Vision, challenges and opportunities for a Plant Cell Atlas
Authors:   Plant Cell Atlas Consortium, Ahmed Jahed , Alaba Oluwafemi , Ameen Gazala , Arora Vaishali , Arteaga-Vazquez Mario A , Arun Alok , Bailey-Serres Julia , Bartley Laura E , Bassel George W , Bergmann Dominique C , Bertolini Edoardo , Bhati Kaushal Kumar , Blanco-Touriñán Noel , Briggs Steven P , Brumos Javier , Buer Benjamin , Burlaocot Adrien , Cervantes-Pérez Sergio Alan , Chen Sixue , Contreras-Moreira Bruno , CORPAS Francisco J , Cruz-Ramirez Alfredo , Cuevas-Velazquez Cesar L , Cuperus Josh T , David Lisa I , de Folter Stefan , Denolf Peter H , Ding Pingtao , Dwyer William P , Evans Matthew MS , George Nancy , Handakumbura Pubudu P , Harrison Maria J , Haswell Elizabeth S , Herath Venura , Jiao Yuling , Jinkerson Robert E , John Uwe , Joshi Sanjay , Joshi Abhishek , Joubert Lydia-Marie , Katam Ramesh , Kaur Harmanpreet , Kazachkova Yana , Raju Sunil K Kenchanmane , Khan Mather A , Khangura Rajdeep , Kumar Ajay , Kumar Arun , Kumar Pankaj , Kumar Pradeep , Lavania Dhruv , Lew Tedrick Thomas Salim , Lewsey Mathew G , Lin Chien-Yuan , Liu Dianyi , Liu Le , Liu Tie , Lokdarshi Ansul , My Luong Ai , Macaulay Iain C , Mahmud Sakil , Mähönen Ari Pekka , Malukani Kamal Kumar , Marand Alexandre P , Martin Carly A , McWhite Claire D , Mehta Devang , Martín Miguel Miñambres , Mortimer Jenny C , Nikolov Lachezar A , Nobori Tatsuya , Nolan Trevor M , Ogden Aaron J , Otegui Marisa S , Ott Mark-Christoph , Palma José M , Paul Puneet , Rehman Atique U , Romera-Branchat Maida , Romero Luis C , Roth Ronelle , Sah Saroj K , Shahan Rachel , Solanki Shyam , Song Bao-Hua , Sozzani Rosangela , Stacey Gary , Stepanova Anna N , Taylor Nicolas L , Tello-Ruiz Marcela K , Tran Tuan M , Tripathi Rajiv Kumar , Vadde Batthula Vijaya Lakshmi Vadde , Varga Tamas , Vidovic Marija , Walley Justin W , Wang Zhiyong , Weizbauer Renate A , Whelan James , Wijeratne Asela J , Xiang Tingting , Xu Shouling , Yadegari Ramin , Yu Houlin , Yuan Hai Ying , Zanini Fabio , Zhao Feng , Zhu Jie , Zhuang Xiaohong , Jha Suryatapa Ghosh , Borowsky Alexander T , Cole Benjamin J , Fahlgren Noah , Farmer Andrew , Huang Shao-shan Carol , Karia Purva , Libault Marc , Provart Nicholas J , Rice Selena L , Saura-Sanchez Maite , Agarwal Pinky , Ahkami Amir H , Anderton Christopher R , Briggs Steven P , Brophy Jennifer AN , Denolf Peter , Di Costanzo Luigi F , Exposito-Alonso Moises , Giacomello Stefania , Gomez-Cano Fabio , Kaufmann Kerstin , Ko Dae Kwan , Kumar Sagar , Malkovskiy Andrey V , Nakayama Naomi , Obata Toshihiro , Otegui Marisa S , Palfalvi Gergo , Quezada-Rodríguez Elsa H , Singh Rajveer , Uhrig R Glen , Waese Jamie , Van Wijk Klaas , Wright R Clay , Ehrhardt David W , Birnbaum Kenneth D , Rhee Seung Y 
Published: September 2021

With growing populations and pressing environmental problems, future economies will be increasingly plant-based. Now is the time to reimagine plant science as a critical component of fundamental science, agriculture, environmental stewardship, energy, technology and healthcare. This effort requires a conceptual and technological framework to identify and map all cell types, and to comprehensively annotate the localization and organization of molecules at cellular and tissue levels. This framework, called the Plant Cell Atlas (PCA), will be critical for understanding and engineering plant development, physiology and environmental responses. A workshop was convened to discuss the purpose and utility of such an initiative, resulting in a roadmap that acknowledges the current knowledge gaps and technical challenges, and underscores how the PCA initiative can help to overcome them.