveal knowledge for human betterment through more sustainable agriculture. Instead of sequencing a single genotype representing a species, the availability of affordable NGS platforms makes it possible to sequence thousands of genotypes belonging to single species. Rice and soybean are excellent examples where over a thousand diverse genotypes have been sequenced and the information is being used for basic as well as applied research. Such resources can be efficiently used for many applications such as gene discovery and haplotype-based breeding. Similarly, the enhancement and broad utilization of genome editing, much of it now CRSPR-based, has started a new era of life sciences research. Integration of the whole array of technological advances, including the whole set of omics (e.g., proteomics and metabolomics) has encouraged multidimensional characterization and model building/testing from the full systems perspective. Tremendous quantities of precise information are being generated and made available through genomic resources. However, the gap between resource development and its exploration through translational research is continuously broadening. The major objective of this special issue was to focus on recent advancements in plant genetics and genomics, to thereby promote the exploration of knowledge for basic and translational research.