Time to exploit phenotypic plasticity

The study of plant phenotypic plasticity complements our knowledge of plant response to stresses obtained from controlled single and multiple stress experiments. Diouf et al. (2020) dissect the genetic control of phenotypic plasticity for several traits in tomato. A few loci control both plasticity and mean phenotypes, while most loci are associated only with plasticity or mean phenotypes. The results can be applied to develop new cultivars for different objectives, from stable behavior to those specifically-adapted to different environments, by combining loci with different contributions to plasticity or mean phenotype.