Editorial: Legumes for global food security - volume II

Edi o ial: Legumes o global ood secu i y - olume II Jose C. Jimenez-Lopez 1 *, Ka am B. Singh 2 , Al onso Clemen e 3 , Ja oslaw Czubinski 4 , Se gio Ocha 5 , E ic Von We be g 6 and Pe Smy ´kal 7 1 Depa men o S ess, De elopmen and Signaling in Plan s, Es acio ´n Expe imen al del Zaidı ´n, Spanish Na ional Resea ch Council (CSIC), G anada, Spain, 2 Ag icul u e and Food, Commonweal h Scien ific and Indus ial Resea ch O ganiza ion (CSIRO), Pe h, WA, Aus alia, 3 Depa men o Nu i ion and Sus ainable Animal P oduc ion, Es acio ´n Expe imen al del Zaidin, Spanish Na ional Resea ch Council (CSIC), G anada, Spain, 4 Depa men o Biochemis y and Food Analysis, Poznan Uni e si y o Li e Sciences, Poznan, Poland, 5 Ag oécologie, Ins i u Na ional de Reche che pou l’Ag icul u e, l’alimen a ion e l’En i onnemen (INRAE), Ins i u Ag o, Uni e si y Bou gogne, Uni e si y Bou gogne F anche-Com é, Dijon, F ance, 6 Depa men o Plan and Soil Science, Uni e si y o Ve mon , Bu ling on, VT, Uni ed S a es, 7 Depa men o Bo any, Palacky ´Uni e si y in Olomouc, Olomouc, Czechia KEYWORDS legumes, global ood secu i y, c op imp o emen , nu ien managemen , sus ainable ag icul u e, ood and eed secu i y, clima e esilience Edi o ial on he Resea ch Topic Legumes o global ood secu i y - olume II As he wo ld aces an a ay o global challenges, including popula ion g ow h, clima e change, and he need o clean ene gy, he ole o legumes in add essing hese issues becomes inc easingly significan . The Resea ch Topic, “Legumes o Global Food Secu i y, Volume II”aims o explo e he di e se con ibu ions o legumes in p omo ing sus ainable ag icul u e and enhancing global ood secu i y. Legumes play a c ucial ole in deli e ing i al se ices o socie ies wo ldwide. One o hei p ima y con ibu ions lies in hei capaci y o p o ide a wide ange o ood c ops ha se e as essen ial sou ces o plan -based p o eins, add essing he challenge o ood secu i y o a apidly g owing popula ion. Fu he mo e, g ain legumes possess ema kable nu i ional p ope ies and ac as cos -e ec i e ood choices, playing a pi o al ole in achie ing global ood and eed secu i y amid he g owing wo ld popula ion. The significance o legumes ex ends beyond hei ole as a ood sou ce. Th ough hizobial symbiosis, legumes ha e he unique abili y o fix a mosphe ic ni ogen, en iching ag o- ecosys ems and boos ing subsequen c op p oduc i i y by enhancing wa e and nu ien cap u e and ecycling. Mo eo e , hey play a key ole in mi iga ing clima e change, o e ing an al e na i e o syn he ic ni ogenous e ilize s, which is ene gy-in ensi e o p oduce and elease g eenhouse gases upon b eakdown. Fu he mo e, legumes con ibu e o he educ ion o ossil uel usage by p o iding bio uel eeds ocks and indus ial esou ces. Gi en he challenges posed by inc easing clima ic s esses, legumes’gene ic di e si y equips hem o h i e in a ious en i onmen s, ende ing hem esilien and ideal o sus ainable in ensifica ion on small-scale and esou ce-cons ained a ms. Mo eo e , hey play a i al ole as biocon ol agen s, e ec i ely comba ing pes s and diseases ha could o he wise cause significan ag icul u al losses. F on ie s in Plan Science on ie sin.o g01 OPEN ACCESS EDITED AND REVIEWED BY Paul Gep s, Uni e si y o Cali o nia, Da is, Uni ed S a es *CORRESPONDENCE Jose C. Jimenez-Lopez [email p o ec ed] RECEIVED 06 Augus 2023 ACCEPTED 07 Sep embe 2023 PUBLISHED 18 Sep embe 2023 CITATION Jimenez-Lopez JC, Singh KB, Clemen e A, Czubinski J, Ocha S, Von We be g E and Smy ´kal P (2023) Edi o ial: Legumes o global ood secu i y - olume II. F on . Plan Sci. 14:1273600. doi: 10.3389/ pls.2023.1273600 COPYRIGHT © 2023 Jimenez-Lopez, Singh, Clemen e, Czubinski, Ocha , Von We be g and Smy ´kal. This is an open-access a icle dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion License (CC BY). The use, dis ibu ion o ep oduc ion in o he o ums is pe mi ed, p o ided he o iginal au ho (s) and he copy igh owne (s) a e c edi ed and ha he o iginal publica ion in his jou nal is ci ed, in acco dance wi h accep ed academic p ac ice. No use, dis ibu ion o ep oduc ion is pe mi ed which does no comply wi h hese e ms. TYPE Edi o ial PUBLISHED 18 Sep embe 2023 DOI 10.3389/ pls.2023.1273600 This Resea ch Topic aims o explo e he mul i ace ed con ibu ions o legumes in he de elopmen o obus and e ficien ag o-ecosys ems, he eby enhancing global ood secu i y. He e we summa ize some o he highligh s de i ed om he 22 a icles published in his Resea ch Topic, di iding hem in ou main opics, in o de o be e unde s and how esea ch on legumes and ela ed c ops is con ibu ing o c op imp o emen , adap a ion, and nu ien managemen , ul ima ely aiming o add ess ood secu i y challenges and suppo sus ainable ag icul u e. Rega ding c op adap a ion o abio ic s ess and imp o emen o abio ic s ess ole ance, Gup a e al. assessed hea ole ance in u dbean geno ypes o iden i y hea - ole an cul i a s sui able o cul i a ion du ing he summe season. In his pape , 97 di e se geno ypes o u dbean (Vigna mungo L. Heppe ) we e assessed o yield unde hea s ess and non-s ess condi ions o iden i y hea - ole an geno ypes. Eigh geno ypes we e highly hea ole an , while 35 we e highly hea sensi i e. Physiological and biochemical cha ac e iza ion o selec ed geno ypes unde hea s ess e ealed a ia ions in lea ni ogen balance index, chlo ophyll con en , fla onols, and an hocyanin con en s. Hea - ole an geno ypes exhibi ed highe memb ane s abili y index and supe io pho osyn he ic abili y. Molecula cha ac e iza ion dis inguished gene ic di e ences be ween hea - ole an (UPU 85-86) and hea - sensi i e (PKGU 1) geno ypes. Then, Diaz e al. in es iga ed he gene ic ela ionship be ween i on and zinc concen a ion and yield in common beans o de elop bio o ified a ie ies wi h highe mic onu ien le els. In hei s udy, hey ocused on common bean (Phaseolus ulga is L.), an impo an legume ha p o ides cos -e ec i e p o eins and mic onu ien s, especially i on and zinc. To comba malnu i ion in de eloping coun ies, bio o ifica ion aims o de elop a ie ies wi h highe Fe/Zn con en . Howe e , b eede s aced challenges due o he nega i e co ela ion be ween Fe/Zn concen a ion and yield. Using QTL mapping and GWAS analysis on bio o ified pa en popula ions, hey iden ified 79 QTLs and 23 ho spo egions ha showedQTLswi hopposinge ec sonyield componen s and Fe/Zn accumula ion. This allowed hem o selec specific QTLs o enhance Fe/Zn le els wi hou comp omising yield in bio o ified cul i a s. Alkaloids, a di e se g oup o cyclic ni ogen-con aining seconda y me aboli es, a e p esen in o e 20% o plan species, including Lupinus albus (whi e lupin), which na u ally con ains quinolizidine alkaloids (QAs) in seeds. While QAs p o ide na u al p o ec ion, lupin-b eeding p og ams ha e unin en ionally selec ed agains hem due o limi ed unde s anding o he QA biosyn he ic pa hway. The e iew by Oso io and Till discusses he cu en s a e o esea ch, ocusing on na u al mu a ions like he paupe locus and he use o molecula ma ke s and sequencing echnology o iden i y candida e genes. P ecision b eeding o low-alkaloid, high-nu i ion whi e lupin can be achie ed by unde s anding QA biosyn hesis, essen ial o sus ainable ag icul u al p oduc i i y and high-quali y p o ein o ood and eed. Then, esea ch pe o med by Woo Choi e al. aimed o imp o e soybean ood quali y by b eeding a new soybean line wi h pen a null ecessi e alleles o fi e an inu i ional and alle genic componen s: lipoxygenase,KTI,lec in,7Sa′subuni , and s achyose. The b eeding esul ed in a soybean s ain wi h he pen a null (lox1lox2lox3/lox1lox2lox3- i/ i-le/le-cgy1/cgy1- s2/ s2) geno ype, de oid o he men ioned p o eins and wi h low s achyose con en . The new s ain exhibi ed desi able ag onomic ai s, including pu ple flowe s, awny pubescence, de e mina e g ow h habi , and yellow pods a ma u i y. The 100-seed weigh was 31.1 g, and he yield was 2.80 /ha, making i a p omising soybean line wi h imp o ed nu i ional a ibu es. Finally, he pape by Li e al. ocused on he impo an a ea o plan esponses phospha e deficiencies. Phospho us is a key mic onu ien o c ops and la ge a eas o a able land (30-40%) a e limi ed by phospho us a ailabili y. This s udy iden ified GmWRKY46 as c ucial o enhanced phospha e s a a ion ole ance in soybean. I was induced in esponse o phospha e s a a ion, pa icula ly in oo s. O e exp ession o GmWRKY46 in ansgenic A abidopsis and soybean composi e plan s showed i s in ol emen in oo de elopmen , leading o inc eased phospha e up ake and imp o ed g ow h unde phospha e s a a ion. RNAseq and ChIP-qPCR analysis iden ified di e en ially exp essed genes, including A ED1, which imp o ed ole ance o phospha e s a a ion when o e exp essed in ansgenic A abidopsis. GmWRKY46 di ec ly binds o a W box in he A ED1 p omo e . O e all, GmWRKY46 ep esen s a p omising a ge o con en ional b eeding and ansgenic app oaches o enhance soybean’s phospha e s a a ion ole ance. The second main heme o his Resea ch Topic is gene ic a iabili y and yield imp o emen . In his ega d, a s udy pe o med by Susmi ha e al. assessed he gene ic a iabili y o g ain nu ien s in 600 pigeonpea ge mplasms om he RS Pa oda Genebank, ICRISAT, India, aiming o iden i y po en ial sou ces o bio o ifica ion. Field ials in 2019 and 2020 e ealed significan di e ences in ag onomic ai s and g ain nu ien s. Ge mplasms showed wide a ia ion in days o 50% flowe ing, days o ma u i y, 100-seed weigh , and g ain yield pe plan . G ain nu ien s like p o ein,mine als(P,K,Ca,Mg,Fe,Zn,Mn,Cu)exhibi ed subs an ial a ia ion. Ge mplasms om Asia had di e se g ain nu ien le els, while hose om A ica showed high nu ien densi y. Some ge mplasms exhibi ed a o able nu ien p ofiles and can se e as p omising sou ces o de eloping bio o ified lines wi h imp o ed ag onomic ai s. The s udy’spheno ypic da a can aid gene ic imp o emen e o s h ough GWAS and SNP/haplo ype-based app oaches. Then, Hab egeb iel pe o med a s udy ocused on geno ype by en i onmen in e ac ion (GEI) in soybean, which a ec s b eeding p og ess by hinde ing he selec ion o supe io cul i a s. The objec i e was o iden i y adap ed and s able geno ypes and explo e po en ial mega-en i onmen s o u u e es ing. Expe imen s we e conduc ed o e wo yea s, e alua ing yield componen s and o he ai s. S abili y analysis using GGE biplo and AMMI model iden ified fi e geno ypes as op pe o me s. Geno ypes JM-CLK/CRFD-15-SD (G8) and 5002T (G1) displayed he highes seed yield, making hem sui able as pa en s o hyb idiza ion and comme cial p oduc ion. These geno ypes a e Jimenez-Lopez e al. 10.3389/ pls.2023.1273600 F on ie s in Plan Science on ie sin.o g02 ecommended o elease as new soybean a ie ies o cul i a ion ac oss a ious en i onmen s. Rodas e al. in es iga ed he SUPERMAN (SUP) gene, ini ially disco e ed in A abidopsis haliana, ha main ains bounda ies be ween ep oduc i e o gans, egula ing s amen and ca pel numbe in flowe s. This s udy ocuses on he SUP o holog, M SUP, in he legume Medicago unca ula.M. unca ula se es as a model o s udy unique de elopmen al ai s in legumes, like compound inflo escence and complex flo al de elopmen . M SUP plays a ole in he gene ic ne wo k con olling hese p ocesses, sha ing conse ed unc ions wi h SUP bu also exhibi ing con ex - specific no el unc ions in legumes. M SUP con ols flowe numbe and de e minacy o epheme al me is ems, p o iding insigh s in o compound inflo escence and flowe de elopmen in legumes. Unde s anding hese gene ic con ols can benefi legume b eeding o imp o ed c op p oduc ion and ood secu i y. The in e es in plan p o eins o human and animal nu i ion con inues o g ow wi h legume c ops being a he o e on o e o s o b eed c ops wi h highe p o ein le els and be e quali y. The pape by Zhou e al. assessed wo impo an p o ein quali y ai s in pea (Pisum sa i um L.), a majo g ain legume g own widely wo ldwide. They used field ials sp ead o e 3 yea s and in mul iple loca ions o assess he amino acid p ofiles and p o ein diges ibili y in a pea ecombinan inb ed line (RIL) popula ion consis ing o 110 lines. While pea has easonable le els o p o ein, i is low in some amino acids such as yp ophan, me hionine and cys eine. The au ho s used nea -in a ed spec oscopy o measu e he amino acid p ofiles in he RILs and showed ha his me hod had ad an ages o such s udies o e o he me hods used p e iously, being a high- h oughpu , low cos and non-des uc i e me hod. The use o he me hod, coupled wi h he use o mul iple si es and a h ee-yea pe iod, helped o iden i y QTLS associa ed wi h key amino acids as well as QTLS associa ed wi h p o ein diges ibili y. These QTLs and he imp o ed me hod o measu ing seed p o eins will help wi h e o s o b eed pea cul i a s wi h imp o ed nu i ional quali ies. Gi en ha hei p oduc ion in he opics is loca ed on ma ginal, ain ed lands and hence yield is low, Smi h e al. assessed he adap a ion o 12 bush bean (Phaseolus ulga is L.) geno ypes o indi idual and combined s ess induced by d ough and low P a ailabili y h ough hei physiological and chemical esponses. Thus, seed weigh and ae ial biomass we e e y significan ly dec eased by bo h s ess ac o s, whe he applied indi idually o in combina ion, and was coupled wi h an also dec eased pho osyn hesis and s oma al conduc ance. Di e ences be ween geno ypes we e appa en hough, and he common bean geno ypes SEF60 and NCB226 we e mo e esilien and be e adap ed o s ess han he comme cial con ol DOR390 p o iding a highe yield, bu he e we e no s a is ically significan di e ences in he concen a ion o mine al nu ien s and amino acids wi hin he seed a ha es . Unde wa e defici , ca bon assimila ion and wa e use in lea es we e educed h oughou de elopmen , while combined low P and wa e defici esul ed in significan changes in he concen a ion o key nu ien s and amino acids in he soluble lea ac ion bu did no impac he seed. Those esul s sugges ha common bean geno ypes ha e a ce ain deg ee o esilience in e ms o yield as exp essed h ough pod ha es index and conse a ion o seed nu i ional con en . Kelle e al. examined gene ic a ia ion o flowe ing ime, yield, seed i on con en , and g ow h habi in climbing common beans. In gene al, he e has been paid less a en ion o he gene ic basis o ag onomic ai s in climbing ypes han bush ypes o common bean, and he au ho s se ou o co ec his wi h an examina ion o 17 field ials and eanalysis o 16 p e iously published da ase s om bo h he Meso-Ame ican and Andean genepools o common bean. In addi ion o finding a numbe o ma ke - ai associa ions, he au ho s show ha genomic p edic ion is imp o ed when bush bean in o ma ion is included in models p edic ing climbing bean geno ype-pheno ype associa ions. Finally, Zaki and Radwan s udied he geno ypic and pheno ypic a iance o fi e pa en al geno ypes and six gene a ed c osses in F1 and F2 gene a ions. The esul s indica ed a subs an ial deg ee o geno ypic a iabili y ac oss he in es iga ed a iables, which was conside ably g ea e han he pheno ypic a iance. The au ho s succeeded in ob aining c osses ha possess p omising po en ial o high yield. The hi d opic includes fi e pape s abou imp o emen o nu i ional quali y o legumes. Sala ia e al. e iewed he po en ial pa hways o inc ease seed p o ein con en , he ole o an i- nu i ional compounds, and he ex en o gene ic a ia ion in cul i a ed len il and i s c oss-compa ible wild ela i es. The au ho s discussed he need o ca e ul pheno yping, and explo ed a ange o b eeding app oachesconside edasa enues o imp o emen including speed b eeding, genomic selec ion, and gene ic enginee ing. To in es iga e he kine ics o i on (Fe) up ake and pa i ioning in chickpea, Jahan e al. used a hyd oponic g ow h sys em and RNA-sequencing o six geno ypes ha a y in seed Fe con en . A numbe o key anspo e s we e ound o be exp essed in oo s and lea es, wi h he genes FRO2 and IRT1 being impo an in oo s in he p esence o Fe, and GCN2 in low Fe condi ions. Con e sely, in lea es he genes NRAMP3, V1T1, YSL1 along wi h s o age gene FER3 showed highe exp ession. The imp o ed unde s anding o Fe dynamics p o ided by his wo k p o ides a ge s o e o s o inc ease chickpea seed Fe con en unde bo h high and low soil Fe condi ions. Ca illo-Ped omo e al. in es iga ed cold ole ance in a a bean. They used wo a a bean QTL mapping popula ions o in es iga e he gene ic basis o cold ole ance. This in es iga ion iden ified fi e genomic egions associa ed wi h imp o ed o e win e ing ole ance. In es iga ion o syn eny o hese egions wi h he Pisum and Medicago genomes showed ha hese egions a e also associa ed wi h cold ole ance ac oss o he closely ela ed legumes, sugges ing sha ed mechanisms o ole ance ha could p o e o be e ec i e b eeding a ge s. Bau is a-Exposi o e al. analyzed he impac o ge mina ion on p o ein and phenolic compound p ofiles in len il and a a bean seeds. In his pape , he au ho s decided o analyze how he p ofile o phenolic compounds in di e en seeds a ec s he du a ion o ge mina ion and diges ibili y o p o eins. Hyd olysis o he main p o ein ac ions (7S and 11S globulins) ha occu ed du ing ge mina ion esul ed in a simul aneous inc ease in he con en o Jimenez-Lopez e al. 10.3389/ pls.2023.1273600 F on ie s in Plan Science on ie sin.o g03 pep ides and ee amino acids. In addi ion, he p oduc s o p o ein hyd olysis we e es ed by he au ho s o po en ial heal h- p omo ing p ope ies, i.e., an ihype ensi e and an ioxidan ac i i ies. The esul s o his s udy clea ly showed ha ega dless o he ype o seed, he ge mina ion p ocess con ibu es o inc ease o p o ease ac i i y and educ ion o he le el o phy ic acid, ypsin inhibi o s, and annins which a e conside ed an inu ien s. Fu he mo e, he key ole o seed pe meabili y on he speed o he ge mina ion p ocess, which subsequen ly influences he deg ee o an inu ien s and he change in seed mic os uc u e and endogenous p o eolysis, was clea ly demons a ed. Finally, he wo k pe o med by Kal e e al. e alua ed an in e specific popula ion o chickpeas in e ms o genome- associa ed s ess ole ance indices. The app oach used by he au ho s assumed he applica ion o wild ela i es as a sou ce o no el alleles o adap a ion o subop imal en i onmen s. In pa icula , in hei wo k, an in e specific popula ion de i ed om Cice e icula um accessions was used as a dono o in og ession o hea and d ough ole ance. F om he ini ial 600 in e specific lines ha we e gene a ed and es ed in e ms o esis ance o ascochy a bligh , a 195-line subse was selec ed and s udied. Subsequen analyses helped es ablish a se o indi idual lines ha pe o m be e unde subop imal condi ions. The addi ional ou come o his esea ch can be associa ed wi h iden i ying specific SNP ma ke s ha can be used as ma ke -assis ed selec ion ha can help iden i y genes unde lying ole ance o abio ic s ess. The las fi e pape s o his Resea ch Topic we e ocused on he use o bio-inoculan s and soil e ili y imp o emen . No is Sa ala e al. assessed he e ficacy o bio-inoculan s in soybean p oduc ion in Mozambique. In his con ex , o imp o e soybean yield, a me s use bio-inoculan s om a ious sou ces and ag oecological adap abili y. Howe e , hese bio-inoculan s a e o en una ailable du ing plan ing ime and a y in yield based on hei sou ce and handling. Mozambique elies on impo ed bio-inoculan s om neighbo ing coun ies and e en Sou h Ame ica. In his s udy, se en B ady hizobium diazoe ficiens s ain-based bio-inoculan s wi h di e en ca ie ma e ials we e e alua ed o hei pe o mance, adap abili y, and soybean p oduc i i y. Inocula ion significan ly imp o ed plan g ow h, nodula ion, and yield, sugges ing he po en ial o bio-inoculan s o enhance soybean p oduc ion in Mozambique. Jacques e al. conduc ed wo s udies ela ed o pea plan esponses. The fi s s udy ocused on he impac o mine al dep i a ion on nu ien con en and emobiliza ion. They imposed ansien dep i a ion o 13 mine al nu ien s du ing ege a i e g ow h and obse ed p e e en ial alloca ion o d y weigh and elemen s o shoo s, pa icula ly end ils. Di e en emobiliza ion s a egies we e iden ified, and he s udy sugges s s a egies o enhance seed quali y h ough p ecise e iliza ion du ing pe iods o mine al nu ien deficiency. The second s udy by Jacques e al. in es iga ed pea plan esponses o a ious wa e s ess ypes and hei e ec s on nu ien up ake and emobiliza ion. Pea plan s, being nu i ionally impo an , ace ulne abili y o wa e defici s induced by clima e change. Common esponses o all wa e s ess ypes we e obse ed in shoo s, wi h manganese (Mn) playing a significan ole. Unde con inuous s ess, bo on (B) impac ed oo a chi ec u e. An “ecophysiological imp in ”in he oo sys em was also obse ed, leading o inc eased nodule numbe s du ing he eco e y pe iod. These findings p o ide insigh s in o plan s a egies o cope wi h wa e s ess and con ibu e o global ood secu i y and nu ien deficiencies while educing eliance on animal p oduc s. Ag icul u al soils a e a ec ed wo ldwide by acidic pH and high le els o aluminum (Al) con amina ion due o se e al ac o s including ag icul u e p ac ices and clima e change. Quinones e al. ha e epo ed he abili y o lupin o ole a e and accumula e Al in he hizosphe e and inside he oo cells, sugges ing i s use in he es o a ion o ma ginal acid Al- ich soils in empe a e zones whe e o he legumes a e unable o g ow. The au ho s desc ibe se e al physiological and molecula mechanisms o ole ance, up ake and accumula ion o Al by lupin; among hem, clus e oo s which a e able o exuda e o ganic acids anions and polyphenols as well as Al- ole an hizobia s ains wi h abili y o p oduce abundan exopolysaccha ides. These adap i e mechanisms make lupin a sui able c op o acidic soils a ec ed by Al oxici y. Finally, Yu e al. iden ified he GmTic110a gene’s olein chlo oplas de elopmen and i s impac on soybean g ow h. Mo e conc e ely,in hiss udy,aGlycinemaxpaleg eenlea 3-1 (Gmpgl3-1) mu an wi h educed chlo ophyll con en , chlo oplas de ec s, dec eased yields, and ewe pods pe plan was isola ed om soybean. Bulked seg egan analysis and map-based cloning iden ified a mu a ion in he chlo oplas de elopmen - ela ed GmTic110a gene. Knockou plan s exhibi ed simila pheno ypes o he mu an . GmTic110a was highly exp essed in lea es and localized o he inne chlo oplas memb ane. In e ac ion expe imen s e ealed GmTic110a’s in e ac ion wi h o he p o eins in ol ed in chlo oplas de elopmen (GmTic20, GmTic40a, and GmTic40b). These findings sugges he c ucial ole o GmTic110a in chlo oplas de elopmen , impac ing pho osyn hesis and soybean g ow h. In conclusion, he Resea ch Topic “Legumes o Global Food Secu i y, Volume II”del es in o he immense po en ial o legumes, pa ing he way o inno a i e and ans o ma i e solu ions o add ess p essing 21s -cen u y challenges. These 22 pape s highligh he c ucial ole o legumes in p o iding essen ial plan - based p o eins, suppo ing ood and eed secu i y in a cos -e ec i e manne . Mo eo e , he di e se opics co e ed o e aluable insigh s o enhance c op imp o emen , adap a ion, and nu ien managemen , ul ima ely con ibu ing o global ood secu i y and sus ainable ag icul u e. As a collec i e, hese a icles make a subs an ial con ibu ion o unde s anding and b eeding esilien legumes capable o wi hs anding clima e challenges. Ou hope is ha hese findings will significan ly enhance global ood secu i y in he o eseeable u u e. Au ho con ibu ions JJ-L: W i ing –o iginal d a , W i ing – e iew & edi ing. KS: W i ing –o iginal d a , W i ing – e iew & edi ing. AC: W i ing – Jimenez-Lopez e al. 10.3389/ pls.2023.1273600 F on ie s in Plan Science on ie sin.o g04 o iginal d a , W i ing – e iew & edi ing. JC: W i ing –o iginal d a , W i ing – e iew & edi ing. SO: W i ing –o iginal d a , W i ing – e iew & edi ing. EW: W i ing –o iginal d a , W i ing – e iew & edi ing. PS: W i ing –o iginal d a , W i ing – e iew & edi ing. Funding JJ-L hanks he suppo o he Eu opean Resea ch P og am MARIE CURIE (FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IOF),g an e . PIOF-GA- 2011-301550; he Spanish Minis y o Economy, Indus y and Compe i i eness (Ramon y Cajal Resea ch P og am), g an e . RYC-2014-16536; he CSIC in amu al esea ch p og am, g an e . 202240I002; and he Spanish Minis y o Science and Inno a ion, g an e . numbe CPP2021-008989. AC was suppo ed by PY20_00242 g an , financed by he Conseje ia de T asn o macion economica, Indus ia, Conocimien o y Uni e sidades de la Jun a de Andalucı  a (Spain) and FEDER unds A way o make Eu ope. Conflic o in e es The au ho s decla e ha he esea ch was conduc ed in he absence o any comme cial o financial ela ionships ha could be cons ued as a po en ial conflic o in e es . The au ho (s) decla ed ha hey we e an edi o ial boa d membe o F on ie s, a he ime o submission. This had no impac on he pee e iew p ocess and he final decision. Publishe ’s no e All claims exp essed in his a icle a e solely hose o he au ho s and do no necessa ily ep esen hose o hei a filia ed o ganiza ions, o hose o he publishe , he edi o s and he e iewe s. Any p oduc ha may be e alua ed in his a icle, o claim ha may be made by i s manu ac u e , is no gua an eed o endo sed by he publishe . Jimenez-Lopez e al. 10.3389/ pls.2023.1273600 F on ie s in Plan Science on ie sin.o g05