Work

Better breeding leveraging more biology

Year: 2026

Type: review

Abstract: Climate-driven variability is reducing our ability to accurately predict crop performance across environments, limiting genetic gain in breeding programs. Sustained progress requires predictive frameworks that capture plant-environment interactions across diverse genetics and management conditions. Integrating mechanistic insights from plant science into predictive models offers a path to improve the accuracy, precision, and interpretability of breeding decisions under changing environments. We present emerging hierarchical genome-phenome frameworks and outline how they can be leveraged within breeding programs to evaluate how biological knowledge informs predictions across target environments and supports long-term genetic gain.

Source: Trends in Plant Science

DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2026.05.004

Authors: Owen M. Powell, Lee Hickey, Shunichiro Tomura, Mark Cooper

Institutions: The University of Queensland, ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture

Language: English

Topic: Genetics and Plant Breeding

Subfield: Plant Science

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Domain: Life Sciences

SDGs: Zero hunger, Climate action

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $7,030