

Frontiers Forum Deep Dive series
Adapting crops for climate change: regaining lost abiotic stress tolerance in crops
13 February 2025 | 12:00-13:30 CET
Explore precision breeding strategies for optimizing stress tolerance in crops—reducing their vulnerability to climate extremes and boosting food security.

Speakers
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Prof Sergey Shabala
University of Western Australia, Australia
Image credit: ©UTASResearch -
Prof Michael Palmgren
University of Copenhagen, Denmark
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Prof Malcolm J. Hawkesford
Rothamsted Research, United Kingdom
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Dr Rosa Rivero
Spanish National Research Council, Spain

Ensuring food security in the face of climate change
This event builds on a Frontiers in Science lead article outlining these two strategies: genetically altering high-yield plants to cope better with new conditions, or domesticating wild plants with higher stress tolerance to improve their yields.
The article authors and other experts discussed next steps for success—including cell-based phenotyping to better understand stress tolerance mechanisms and public acceptance of gene editing and new crops.
Agenda
Introduction & setting the scene | Prof Kazunari Domen
Deep dive
Charting a path forward | Panel discussion and Q&A

Speaker and contributor bios
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Sergey Shabala
Chair in Plant Physiology; Head, Stress Physiology laboratory, School of Biological Sciences
University of Western Australia, AustraliaRecognized as the world’s most cited researcher in Botany in 2019, Prof Sergey Shabala has revolutionized the study of plant cell responses through the development of MIFE technology —a non-invasive technique for examining how plants cope with various stresses. His extensive research into plant stress physiology and adaptive mechanisms to harsh environmental conditions such as drought, salinity, waterlogging, oxidative stress, and nutritional disorders is increasingly vital as the effects of climate change intensify. Sergey’s recent work has focused on phosphorous use efficiency in crops, studying a unique species of wild Tibetan barley growing and thriving in the nutrient-deficient soils of the Chinese mountains.
His expertize and contributions have led to his appointment as the Chair in Plant Physiology at The University of Western Australia, where he continues to lead innovative interdisciplinary research in stress biology and membrane transport to develop resilient crops in the face of increasing environmental challenges.
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Michael Palmgren
Professor of Plant Physiology, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences
University of Copenhagen, DenmarkA highly influential scientist in his field, Prof Michael Palmgren's research in plant biology and membrane transport research has significantly contributed to exploring the potential of wild plants for sustainable agriculture. With a key focus on membrane transport and P-type ATPases, crucial for nutrient uptake and cellular energization, Michael leads innovative research on accelerating the domestication of wild and underutilized plants to develop climate-resilient crops. This includes projects like "NovoCrops," which aims to transform robust wild plants into new crops that can withstand extreme weather conditions while maintaining good yields. His work addresses global food security by harnessing the genetic diversity of wild plant species.
Recognized for his scientific achievements, Michael was knighted in Denmark for his contributions to science and he received the Scandinavian Plant Physiology Society (SPPS) Award. He currently serves as the vice president of the European Academies Science Advisory Council.
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Malcolm J. Hawkesford
Delivering Sustainable Wheat (ISP) Leader, Sustainable Soils and Crops
Rothamsted Research, United KingdomProf Malcolm Hawkesford is internationally recognized for his contributions in the fields of nitrogen and sulphur nutrition and transport. In over 40 years in academia, his research has focused on nitrogen, phosphorus and micronutrient nutrition, particularly utilizing genomic approaches combined with field scale experimentation to dissect traits associated with the efficient and sustainable use of fertilizers. Malcolm is Head of the Delivering Sustainable Wheat strategic program at Rothamsted Research, a leading center of multidisciplinary scientific excellence, primarily of relevance to crops and products from crops. In this role he leads the plant nutrition traits group and the Rothamsted component of the Designing Future Wheat strategic program, a cohesive national UK wheat research program involving more than 25 groups of scientists at different institutions.
Since 2006, he has been overseeing the Rothamsted nitrogen-related experiments and field trials in the Defra Wheat Genetic Improvement Network (WGIN) project, which focuses on the analysis of genetic variation in nitrogen use efficiency. Malcolm is also an Honorary Professor in Plant Sciences at the University of Nottingham.
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Rosa M Rivero
Senior Research Scientist, Spanish National Research Council
Department of Plant Nutrition (CEBAS), SpainDr Rosa Rivero is a leading scientist in plant science, renowned for her expertise in plant stress responses. Her research primarily focuses on the regulation of plant cells under combined stress conditions in horticultural plants employing a range of tools, including molecular genetics, biochemistry, structural biology, physiology, chemistry, bioinformatics, omics, and systems biology. Rosa’s research has identified reactive oxygen species (ROS), osmoprotectants, nitrogen metabolism, hormones, nutrient absorption, and phenolic metabolism as pathways with specific regulation in tomato plants when subjected to combined stresses.
Recently, she has explored the synchronization of plant metabolic pathways and the coordination of genes and metabolites under abiotic stress combinations, and has initiated research into the biochemical and molecular mechanisms by which melatonin induces plant stress tolerance.