Leeway to Operate with Plant Genetic Resources

  • 21k

    Total downloads

  • 156k

    Total views and downloads

About this Research Topic

Submission closed

Background

The plant genetic resources (PGR) regulatory frameworks that are relevant for research and breeding have become increasingly detailed and complex over the past few decades. This includes international agreements and conventions on 1) the access and benefit-sharing (ABS) of genetic resources, 2) national/regional biosafety legislation related to the technologies for managing and improving the genetic material, and 3) intellectual property (IP) systems including plant breeders' rights (PBR) and patents as well as competition law issues specific to the plant innovation sector.

This Research Topic addresses the leeway to operate with PGR from a multitude of perspectives. This includes the various policy and regulatory aspects that researchers and breeders have to relate to when accessing PGR, working on the PGR material in order to manage agriculturally relevant traits, and protecting the outcome of their investments. The following topics are therefore covered here:

General
- Opportunities and obstacles for plant researchers and breeders considering national and international PGR agreements and conventions
- “Open access” in a PGR context (concerning both ABS and IP)
- Is there a looming risk of a policy bottlenecks for crop genetic diversity?
- Governing options of digital sequence information, and synthetic biology
- The perspectives of various stakeholder groups in relation to the PGR frameworks

Access and Benefit-Sharing
- PGR from common heritage to national heritage
- Digital sequence information and/or synthetic biology in an ABS context
- Consequences of the Nagoya protocol for international research collaborations
- Impact of the Nagoya protocol and/or the International Treaty on PGR conservation and use
- Impact of the Nagoya protocol and/or the International Treaty on innovation

Biosafety
- The relevance of risk assessment in the context of old and new gene technologies in plant breeding and its impact on the seed chain
- Consequences of international disagreements on regulatory frameworks for breeding
- Definitions in the context of policies and regulatory frameworks for precision breeding
- Reassessment of the legal principles on biosafety in the light of the experience acquired in the last decades and the new challenges brought by the new breeding techniques
- Synthetic biology

Plant Innovation
- IP protection for plant innovations, and other potentially protective frameworks and competition law related aspects
- The emerging patent landscape associated with new breeding techniques, and its consequences
- Comparative analyses of the impact of patent versus plant breeders rights
- “Open source seed”
- “Essentially biological process” in the context of patent legislation
- “Essentially derived variety” in the context of emerging directed mutagenesis techniques
- Competition law issues related to market concentration in the seed sector

Interdisciplinary co-authors teams are highly encouraged, as well as cross-cutting manuscripts that interlink and integrate various regulatory aspects related to the governance of PGR. Manuscripts on the regulatory and policy aspects are welcome, as well as Reviews, and Original Research that is relevant in a PGR regulatory context. Creative and forward-looking proposed solutions to existing issues and problems are particularly encouraged.

Keywords: Access and Benefit-Sharing, Biosafety, Plant Variety Protection, Policy, Plant Genetic Resources

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

Frequently asked questions

  • Frontiers' Research Topics are collaborative hubs built around an emerging theme.Defined, managed, and led by renowned researchers, they bring communities together around a shared area of interest to stimulate collaboration and innovation.

    Unlike section journals, which serve established specialty communities, Research Topics are pioneer hubs, responding to the evolving scientific landscape and catering to new communities.

  • The goal of Frontiers' publishing program is to empower research communities to actively steer the course of scientific publishing. Our program was implemented as a three-part unit with fixed field journals, flexible specialty sections, and dynamically emerging Research Topics, connecting communities of different sizes and maturity.

    Research Topics originate from the scientific community. Many of our Research Topics are suggested by existing editorial board members who have identified critical challenges or areas of interest in their field.

  • As an editor, Research Topics will help you build your journal, as well as your community, around emerging, cutting-edge research. As research trailblazers, Research Topics attract high-quality submissions from leading experts all over the world.

    A thriving Research Topic can potentially evolve into a new specialty section if there is sustained interest and a growing community around it.

  • Each Research Topic must be approved by the specialty chief editor, and it falls under the editorial oversight of our editorial boards, supported by our in-house research integrity team. The same standards and rigorous peer review processes apply to articles published as part of a Research Topic as for any other article we publish.

    In 2023, 80% of the Research Topics we published were edited or co-edited by our editorial board members, who are already familiar with their journal's scope, ethos, and publishing model. All other topics are guest edited by leaders in their field, each vetted and formally approved by the specialty chief editor.

  • Publishing your article within a Research Topic with other related articles increases its discoverability and visibility, which can lead to more views, downloads, and citations. Research Topics grow dynamically as more published articles are added, causing frequent revisiting, and further visibility.

    As Research Topics are multidisciplinary, they are cross-listed in several fields and section journals – increasing your reach even more and giving you the chance to expand your network and collaborate with researchers in different fields, all focusing on expanding knowledge around the same important topic.

    Our larger Research Topics are also converted into ebooks and receive social media promotion from our digital marketing team.

  • Frontiers offers multiple article types, but it will depend on the field and section journals in which the Research Topic will be featured. The available article types for a Research Topic will appear in the drop-down menu during the submission process.

    Check available article types here 

  • Yes, we would love to hear your ideas for a topic. Most of our Research Topics are community-led and suggested by researchers in the field. Our in-house editorial team will contact you to talk about your idea and whether you’d like to edit the topic. If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. 

    Suggest your topic here 

  • A team of guest editors (called topic editors) lead their Research Topic. This editorial team oversees the entire process, from the initial topic proposal to calls for participation, the peer review, and final publications.

    The team may also include topic coordinators, who help the topic editors send calls for participation, liaise with topic editors on abstracts, and support contributing authors. In some cases, they can also be assigned as reviewers.

  • As a topic editor (TE), you will take the lead on all editorial decisions for the Research Topic, starting with defining its scope. This allows you to curate research around a topic that interests you, bring together different perspectives from leading researchers across different fields and shape the future of your field. 

    You will choose your team of co-editors, curate a list of potential authors, send calls for participation and oversee the peer review process, accepting or recommending rejection for each manuscript submitted.

  • As a topic editor, you're supported at every stage by our in-house team. You will be assigned a single point of contact to help you on both editorial and technical matters. Your topic is managed through our user-friendly online platform, and the peer review process is supported by our industry-first AI review assistant (AIRA).

  • If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. This provides you with valuable editorial experience, improving your ability to critically evaluate research articles and enhancing your understanding of the quality standards and requirements for scientific publishing, as well as the opportunity to discover new research in your field, and expand your professional network.

  • Yes, certificates can be issued on request. We are happy to provide a certificate for your contribution to editing a successful Research Topic.

  • Research Topics thrive on collaboration and their multi-disciplinary approach around emerging, cutting-edge themes, attract leading researchers from all over the world.

  • As a topic editor, you can set the timeline for your Research Topic, and we will work with you at your pace. Typically, Research Topics are online and open for submissions within a few weeks and remain open for participation for 6 – 12 months. Individual articles within a Research Topic are published as soon as they are ready.

    Find out more about our Research Topics

  • Our fee support program ensures that all articles that pass peer review, including those published in Research Topics, can benefit from open access – regardless of the author's field or funding situation.

    Authors and institutions with insufficient funding can apply for a discount on their publishing fees. A fee support application form is available on our website.

  • In line with our mission to promote healthy lives on a healthy planet, we do not provide printed materials. All our articles and ebooks are available under a CC-BY license, so you can share and print copies.

Impact

  • 156kTopic views
  • 131kArticle views
  • 21kArticle downloads
View impact