Integrated Remote Sensing–Metabolomics Platform for Climate-Resilient Cereal Improvement

Challenge

Climate change, water stress, and geopolitical disruptions are intensifying pressure on global food security. Traditional cereal breeding is too slow and often relies on incomplete phenotypic data. Current field phenotyping and molecular analyses are frequently disconnected, limiting the ability to reveal the metabolic mechanisms behind stress tolerance and grain yield.

Overall Vision

Develop an integrated platform that combines high-resolution remote sensing, organ-specific field phenotyping, and precision metabolomics and proteomics to accelerate the development of climate-resilient cereal varieties. The approach focuses not only on whole-plant traits but on organ-level metabolic signatures, particularly the ear, which emerging evidence shows is a major contributor to photosynthesis and grain filling under stress.

Objectives

1. Create a multi-scale phenotyping system using drones equipped with RGB, thermal, and multispectral sensors, supported by ground-level measurements.

2. Quantify organ-specific metabolic performance, focusing on ear and flag-leaf photosynthesis, water-use efficiency, nitrogen/carbon assimilation, and diurnal temperature dynamics.

3. Identify metabolic and proteomic markers linked to yield stability under heat and drought, including organ-specific isozyme patterns and photosynthetic robustness mechanisms.

4. Develop predictive spectral indices that translate remote sensing data into metabolic status indicators at canopy and organ level.

5. Integrate findings into breeding pipelines, enabling rapid selection of stress-tolerant genotypes and informed synthetic approaches for enhancing resilience traits.

Innovation

• Organ-level resolution phenotyping: The project advances beyond whole-plant approaches by targeting specific organs (e.g., cereal ears) whose high photosynthetic capacity, delayed senescence, and carbon refixation potential significantly affect grain filling.
• Combined systems biology in real field conditions: High-throughput metabolomics and proteomics are directly coupled with field phenotyping—breaking the traditional separation between lab and field.
• Spectral–metabolic fusion: New spectral vegetation indices will be calibrated to metabolic markers, enabling remote prediction of physiological processes traditionally measurable only through destructive sampling.
• Dynamic diurnal measurements: Inclusion of day–night cycles captures source–sink oscillations critical for understanding plant stress resilience.

Main Activities

1. Drone-based canopy scanning with varied flight altitudes to optimize organ-level spectral resolution.

2. Ground truthing of spectral data using thermal sensors, gas exchange systems, and organ-targeted measurements.

3. Metabolomic and proteomic profiling of ears and leaves, mapping pathways regulating photorespiration, nitrogen assimilation, respiration, heat tolerance, and radiation response.

4. Data integration and modelling to link spectral patterns with metabolic regulation.

5. Validation in breeding plots to identify top-performing genotypes and generate ready-to-use selection guidelines.

Expected Outcomes

• A validated multi-sensor remote sensing framework that accurately predicts metabolic performance at canopy and organ level.
• Novel metabolic markers associated with heat and drought tolerance in cereals.
• Decision-support tools for breeders to accelerate selection of high-yield, climate-resilient varieties.
• Evidence-based understanding of how ear-driven photosynthesis and metabolic robustness contribute to grain filling under stress.
• A scalable methodology adaptable to multiple cereal species and farming regions.

Impact (Cluster 6 Alignment)

• Strengthened EU capacity to develop climate-resilient crops.
• Increased yield stability under water scarcity and high temperature.
• Improved sustainability and reduced resource use in cereal production.
• Enhanced integration of digital and omics technologies into agricultural innovation pipelines.