Recipient Organization
GORDON RESEARCH CONFERENCES, INC
512 LIBERTY LN
WEST KINGSTON,RI 02892-1502
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The Fourth Gordon Research Conference on Plant Cell Walls will be held July 30-August 4, 2006, at the University of New England, Biddeford, Maine. Cell walls constrain the final sizes and shapes of plant cells, and therefore the stature and form of plants. Plants invest over 10% of their genomes in building their cell walls. This conference will address the major advances in our understanding of the composition, synthesis, and architecture of plant cell walls and their dynamics during growth and differentiation. It will bring together international scientists from academia, industry and government labs to share the latest fundamental scientific breakthroughs in plant cell wall biology. As cell walls are an enormously important source of food, feed, fiber and medically active compounds for humans and animals, a special session will focus on the advances made in the medical and practical uses of plant cell walls for human society. To foster interdisciplinary research, a
special effort has also been made to invite speakers from outside the field of plant biology. The funds requested in this proposal are primarily to be used to permit younger scientists, minorities and underrepresented scientists to participate in the meeting and to advance their careers in plant biology.
Animal Health Component
20%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
80%
Applied
20%
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
Plant cell walls are one of the key distinguishing features of plant life and profoundly influence plant growth, development, and structural mechanics. Of the 40 or so cell types in plants, almost all of them can be identified by unique features of their cell walls. The objective of the Fourth Gordon Research Conference on Plant Cell Walls, to be held July 30-August 4, 2006, at the University of New England, Biddeford, Maine, is to bring together researchers who provide interdisciplinary approaches to study the structure and biophysics, biosynthesis, and dynamics of the plant cell wall during growth and development. Plants devote about 10% of their genomes to the construction of the cell wall, and many of the participants will report on discovery of novel genes that function in wall synthesis. Plant cell walls are the primary raw materials used in the timber, textile and paper industries and provide a rich source of polymers for food products, films, thickeners and
many other materials. Because cell walls are an important source of raw materials for multiple industries, we anticipate that many cell wall biogenesis-related genes just now being identified and characterized will be of economic importance via genetic modification of cell wall characteristics in plants. Examples include the modification of pectin-cross-linking to increase shelf life of fruits and vegetables, the enhancement of dietary fiber contents of cereals, the improvement of yield and quality of fibers, and the relative allocation of carbon to wall biomass for biofuels. Sessions devoted to the practical aspects of cell wall research are included in the program. Plant cell-wall polysaccharides have been found to be important agents in the mitigation of human diseases such as cancer, aid in colorectal function as dietary fibers, and can act as immuno-stimulants and nanosurface modifying agents for medical devices. Thus, we have devoted special session to medical uses of plant cell
wall polysaccharides, with speakers representing the medical technology to broaden the perspectives of our community. Another major goal of this meeting is to attract young scientists to our field. Several of the speaking roles have been given to senior doctoral students and post-doctorals, and with supplemental funding, we will award travel grants to several more young scientists to give poster presentations. We have advertised the meeting and worked with representatives of major plant societies to identify and attract more faculty and students from underrepresented minorities to our community.
Project Methods
Our Gordon Research Conference on Plant Cells Walls will bring together about 150 scientists for 5 days in an informal and small setting that will foster interchange among the participants. The program will address cell wall structure, evolution, biosynthesis, growth and development, plant-microbe interactions, wood formation, advancing technologies in glycobiology, and medical uses of plant cell wall polysaccharides. Two distinguished researchers who have each spent their careers in study of the biochemistry and cytology of plant cell walls will give the Opening and Closing Plenary Lectures. Sessions are presented in the morning and evening, with the early afternoon will be free for informal discussions and leisure time. In the late afternoon of each day, 2 hours will be given for poster sessions. The speakers are coming from a diversity of geographic areas, and especially European countries, which have a heavier representation of researchers in this field. Of the 52
session leaders and speakers, 24 are from outside the US. We have also developed a program to provide balance in gender and in senior/junior investigators, with 12 women as session leaders and speakers, and 9 post-doctorals and students in speaking roles. We have encouraged all non-speaking participants to present posters.