Next week (July 13-18), I’ll be attending the Plant Molecular Biology Gordon Conference in Holderness, NH. Given the policy of the Gordon Conferences (everything that happens at a GRC, stays at a GRC), I won’t be providing any “blow-by-blow” account of the meeting. However, I thought readers might be interested in the agenda. This gives one a good idea as to what is “hot” at the moment, and where the field will be moving in the next few years. The following may also be perused at the meeting web site. I’ve only listed the talks and speakers – no need to dwell on the, um, social aspects of the meeting.
SUNDAY
8:00 pm – 9:00 pm BIOENERGY
8:00 pm – 8:45 pm Ken Keegstra (Michigan State University)
“Problems and prospects for understanding plant cell wall biosynthesis”
8:45 pm – 9:00 pm Discussion
MONDAY
9:00 am – 12:30 pm BIOENERGY
Discussion Leader: Nick Carpita (Purdue University)
9:00 am – 9:25 am Clint Chapple (Purdue University)
“Selaginella moellendorffii: new genes for biomass improvement from a highly divergent plant species”
9:25 am – 9:35 am Discussion
9:35 am – 10:00 am Henrick Scheller (DOE Joint BioEnergy Institute at Berkeley)
“Biochemistry of cell wall biosynthesis and digestibility”
10:00 am – 10:10 am Discussion
10:40 am – 11:05 am Rick Dixon (Noble Foundation)
“Molecular genetic approaches to overcoming biomass recalcitrance for liquid biofuel production”
11:05 am – 11:15 am Discussion
11:15 am – 11:40 am Yair Shachar-Hill (Michigan State University)
“Metabolic flux analysis of plants to meet Bioenergy goals”
11:40 am – 11:50 am Discussion
11:50 am – 12:00 pm Maura Cannon (University Of Massachusetts)
“Homing in on the extensin code”
12:00 pm – 12:05 pm Discussion
12:05 pm – 12:15 pm Ronan Sulpice (Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Potsdam-Golm)
“Starch is a major integrator in the regulation of growth in Arabidopsis thaliana”
12:15 pm – 12:20 pm Discussion
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm INTEGRATION AND REGULATION OF METABOLISM
Discussion Leader: Clint Chapple (Purdue University)
7:30 pm – 7:55 pm Michael Sussman (University of Wisconsin)
“Metabolomics within a systems biology context”
7:55 pm – 8:05 pm Discussion
8:05 pm – 8:30 pm Dean DellaPenna (Michigan State University )
“Manipulating Plant Metabolism to Benefit Human Health pathways”
8:30 pm – 8:40 pm Discussion
8:40 pm – 9:05 pm Robb Fraley (Monsanto)
“Enhancing Yield as a Key to Bioenergy Production”
9:05 pm – 9:15 pm Discussion
9:15 pm – 9:25 pm Sergei Storozhenko (Gent University)
“Folate fortification of rice by metabolic engineering”
9:25 pm – 9:30 pm Discussion
TUESDAY
9:00 am – 12:30 pm THE DYNAMIC GENOME
Discussion Leader: Michael Sussman (University of Wisconsin)
9:00 am – 9:25 am Daniel Zilberman (University of California-Berkeley)
“Genome-wide analysis of chromatin structure in Arabidopsis”
9:25 am – 9:35 am Discussion
9:35 am – 10:00 am Joseph Petolino (Dow AgroSciences)
“Zinc finger nuclease-mediated gene targeting in plants”
10:00 am – 10:10 am Discussion
10:40 am – 11:05 am Scott Michaels (Indiana University)
“Novel methyltransferases required for heterochromatin formation in Arabidopsis”
11:05 am – 11:15 am Discussion
11:15 am – 11:40 am Joe Ecker (Salk Institute)
“Induced, Natural and Epigenetic Variation in the Arabidopsis Genome”
11:40 am – 11:50 am Discussion
11:50 am – 12:00 pm Brande Wulff (Universidad Politécnica De Valencia)
“Induced epigenetic variation and its impact on Arabidopsis phenotype”
12:00 pm – 12:05 pm Discussion
12:05 pm – 12:15 pm Ram Yadav (University Of California-Riverside)
“A gene expression map of shoot apical meristem stem-cell niche of Arabidopsis thaliana”
12:15 pm – 12:20 pm Discussion
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm THE PROTEOME
Discussion Leader: Mary Lou Guerinot (Dartmouth University)
7:30 pm – 7:55 pm Steve Briggs (University of California San Diego )
“Observations of the proteome during defense signaling”
7:55 pm – 8:05 pm Discussion
8:05 pm – 8:30 pm Bonnie Bartel (Rice University)
“Turnover of peroxisomal matrix proteins”
8:30 pm – 8:40 pm Discussion
8:40 pm – 9:05 pm Katja Bärenfaller (University of Zurich)
“Genome-Scale Proteome Dynamics and Gene Models”
9:05 pm – 9:15 pm Discussion
9:15 pm – 9:25 pm Youngsook Lee (Pohang University Of Science And Technology)
“ROP small G proteins function as molecular switches in diverse signaling processes”
9:25 pm – 9:30 pm Discussion
WEDNESDAY
9:00 am – 12:30 pm PLANT PATHOGEN INTERACTIONS
Discussion Leader: Pam Green (University of Delaware)
9:00 am – 9:25 am Mary Beth Mudgett (Stanford)
“Xanthomonas XopN effector targets an atypical LRR-RLK involved in defense and development in tomato”
9:25 am – 9:35 am Discussion
9:35 am – 10:00 am Jonathan Jones (The Sainsbury Laboratory)
“Monitoring and manipulating information flow at the host/pathogen interface”
10:00 am – 10:10 am Discussion
10:40 am – 11:00 am Marcel Wiermer (University of British Columbia)
“Natural resistance mechanisms of plants against fungi, bacteria, and viruses”
11:00 am – 11:10 am Discussion
11:10 am – 11:30 am Brody DeYoung (Indiana University)
“Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Pathogen Recognition in Plants”
11:30 am – 11:40 am Discussion
11:40 am – 11:55 am Sarah M. Collier (Cornell)
“Signal initiation by the Rx disease resistance protein”
11:55 am – 12:00 pm Discussion
12:00 pm – 12:15 pm Chris Lamb (John Innes Centre)
“Novel defence mechanisms defined by the Pseudomonas syringae sax operon”
12:15 pm – 12:20 pm Discussion
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm ION HOMEOSTASIS AND SIGNALING
Discussion Leader: Jonathan Jones (The Sainsbury Laboratory)
7:30 pm – 7:55 pm Mary Lou Guerinot (Dartmouth University)
“The role and regulation of reductases and transporters of iron uptake”
7:55 pm – 8:05 pm Discussion
8:05 pm – 8:30 pm Jeff Harper (University of Nevada)
“Calcium signal-transduction pathways”
8:30 pm – 8:40 pm Discussion
8:40 pm – 9:05 pm Mike Haydon (University of Heidelberg)
“Comparative functional genomics of adaptation for metal tolerance in A. halleri versus A. thaliana”
9:05 pm – 9:15 pm Discussion
9:15 pm – 9:25 pm Jose Dinneny (National University Of Singapore)
“Cell identity mediates the response of roots to salt stress”
9:25 pm – 9:30 pm Discussion
THURSDAY
9:00 am – 12:30 pm THE SMALL RNA UNIVERSE IN PLANTS
Discussion Leader: Steve Briggs (University of California San Diego)
9:00 am – 9:25 am Taiowa Montgomery (Oregon State University)
“Small RNA-Directed Pathways in Plants”
9:25 am – 9:35 am Discussion
9:35 am – 10:00 am Pam Green (University of Delaware)
“Genome-wide analysis of miRNA and their targets”
10:00 am – 10:10 am Discussion
10:40 am – 11:05 am Jian-Kang Zhu (University of California-Riverside)
“Small RNAs in abiotic stress responses”
11:05 am – 11:15 am Discussion
11:15 am – 11:40 am Olivier Voinnet (Institut de Biologie Moléculaire des Plantes, CNRS)
“Small RNAs in defense responses”
11:40 am – 11:50 am Discussion
11:50 am – 12:00 pm Rebecca Mosher (Cambridge University)
“PolIV-dependent siRNAs in Arabidopsis”
12:00 pm – 12:05 pm Discussion
12:05 pm – 12:15 pm Alicja Ziemienowicz (University of Lethbridge)
“Genetics and epigenetics of transgenerational response to stress”
12:15 pm – 12:20 pm Discussion
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm PLANT HORMONE SIGNALING
Discussion Leader: Bonnie Bartel (Rice University)
7:30 pm – 7:55 pm Jennifer Nemhauser (University of Washington)
“Manipulation and Dissection of Plant Growth Control Networks”
7:55 pm – 8:05 pm Discussion
8:05 pm – 8:15 pm Liang-Jwu Chen (Institute Of Molecular Biology, Taiwan)
“A Novel Class of Gibberellin 2-Oxidases Controls Rice Architecture”
8:15 pm – 8:20 pm Discussion
8:20 pm – 8:45 pm Tai-Ping Sun (Duke University)
“A DELLAcate balance in gibberellin signaling”
8:45 pm – 8:55 pm Discussion
8:55 pm – 9:20 pm Joanne Chory (Salk Institute)
“Brassinosteroids and the control of plant growth”
9:20 pm – 9:30 pm Discussion
The RNA Underworld 