Plant traits—the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants—determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits—almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives.

Modern sugarcanes are polyploid interspecific hybrids, combining high sugar content from Saccharum officinarum with hardiness, disease resistance and ratooning of Saccharum spontaneum. Sequencing of a haploid S. spontaneum, AP85-441, facilitated the assembly of 32 pseudo-chromosomes comprising 8 homologous groups of 4 members each, bearing 35,525 genes with alleles defined. The reduction of basic chromosome number from 10 to 8 in S. spontaneum was caused by fissions of 2 ancestral chromosomes followed by translocations to 4 chromosomes. Surprisingly, 80% of nucleotide binding site-encoding genes associated with disease resistance are located in 4 rearranged chromosomes and 51% of those in rearranged regions. Resequencing of 64 S. spontaneum genomes identified balancing selection in rearranged regions, maintaining their diversity. Introgressed S. spontaneum chromosomes in modern sugarcanes are randomly distributed in AP85-441 genome, indicating random recombination among homologs in different S. spontaneum accessions. The allele-defined Saccharum genome offers new knowledge and resources to accelerate sugarcane improvement.

Ray Ming, Robert Paull, Qingyi Yu and colleagues report the genome sequences of two cultivated pineapple varieties and one wild pineapple relative. Their analysis supports the use of the pineapple as a reference genome for monocot comparative genomics and provides insight into the evolution of crassulacean acid metabolism photosynthesis. Pineapple (Ananas comosus (L.) Merr.) is the most economically valuable crop possessing crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM), a photosynthetic carbon assimilation pathway with high water-use efficiency, and the second most important tropical fruit. We sequenced the genomes of pineapple varieties F153 and MD2 and a wild pineapple relative, Ananas bracteatus accession CB5. The pineapple genome has one fewer ancient whole-genome duplication event than sequenced grass genomes and a conserved karyotype with seven chromosomes from before the ρ duplication event. The pineapple lineage has transitioned from C3 photosynthesis to CAM, with CAM-related genes exhibiting a diel expression pattern in photosynthetic tissues. CAM pathway genes were enriched with cis-regulatory elements associated with the regulation of circadian clock genes, providing the first cis-regulatory link between CAM and circadian clock regulation. Pineapple CAM photosynthesis evolved by the reconfiguration of pathways in C3 plants, through the regulatory neofunctionalization of preexisting genes and not through the acquisition of neofunctionalized genes via whole-genome or tandem gene duplication.

High oil and protein content make tetraploid peanut a leading oil and food legume. Here we report a high-quality peanut genome sequence, comprising 2.54 Gb with 20 pseudomolecules and 83,709 protein-coding gene models. We characterize gene functional groups implicated in seed size evolution, seed oil content, disease resistance and symbiotic nitrogen fixation. The peanut B subgenome has more genes and general expression dominance, temporally associated with long-terminal-repeat expansion in the A subgenome that also raises questions about the A-genome progenitor. The polyploid genome provided insights into the evolution of Arachis hypogaea and other legume chromosomes. Resequencing of 52 accessions suggests that independent domestications formed peanut ecotypes. Whereas 0.42–0.47 million years ago (Ma) polyploidy constrained genetic variation, the peanut genome sequence aids mapping and candidate-gene discovery for traits such as seed size and color, foliar disease resistance and others, also providing a cornerstone for functional genomics and peanut improvement.

Sex chromosomes in land plants can evolve as a consequence of close linkage between the two sex determination genes with complementary dominance required to establish stable dioecious populations, and they are found in at least 48 species across 20 families. The sex chromosomes in hepatics, mosses, and gymnosperms are morphologically heteromorphic. In angiosperms, heteromorphic sex chromosomes are found in at least 19 species from 4 families, while homomorphic sex chromosomes occur in 20 species from 13 families. The prevalence of the XY system found in 44 out of 48 species may reflect the predominance of the evolutionary pathway from gynodioecy towards dioecy. All dioecious species have the potential to evolve sex chromosomes, and reversions back from dioecy to various forms of monoecy, gynodioecy, or androdioecy have also occurred. Such reversals may occur especially during the early stages of sex chromosome evolution before the lethality of the YY (or WW) genotype is established.