PHENOVOL

Europe is at the forefront of research on plant phenotyping. Some of the best infrastructures for plant phenotyping are based on laboratories of leading European institutions, and the phenotyping community is shaped around large networks allowing implementation and shared use of infrastructures (EMPHASIS) and transnational access to the needed equipment (IPPN). However, to bridge the gap between crop phenotype and the rich array of genomic data in the coming decades, we need to train a new generation of researchers who can proficiently undertake and exploit phenotyping technologies and be competent in interpreting multidimensional phenomic data required for solving the future challenges in agriculture and plant science. The profile of plant volatiles, aromatics, and essential oils (together all are referred to as volatile organic compounds or VOCs) is a complex phenotypic trait with tremendous within-species and within organs (constitutive) diversity. The environment also induces VOC synthesis and profiles, often as early and primary (imperceptible to humans) responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. Constitutive and induced changes in VOCs can now be quantified in a non-destructive and high-throughput manner, thus allowing us to perform VOC phenotyping. The overall objective of PhenoVol is promote staff exchange, hence transferring knowledge and expertise, among academic and industrial partners to help converting the diversity and variability in plant VOC profiles into a streamlined and exploitable plant phenotypic feature. The final aim is to select plants resistant or resilient to stresses, or able to signal forthcoming stress occurrence to neighbor unstressed plants.