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Early in my career I attended a Gordon Research Conference that traditionally involved research using bacterial, plant, and animal model systems. The meeting had recently been suffering from low attendance. During a formal discussion about the future of the meeting, I was shocked to witness a distinguished colleague ask, "What have we EVER learned from plants?"*

At the time I chalked this horribly ignorant question up to the personality of that particularly tone-deaf scientist of a certain generation. I now realize that many people, including the public, funding officers, and other scientists, are not familiar with the long list of answers to this question. So here are many of the reasons we study plants. I'd love to hear your thoughts and anything I missed in the comments. Why many fail to see the importance of plant biology is a topic for another blog post.

The Obvious

Almost everything we eat is derived from plants, either directly or indirectly (. P.S. It already did during the possible exception). Obviously, we must better understand how plants operate, in order to grow the best and most nutritious crops in less-than-ideal soils, and to reduce our dependence on inorganic fertilizers and pesticides. As the population of the world is expanding while the climate continues to change, agricultural science could help save millions of lives Green Revolution.

But That's Not All

"I think plant scientists mutually agree that our ultimate goal is to develop ways to change crops to improve their yield and nutrition in a sustainable way."

According to Plant Biology Luminary Dr. Rick Vierstra, "plant scientists mutually agree that our ultimate goal is to develop ways to change crops to improve their yield and nutrition in a sustainable way." ( link).** As a plant biologist who would have a lot of trouble motivating my work in this way, I would modify this statement to describe crop improvement as "ONE of our ultimate goals." Because, as important as feeding the planet is, there are many other reasons to motivate plant research. In fact, I think we do our field a great disservice to limit our goals to agricultural advancement. A few of the less-obvious reasons to do plant research are listed below.

Plant-Based Products Make Life Nice

Plants provide the starting materials for clothing, paper, furniture, and fuel (including coffee and wine). You like wearing jeans while sitting at a table writing in your journal and drinking coffee at a cafe you just drove to? Then you like plants and plant research.

Plant Research IS Biomedical Research

1. According to the World Health Organization, malnutrition is estimated to cause 3 million child deaths annualy, or 45% of all child deaths in 2011. Furthermore, undernutrition magnifies the effect of every disease, including measles and malaria (see Black et al., 2013), and likely takes a toll on productivity, mental health and decision-making. The barriers to solving this problem are policital and economic as well as scientific, but there is no denying the fact that research into plants has the potential to address these huge medical problems.

2. Where do new medicines come from? Despite what you might think, few if any important medications were invented by or extracted from mice. Instead, many come from plants. An interesting commentary on this underappreciated aspect of plant biology can be found here.

3. Plants serve as excellent model systems for the study of human disease. Many critical first discoveries with direct relevance for biomedicine were made in plant systems. Some basics like cells, nuclei, and genes were first identified by plant researchers, as were important phenomena like innate immunity and RNA interference. For an extensive list of ways in which research in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana has contributed to discoveries in human health, see Jones et al., 2008.

Plants Solve Universal Biological Problems in Unique Ways

The differences between plants and animal systems can be as important as their similarities. It is highly valuable to have multiple examples of the ways in which different organisms solve fundamental biological problems. These can be used for comparison, for evolutionary understanding, AND for application to other systems. One of my favorite examples of the latter point is the exploitation of the phytochrome-PIF interaction to engineer photoreversibility to optogenetics ( Levskaya, A., et al, 2009). Simply put, the value of a model system can not be reduced to the ways in which it resembles humans.

Scientific Investigation is Part of the Human Endeavor

Finally, an educated populace that asks (and answers) fundamental questions about the workings of the universe through science and art is the mark of a civilized society. Take that, NSF Broader Impacts!*** In my view, expanding our knowledge of the world is not a luxury but an imperative, a requirement of the human condition. The beauty and complexity of plant systems is not always obvious to the average human; and it is our job as plant biologists to communicate what we are discovering to the rest of the world.

In Conclusion

"I hope we can agree that knowledge empowers each and every one of us in a myriad of ways."

I couldn't say it any better than Dr. Joe Chappell:

"We cannot know how useful any knowledge will be to the next person, but I hope we can agree that knowledge empowers each and every one of us in a myriad of ways. And some of this empowerment will translate into practical utility for society in today's world, some will have future benefit, and some will rest in the book of mankind to stimulate, support and encourage an unassuming mind in some future scientific pursuit."
--Joe Chappell, U. Kentucky, from an online discussion of the NSF Plant Science Research Summit

Footnotes

*Emphasis his. It was a rhetorical question. Also, the meeting folded. **Read the rest of the interview to see how R.V. decided what to work on as a new professor! ***I blush to admit that I did write this in a Broader Impacts section, but only once.

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Plant Biology Luminary Dr. Rick Vierstra

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NSF Plant Science Research Summit Footnotes

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Plant-Based Products Make Life Nice Plants

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Early in my career I attended a Gordon Research Conference that traditionally involved research using bacterial, plant, and animal model systems. The meeting had recently been suffering from low attendance.

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1. it could help save millions of people
2.Plants provide the starting materials for clothing, paper, furniture, and fuel

More reasons in the picture below.

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These are project ideas having to do with Plant Systems Research.

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These are project ideas having to do with Plant Systems Research.

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Careers pathways that Plant Systems Research can give you.

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If you have a green thumb, this career pathway may be ideal for you. People who work in the Plant Systems pathway study plants and their growth.

This helps producers of food, feed and fiber crops continue to feed a growing population while conserving natural resources and maintaining the environment.

Individuals in this pathway also develop ways to improve the nutritional value of crops and the quality of seeds. They use genetic engineering to develop crops resistant to pests and drought.

Industry Outlook
Demand for food and fiber will increase as the world's population grows and the demand for U.S. agricultural exports increases as developing nations improve their economies.

As farmers try to grow more food with fewer resources and the public concern over food safety increases, plant scientists are using new avenues of research in biotechnology to develop plants and food crops that require less fertilizer, fewer pesticides and herbicides, and less water for growth. As these technological advances increase, jobs in the field will increase as well.

Career Opportunities
Popular jobs within this field include:
* Agronomist
* Farmer/rancher
* Fruit and vegetable grower
* Plant geneticist
* Seed analyst
* Nursery/greenhouse manager
* Golf course manager
* Soil and water specialist

Education Requirements
Training requirements for plant scientists and technicians depend on their specialty and on the type of work they perform. A technical degree in plant science is sufficient for some jobs in assisting scientists to perform applied research or basic research, but a master's or doctoral degree is required to supervise and conduct basic research.

A typical undergraduate agricultural science curriculum includes communications, economics, business, and physical and life sciences courses. Those preparing to work as a crop or soil scientist take courses in plant pathology, soil chemistry, entomology, plant physiology and biochemistry, among others.

Prepare Now
High school students can prepare themselves for college by taking multiple science courses, especially biology and chemistry. Having a basic knowledge of physical and life sciences will aid in the more difficult science courses in college.

Land evaluation, plant identification and other related FFA career development events will help you determine if this pathway is the right fit for you. Some members also find it useful to incorporate this field into their supervised agricultural experience programs. Related SAEs include placement on a row-crop farm or agricultural research facility, working at a greenhouse or nursery, growing vegetables in a backyard garden, or helping manage the turf at a golf course, park or other sports facility.

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Plant Systems - Career Pathways - FFA New Horizons

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If you have a green thumb, this career pathway may be ideal for you. People who work in the Plant Systems pathway study plants and their growth. This helps producers of food, feed and fiber crops continue to feed a growing population while conserving natural resources and maintaining the environment.

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Plant Systems Research is the Research in life cycles, classifications, functions, practices of plant systems related to crops, turf
grass, trees and shrubs and/or ornamental plants.