Data Publication Infrastructure for FAIR Digital Objects

Abstract The DataPLANT consortium is driving a cultural shift toward reproducible Open Science in the plant research community by embedding Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR) principles into the research lifecycle from the outset. Central to this effort is the development of a science gateway that supports collaborative research, flexible workflow integration, and structured data publication. Built on a robust code and project management platform, this gateway offers tools for versioning, provenance tracking, and documentation, enabling transparent, iterative, and open research practices. At the heart of this infrastructure are DataHUBs, which serve as the technical complement of the Annotated Research Context (ARC)—a concept designed to organize, structure, and facilitate the management of collaborative research data. Aligned with the emerging paradigm of FAIR Digital Object (FDO), DataPLANT redefines data publication: no longer a static deposit, but the creation of rich, machine-actionable digital objects that integrate data, metadata and persistent identifiers. These FDOs are citable, immutable in their published state, yet support versioning and continued evolution. The DataPLANT infrastructure actively supports the creation, management, and dissemination of FDOs, ensuring that FAIRness is maintained throughout the entire data lifecycle. Treating FDOs as the ultimate result of a curated research process, rather than a post hoc archiving step, establishes a sustainable foundation for open and FAIR science in plant research and other fields.