The germplasms are the material basis of the breeding innovation. To date, lots of beverage plants' genetic resources (including tea, coffee, and cacao) have been collected and assessed based on biological and agronomic traits, and quality parameters. With the rapid development of molecular biology and genomics, some attempts have also been made to explore the genetic diversity of genetic resources, construct genetic linkage maps, detect quantitative trait locus (QTL) for key agronomic traits, also to develop and use molecular markers and numerous of functional genes have been identified. Even so, there is still a long distance in the comprehensive understanding and utilization of genetic resources of beverage plants. Moreover, our current knowledge of the collection and preservation of germplasms is only the tip of the iceberg, and the genetic diversity, population structure, genetic variation and elite gene mining of many rare, endangered, unique, local and foreign genetic resources are poorly studied. Furthermore, the exploration and utilization of elite genes in genetic resources are not deep enough. Besides, with the frequent occurrence of natural disasters and extreme climates, traditional cultivation methods also face huge challenges and urgently need to be reformed. Traditional cultivation is heavily dependent on soil, water, land space and labour input. However, new agricultural cultivation has broken these shackles and provided a promising future, such as facility cultivation, automated plant watering system, and column cultivation.

In order to utilize abundant genetic resources with traditional or novel cultivation more effectively in breeding programs, efforts that focus on identification, conservation and utilization of rare, wild and specific germplasms and explorations of cultivation methods are desperately needed. Meanwhile, it is necessary to accelerate the transformation of selection from phenotype-based to genotype-based, with the advantages of molecular markers, and develop a rapid, accurate and high-throughput genetic resources identification and evaluation system.

We sincerely invite submissions of full-length articles, short communication, and review/mini reviews and perspectives that are related to these topics.

This special issue is open for submissions on the following topics including but not limited to:

● The classification, genetic diversity, population structure, and genetic variation analysis of genetic resources;

● The innovation and utilization of new propagation, breeding or cultivation methods and technologies;

● Construction and innovation of technical systems for early screening and identification of genetic resources;

● Identification of QTL for important agronomic, quality, and resistance traits by genome-wide association study (GWAS) or genetic linkage maps;

● Genetic improvement in beverage plants using gene editing and other biotechnologies.

● Study on the genetic regularities and regulatory mechanisms of important agronomic, quality, and resistance traits;

● Yield and quality response of beverage plants to different methods and managements of cultivation such as shading, pruning, soil and fertilizer;

● Rotation and intercropping strategies for beverage plant management.

Guest Editors

Dr. Jiedan Chen, Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences

His research interests include tea germplasms, genomics, genetics, and databases.

Dr. Xiangshu Dong, Yunnan University

His research interests focus on exploring the molecular responses of coffee plants to drought and cold stress.

Dr. Yuanchun Ma, Nanjing Agricultural University

Her research interests include: 1) Mechanism of tea plant resistance to low-temperature stress. 2) Mechanism of jasmonic acid signaling in tea plant. 3) Meta-analysis in plant biology.

Dr. Wenjun Qian, Qingdao Agricultural University

His research interests include exploring the molecular breeding of tea plants, and the molecular mechanism of the stress-resistant response of tea plants. 

Submission Deadline

The deadline for manuscript submissions is December 31, 2024, but we can accommodate extensions on a case-by-case basis. All papers will be published as open access articles upon acceptance.

Submission Instructions

Please submit the full manuscript to Beverage Plant Research via our online submission system. Additionally, please choose a topic of this Special Issue when submitting, and mention it in your cover letter. For further inquiries, please contact:

Jiedan Chen (Email: chenjd@tricaas.com)

Xiangshu Dong (Email: dongxiangshu@ynu.edu.cn)

Yuanchun Ma (Email: myc@njau.edu.cn)

Wenjun Qian (Email: qau-wenjunqian@qau.edu.cn)