Recipient Organization
MICHIGAN STATE UNIV
(N/A)
EAST LANSING,MI 48824
Performing Department
PLANT SOIL MICROBIAL
Non Technical Summary
While progress is being made in weed biology/ecology, integrated weed management, and herbicide resistance evolution, research in molecular biology and genomics of weeds is still in its infancy. Investigation of basic aspects encompassing the genomics and molecular biology of weeds is vital to understand the biology and genetics of weedy and invasive species. More importantly, such information will help address the fundamental questions about plant adaptation, especially in terms of abiotic stress resistance, de-domestication, and invasiveness. The outcome of such research can offer valuable information to develop viable strategies for weed management. This conference proposal addresses the progress made in genomics of weedy and invasive species in recent years, and provides training for beginning to advanced users of genomics resources. Most importantly, we hope to diversify the weed genomics community by inviting international members of the basic plant genomics community to share their expertise and perspectives on weed genomics.This conference grant proposal addresses the AFRI Foundational Program Area Priority Pests and Beneficial Species in Agricultural Production Systems (A1112) within the U.S. agriculture priority area Plant Health and Production and Plant Products. The Pests and Beneficial Species RFP specifically requests conference applications to address weed genomics and how to utilize weed genomics for issues in weed management. This proposal directly addresses this aim by organizing a conference bringing together experts in weed science and plant genomics to chart a future of weed genomics.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
Specific objectives:1.Host a conference to bring together experts in plant and weed genomics to discuss state of the art techniques in plant genomics and the future of studying adaptation in weedy species2.Conduct a training "hack-a-thon" that provides hands-on, computational training on key aspects of genomics to graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and early career scientists new to the field, expanding the pool of scientists working in weed genomics3.Organize research teams around IWGC genomes and begin proposal writing discussion.
Project Methods
ApproachConference Schedule: January 29th-30th, 2023 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, VAThis will be a one and one-half day conference held in Arlington, VA, from January 29-30th, 2023. There will be a reception and poster session on the evening of the 29th to welcome participants and begin scientific discussion in the topic of weed genomes. January the 30th will be comprised of two events running simultaneously: 1) Sessions of invited and keynote speakers and 2) a day-long hands-on genomic training.In a large lecture hall, keynotes and invited scientific presentations will be delivered by experts in the fields of weed and plant genomics followed by a discussion of the IWGC's recent accomplishments and future research directions. Events in this room will be recorded for members who are unable to attend or for members who are participating in the training, which runs concordantly, to view at a later time. Part of the requested AFRI funding will support the travel of invited keynote speakers. As speaker diversity and international engagement is a fundamental part of our mission, some or all speakers may be traveling from international destinations.In an adjacent classroom, up to 30 early career scientists, including graduate students and post-doctoral researchers, will participate in a weed genomics 'hack-a-thon'. Attendees of the hack-a-thon will be formed into teams of 3-4 participants. Each team will be given a publicly available weed genomics dataset (RNAseq, GBS, GWAS, etc.) from classic weed science papers that can now be reanalyzed using the newly sequenced IWGC genomes. Over the course of the next 8 hours teams will research the origin of the dataset, devise a way to analyze it, research its significance, and generate a short 5-min presentation with their main findings and conclusions. At the end of the hack-a-thon, each team will present their findings to the other teams. Part of the requested AFRI funding will support the participation of early career researchers and individuals from under-represented groups through travel awards aimed to increase accessibility of the workshop to these groups.