SEB Glasgow 2009 - Plant Biology Sessions
Below is a list of the plant sessions which ran at the meeting. For the full meeting programme click here.
Membrane Transport in Biotic and Abiotic Stress
Dates: 28th - 29th June
Organised by: Anna Amtmann and Mike Blatt (University of Glasgow)
Contact: Anna Amtmann (A.Amtmann@bio.gla.ac.uk)
The Plant Membrane Transport session at SEB 2009 is dedicated to the memory of JACK DAINTY who died last month. Jack, a graduate of the University of Cambridge, established modern plant biophysics while holding academic positions at the Universities of Edinburgh and East Anglia between 1952 and 1969. He and his first PhD student, Enid MacRobbie, used for the first time isotope flux analysis to plants, which led to the discovery of several fundamental priniciples of water and ion transport in plants. Jack was a friend and inspiration to many of the speakers and attendees of this session and we will remember him in two short presentations on Monday, 29th June, before the lunch break.
Click here to read the Guardian Obituary - http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/jun/24/obituary-jack-dainty
Speakers include:
Eduardo Blumwald (University of California at Davis), Julia Davies (University of Cambridge), Emanuel Epstein (University of California, Davis), Frans Maathuis (University of York), Francisco Rubio ( CEBAS-CSIC), Dale Sanders (University of York), Daniel Schachtman (Monsanto St. Louis), Gerhard Thiel (Technische Universität Darmstadt), Françoise Daniel- Vedele (INRA Versailles) and Fangjie Zhao (Rothamsted Research).
Description:
Membranes and membrane transport form the front line in the interactions of plants with their environment and their ability to cope with stress. The SEB session on Membrane Transport in Abiotic and Biotic Stress will take a fresh look at topics ranging from heavy metal and salt stress to the roles for ion transporters in plant mineral nutrition and disease. This two-day session follows immediately on the Glasgow Phoenix 2009 Symposium (also organised by Mike Blatt and Anna Amtmann) which, in conjunction with the SEB Plant Transport Group, this year will explore developments in our understanding of protein complexes in plant signalling and development.
For the full meeting programme click here.
Flowering and Reproduction
Dates: 29th June
Organised by: Stephen Jackson
Contact: stephen.jackson@warwick.ac.uk
Speakers include:
Dr Dave Laurie (JIC, Norwich):
Adaptive variation in photoperiod response in wheat and barley
Dr Fuquan Liu (JIC, Norwich):
'RNA processing mediated transcriptional silencing of FLC in flowering time regulation'
Dr Soraya Pelaz (CSIC, Barcelona):
'The balance between CONSTANS and TEMPRANILLO controls floral induction'
Dr Salomé Prat (CNB, Madrid)
FT: a general modulator of meristem activity?
Prof Brian Thomas (WHRI, Warwick):
'95 Years of Photoperiodism: a Long Nights Journey into Day'
Renhou Wang (Max Planck Institute, Koln):
'Flowering in the context of perenniality'
Description:
Research into the control of flowering has made rapid progress in recent years with the discovery that the FT protein is part of the mobile signal that moves into the shoot apical meristem to induce flowering. This one day session will cover work that is currently going on in labs who are at the forefront of research into flowering time, and it will also examine the similarities that exist between the mechanisms controlling flowering and those controlling other reproductive processes.
For the full meeting programme click here.
Plant Responses to UVB
Dates: 1st July
Organised by: Gareth Jenkins
Contact: G.Jenkins@bio.gla.ac.uk
Speakers include:
Carlos Ballaré (Institute for Agricultural Plant Physiology and Ecology, Argentina), Paula Casati (UNR, Argentina), Gareth Jenkins (University of Glasgow), Roman Ulm (University of Freiberg, Germany), Virginia Walbot (Stanford University, California)
Description:
UV-B radiation has wide-ranging effects on organisms and ecosystems. In plants, UV-B exposure regulates gene expression responses that promote survival in sunlight, influence morphology, modify biochemical composition and help to deter pests and pathogens. Moreover, UV-B exposure modifies plant responses to various other stimuli. This session will discuss the molecular mechanisms underlying plant responses to UV-B and the importance of UV-B responses to plants growing in natural and agricultural ecosystems.
For the full meeting programme click here.
Photomorphogenesis
Dates: 30th June
Organised by: Matthew Terry and Paul Devlin
Contact: Matthew Terry (mjt@soton.ac.uk) and Paul Devlin (paul.devlin@rhul.ac.uk)
Dedicated to the memory of Prof. Garry Whitelam (Leicester University)
Speakers include:
Edgar Spalding - University of Wisconsin, Madison USA
"Seedling photomorphogenesis as seen through the eyes of a computer".
Giltsu Choi - KAIST, Korea
"Phytochromes coordinate hormone signalling to promote seed germination"
Chentao Lin - University of California, Los Angeles, USA
"Arabidopsis CRY2 and its signalling mechanisms"
Akira Nagatani - Kyoto University, Japan
"The structural basis of phyA-specific properties"
Enrique Lopez-Juez - Royal Holloway University of London
"Regulatory processes underscoring the light control of shoot meristem activity and leaf initiation".
Ida Ruberti - Università di Roma, Italy
"Regulatory networks for the shade avoidance response".
Description:
Light plays a key role in the regulation of plant development throughout the life history of higher plants. Three main photoreceptor groups, phytochromes, cryptochromes and phototropins, govern germination, seedling establishment, leaf initiation and even overall plant architecture. Light also impinges on many other signalling pathways, such as hormone responses, temperature response and regulation of the circadian clock. This session will cover the latest findings and approaches, encompassing research into both the effects and mechanism of action of plant photoreceptors.
For the full meeting programme click here.
Modelling Plant Systems: Molecules to Agro-ecosystems
Dates: 28th - 29th June
Organised by: Mary Traynor and Francois Tardieu
Contact: m.traynor@lancaster.ac.uk
Speakers include:
Xavier Draye (Universite Catholique de Louvain), Christian Fournier (INRA), Christophe Godin (INRIA), Graeme Hammer (University of Queensland), Steve Long (University of Illinois), Hendrik Poorter (University of Utrecht), Przemyslaw Prusinkiewicz (University of Calgary), Jean-François Soussana (INRA), Francois Tardieu (INRA), Fred van Eeuwijk (Wageningen University), Jan Vos (Wageningen University), Xinyou Yin (Wageningen University)
Description:
Papers presented in this session give new perspectives on how key mechanisms influence function at whole plant and crop level. Systematic modelling of complex processes will be required before much of the emerging knowledge at the molecular and genomic level can be fully exploited.
Session themes include:
Modelling plant development and 3D architecture
Modelling: genetic and environmental inputs to whole plant processes
Virtual genotypes and virtual plants for genetic and physiological uses
Modelling: plant response to climate change
For the full meeting programme click here.
Young Scientists in Plant Biology
Dates: 29th - 30th June
Organised by: Christine Raines
Contact: rainc@essex.ac.uk
Description
This session comprises talks and posters on all those aspects of plant biology that are not catered to in the specific Plant Section sessions. As the name indicates, we particularly encourage presentations by post-grads and post-docs and cash prizes will be awarded for the best talk and the best poster. Those who are accepted to give presentations may also be eligible to apply for funding via the SEB Student Travel Grant Scheme or the COB Travel Grants.
The session is an important element of the scientific programme, with high-quality presentations on a wide spectrum of subjects. The session (formerly entitled Developments in Plant Biology) has been very successful in recent years, and will take place over two full days at Glasgow in 2009. The programme of talks is organised (as far as possible) into subject areas, so delegates can spend a few hours listening to back-to-back presentations within their general area of interest.
For the full meeting programme click here.
Leaf Form and Function (joint plant/cell session)
Dates: 29th June - 30th June
Organised by: Andy Fleming and Jim Murray
Contact: Andy Fleming (a.fleming@sheffield.ac.uk) and Jim Murray (j.murray@biotech.cam.ac.uk)
Speakers Include:
Jim Barber (Imperial), Gerrit Beemster (Ghent), Rishi Bhalerao (Umea). Dominique Bergmann (Stanford), Andrew Fleming (Sheffield), Christine Granier (Montpellier), Julian Hibberd (Cambridge), Patrick Laufs (Versailles), Jim Murray (Cardiff), Uli Schurr (Jülich), Neelimha Sinha (UC Davis), Miltos Tsiantis (Oxford)
Description:
Significant progress has been made in our understanding of distinct elements of leaf biology. Are we now at a stage where we can start to put those elements together to gain an integrated understanding of how a leaf is made and how it functions?
Session themes include leaf form, growth, differentiation and function.
For the full meeting programme click here.