Neuronal development in the human cerebral cortex is considerably prolonged compared with that of other mammals. We explored whether mitochondria influence the species-specific timing of cortical neuron maturation. By comparing human and mouse cortical neuronal maturation at high temporal and cell resolution, we found a slower mitochondria development in human cortical neurons compared with that in the mouse, together with lower mitochondria metabolic activity, particularly that of oxidative phosphorylation. Stimulation of mitochondria metabolism in human neurons resulted in accelerated development in vitro and in vivo, leading to maturation of cells weeks ahead of time, whereas its inhibition in mouse neurons led to decreased rates of maturation. Mitochondria are thus important regulators of the pace of neuronal development underlying human-specific brain neoteny.

Modern plant phenotyping, often using non-invasive technologies and digital technologies, is an emerging science and provides essential information on how genetics, epigenetics, environmental pressures, and crop management (farming) can guide selection toward productive plants suitable for their environment. Thus, phenotyping is at the forefront of future plant breeding. Bibliometric science mapping is a quantitative method that analyzes scientific publications throughout the terms present in their title, abstract, and keywords. The aim of this mapping exercise is to observe trends and identify research opportunities. This allows us to analyze the evolution of phenotyping research and to predict emerging topics of this discipline. A total of 1,827 scientific publications fitted our search method over the last 20 years. During the period 1997–2006, the total number of publications was only around 6.1%. The number of publications increased more steeply after 2010, boosted by the overcoming of technological bias and by a set of key developments at hard and software level (image analysis and data storage management, automation and robotics). Cluster analysis evidenced three main groups linked to genetics, physiology, and imaging. Mainly the model plant “Arabidopsis thaliana” and the crops “rice” and “triticum” species were investigated in the literature. The last two species were studied when addressing “plant breeding,” and “genomic selection.” However, currently the trend goes toward a higher diversity of phenotyped crops and research in the field. The application of plant phenotyping in the field is still under rapid development and this application has strong linkages with precision agriculture. EU co-authors were involved in 41.8% of the analyzed papers, followed by USA (15.4%), Australia (6.0%), and India (5.6%). Within the EU, coauthors were mainly affiliated in Germany (35.8%), France (23.7%), and United Kingdom (18.4%). Time seems right for new opportunities to incentivize research on more crops, in real field conditions, and to spread knowledge toward more countries, including emerging economies. Science mapping offers the possibility to get insights into a wide amount of bibliographic information, making them more manageable, attractive, and easy to serve science policy makers, stakeholders, and research managers.

The impact of abiotic stress on plant growth and development has been and still is a major research topic. An important pathway that has been linked to abiotic stress tolerance is the trehalose biosynthetic pathway. Recent findings showed that trehalose metabolism is also important for normal plant growth and development. The intermediate compound – Trehalose-6-Phosphate (T6P) – is now confirmed to act as a sensor for available sucrose, hereby directly influencing the type of response to the changing environmental conditions. This is possible because T6P and/or trehalose or their biosynthetic enzymes are part of complex interaction networks with other crucial hormone and sugar-induced signalling pathways, which may function at different developmental stages. Because of its effect on plant growth and development, modification of trehalose biosynthesis, either at the level of T6P synthesis, T6P hydrolysis or trehalose hydrolysis, has been utilized to try to improve crop yield and biomass. It was shown that alteration of the amounts of either T6P and/or trehalose did result in increased stress tolerance, but also resulted in many unexpected phenotypic alterations. A main challenge is to characterize the part of the signalling pathway resulting in improved stress tolerance, without affecting the pathways resulting in the unwanted phenotypes. One such specific pathway where modification of trehalose metabolism improved stress tolerance, without any side effects, was recently obtained by overexpression of trehalase, which results in a more sensitive reaction of the stomatal guard cells and closing of the stomata under drought stress conditions. We have used the data that have been obtained from different studies to generate the optimal plant that can be constructed based on modifications of trehalose metabolism.