Data mining and analysis, mathematical modelling, machine-learning and ‘omics are transforming how plant research is being done. This is opening a new chapter in our understanding of the complexity behind plant life.
Recently a specific plant journal was launched that aims to promote research in this emerging field: Quantitative Plant Biology invites a broad range of topics, from the mechanics behind growth to physiology, ecology and evolution.
Articles on quantitative research from the small to the large – from molecular mechanisms to whole populations are within the scope of QPB. It wants to be truly interdisciplinary, calling for papers from scientists who increase the knowledge about plants with data-driven approaches to measure and analyse them. This includes data from a wide range of sources, from the lab to the field. Quantitative Plant Biology is of course an open access and not-for-profit journal, published by Cambridge University Press and co-owned by the John Innes Centre.
PLAMORF PI Richard Morris who was one of the forces driving the creation of QPB and is now advisor and associate editor sums up the main idea of the journal as “putting numbers to things, so we can find new patterns and start to unravel the complexity of plants”.
But Quantitative Plant Biology wants to be more than a collection of research articles. It offers two additional sections to stimulate scientists to think outside the box. First, ‘Theories’ can be submitted to QPB, which are speculative articles questioning existing beliefs. Second, publications from citizen science projects are encouraged. They are based on data collected by non-scientists, written in cooperation with researchers. These papers are aimed at the general public so need to be easy to understand. But what all publications will have in common is a quantitative approach towards plant research and high-quality statistics.
Check out the journal’s website for details, read the first editorial, and follow QPB on Twitter.
JOVE Video method paper: Methylated RNA Immunoprecipitation / Video online!