Source: NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES submitted to NRP
THE NATIONAL PLANT GENOME INITIATIVE: ACHIEVEMENTS AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
NRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0209884
Grant No.
2007-35300-17910
Cumulative Award Amt.
$15,000.00
Proposal No.
2007-02449
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Apr 1, 2007
Project End Date
Mar 31, 2009
Grant Year
2007
Program Code
[52.1]- (N/A)
Recipient Organization
NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
2101 CONSTITUTION AVE NW
WASHINGTON,DC 20418-0006
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
NPGI was launched in 1998 as a long-term project to explore DNA structure and function in plants. A study to review the program's achievements and recommend its future directions would be very useful. The study will assess whether NPGI has met its objectives and the nation's needs for innovation in basic plant science, agriculture and energy research. The study will also examine the broader impact of NPGI and whether its research and activities have generated insights for other disciplines in biology.
Animal Health Component
50%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
50%
Developmental
50%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
2012499104050%
2012499108050%
Knowledge Area
201 - Plant Genome, Genetics, and Genetic Mechanisms;

Subject Of Investigation
2499 - Plant research, general;

Field Of Science
1040 - Molecular biology; 1080 - Genetics;
Goals / Objectives
The proposed study will review the achievements of the National Plant Genome Initiative (NPGI) since its inception in 1998 and assess its contribution to science, research infrastructure and education of the next generation of scientists. The study will also recommend future research directions and objectives for NPGI.
Project Methods
An ad hoc committee under the purview of the Boards on Life Sciences and Agriculture and Natural Resources of the National Academies will be appointed to conduct a study on the National Plant Genome Initiative (NPGI). The objectives of the study are to review the accomplishments of NPGI to date; assess the contribution of NPGI to science, research infrastructure, and education of the next generation scientists; recommend future directions for NPGI; discuss how NPGI has informed and will continue to inform other research programs related to plant science that are currently underway (for example, Arabidopsis 2010 and DOE Biofuel Centers) or in late stage planning (National Institute of Food and Agriculture); and discuss the broad impacts of NPGI and how it informs other biological disciplines. For this study, a committee of 10 members will be appointed by the NRC Chairman to carry out the task. The committee will include experts in plant biology, genomics, bioinformatics, agriculture, forestry, biology education, molecular and developmental biology, evolutionary biology, and ecology. The committee will comprise scientists from not-for-profit and for-profit sectors with expertise in basic and applied plant biology.

Progress 04/01/07 to 03/31/08

Outputs
OUTPUTS: In the reporting period 04/01/2007 to 03/31/2008, the National Research Council convened a committee to review the achievements of the National Plant Genome Initiative and recommend future research directions for the program. The committee met with the sponsors of the study to discuss the charge to the committee on April 26-27, 2008. The committee hosted a science workshop on July 6-7, 2008 to solicit input broadly from the plant research community. The workshop was attended by over 50 people, including representatives from the sponsors, committee members, and researchers from academia and industry and other stakeholders. The committee drafted a report to describe its findings and recommendations from July to September. The draft report was submitted to 10 external reviewers for comments in October. The committee responded to the reviewers' comments and revised the draft report accordingly in November. The report was approved by the National Academies for public release in December. It was delivered to sponsors on December 31, 2007 and released publicly on January 8, 2008. The report is available at http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12054. Drs. Jeff Dangl and Roger Boerma, chair and member of the committee, briefed the sponsors on the report on January 7, 2008. Committee members, Joanne Chory and Steve Strauss, presented the results of the report at the Plant and Animal Genome Conference. To further disseminate the report, a Web site was set up to feature the report and solicit comments from the public. A brochure aimed at increasing the public's underanding of plant genomics is being prepared. TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audience of the published report include members of the Interagency Working Group on Plant Genomes, plant biology researchers, and policy makers. The target audience of the public brochure include policy makers, teachers, and the general public.

Impacts
The committee assessed the outcomes of research funded by the National Plant Genome Initiative (NPGI), conducted a survey to assess the research contribution, publications, and interactions with industry of the principal investigators (PIs), and the coordination of NPGI. Based on the input gathered at the workshop, progress reports on NPGI published by the Interagency Working Group on Plant Genomes (IWG), PIs' responses to the committee's survey, and the committee's own research, the committee found that the National Plant Genome Initiative (NPGI) has been successful by all measures applied in this study. Moreover, the committee found that basic research funded by NPGI to date has served as the springboard for several applied, agency-specific, mission-oriented programs that capitalize on new funding from the public or on public-private partnerships. The committee made nine recommendations for NPGI priorities in the future. The findings and recommendations would provide information to the Interagency Working Group on Plant Genomes for its decision-making on the program in the future.

Publications

  • National Research Council. 2008. Achievements of the National Plant Genome Initiative and New Horizons in Plant Biology. Washington, D.C.: The National Academies.
  • National Academy of Sciences. 2008. Plant Genome Sciences. Accessed on April 4, 2008 at http://dels.nas.edu/plant_genome/