Huazhong Agricultural University (HZAU) and The Plant Journal (TPJ) jointly hosted an international symposium on programmable plants from May 6 to 7, bringing together scientists worldwide to explore next-generation approaches to crop improvement in the era of artificial intelligence.
The symposium, themed "Programmable Plants: The Next Generation of Crop Improvement", attracted more than 300 experts and scholars from eight countries, including China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Australia, Brazil, and Singapore. Twenty-one members of the journal's editorial board also attended.
Yan Jianbing, president of HZAU and chair of the symposium, noted that plant science is experiencing a paradigm shift as artificial intelligence, big data, and programmable biology become more integrated. He emphasized that the field is moving from "reading" plant genetic codes toward programmable plant science and called for global cooperation for major challenges in crop improvement.
During the two-day event, 22 speakers from universities, research institutions, and enterprises presented their latest research on topics such as chromosome engineering, nutrient sensing, crop redesign for space exploration, functional metabolomics, drought resistance, AI-enabled genome engineering, climate-smart crops, and automated breeding.
Alisdair Fernie from the Max Planck Institute announced the 2025 TPJ Fellows during the opening ceremony. The awards went to Wang Yajun from the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences and Mustafa Bulut from the Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry.
The symposium also underscored HZAU's growing role in international plant science cooperation. By linking journal resources, academic networks, and frontier research platforms, the event created new opportunities for interdisciplinary exchange in crop science, synthetic biology, and intelligent breeding.
The symposium on global advancements in programmable plant science laid a foundation for deeper international collaboration in developing more efficient, resilient, and sustainable crops.

Experts discuss programmable plants and next-generation crop improvement at Huazhong Agricultural University. [Photo/news.hzau.edu.cn]

Participants attend the international symposium jointly hosted by HZAU and The Plant Journal. [Photo/news.hzau.edu.cn]