Keystone Symposia | Scientific Conferences on Biomedical and Life Science Topics

Plant Responses to Abiotic Stress (C2)

Organizer(s): Michael F. Thomashow, Elizabeth Vierling and Ray A. Bressan
February 19 - 24, 2004
Hilton Santa Fe/Historic Plaza · Santa Fe, New Mexico
Abstract Deadline: October 20, 2003
Early Registration Deadline: December 19, 2003

Supported by Keystone Symposia

This meeting took place in the 2004 season.

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Summary of Meeting
A major challenge to the world community in coming years will be keeping food production in pace with the increasing world population. Meeting this challenge will require efforts in multiple areas, one of which will be the development of crops with increased abiotic stress tolerance. This is of importance as abiotic stresses, including drought, high salinity and extremes in temperature, cause significant losses in crop yield on an annual basis and greatly limit the geographical locations where crops can be grown. Increasing demands for water for nonagricultural uses will only exacerbate these problems in the future. Unfortunately, breeding for increased abiotic stress tolerance is difficult due in part to the multigenic nature of abiotic stress tolerance. However, recent insights into the molecular basis of stress tolerance have begun to suggest new strategies for crop improvement. As we learn more about the genes and signaling pathways involved in stress tolerance, we are beginning to understand how stress pathways overlap in regulation and function and, in certain cases, can afford cross protection against multiple stresses. The objective of this meeting is to bring together scientists who study abiotic stress and plant responses to the environment from a variety of perspectives to discuss their latest findings and consider future lines of investigation. This exchange will provide a deeper understanding of abiotic stress tolerance, a fundamental aspect of plant biology, and potentially lead to new approaches to improve the stress tolerance of agriculturally important crops for both the developed and developing world.

Thursday, February 19
3:00 - 7:00 PM	Registration	Promenade
6:15 - 7:15 PM	Refreshments	Promenade
7:15 - 7:30 PM	Orientation	Mesa A-B
7:30 - 8:30 PM	Keynote Address	Mesa A-B
	Deborah P. Delmer, Agriculture in Developing Nations: Challenges and Opportunities

Friday, February 20
7:00 - 8:00 AM	Breakfast	Chamisa
8:00 - 11:15 AM	Gene Networks Involved in Abiotic Stress Responses	Mesa A-B
	* Ray A. Bressan, Purdue University
	Paul Mike Hasegawa, Purdue University Forward Genetic Approaches for the Identification of Plant Salt Adaptation Determinants
	Kazuo Shinozaki, RIKEN Plant Science Center Gene Networks Involved in Dehydration and Cold Stress Responses

	Tong Zhu, Syngenta Biotechnology, Inc. Networks of Transcription Factors with Roles in Environmental Stress Response
	Nina V. Fedoroff, Pennsylvania State University Redox Signaling in Plant Stess Response
	Jonathan T. Vogel, Michigan State University Short Talk: Multiple Transcription Factors Contribute to the Low Temperature Regulatory Network of Arabidopsis thaliana
	Masaru Ohme-Takagi, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science & Technology (AIST) Short Talk: Analysis of Genes Involved in Abiotic Stress Responses by the Chimeric Repressor in Arabidopsis
9:20 - 9:40 AM	Coffee Break	Promenade
11:15 AM - 1:00 PM	Poster Setup	Mesa C
1:00 - 10:00 PM	Poster Viewing	Mesa C
4:30 - 5:00 PM	Coffee & Snacks Available	Promenade
5:00 - 7:00 PM	Gene Regulation in Response to Environmental Stresses	Mesa A-B
	* Jian-Kang Zhu, University of California, Riverside Gene Regulation Under Cold and Osmotic Stresses
	Lutz Nover, University of Frankfurt Gene Regulation in Response to Heat Stress
	Heribert Hirt, URGV Plant Genomics Role of Arabidopsis MAP Kinase Kinase MKK2 in Cold and Salt Stress Signaling, Gene Regulation and Stress Tolerance
	Janet Braam, Rice University Short Talk: Regulation and Roles of Arabidopsis Genes Encoding Potential Calcium Sensory Proteins and Cell Wall Modifying Enzymes
7:00 - 8:00 PM	Social Hour	Mesa C
7:30 - 10:00 PM	Poster Session 1: Gene Regulation and Regulatory Networks/Stress Signaling Pathways	Mesa C
Saturday, February 21
7:00 - 8:00 AM	Breakfast	Chamisa
8:00 - 11:15 AM	Stress Signaling Pathways	Mesa A-B
	* Marc Knight, University of Oxford Signalling Crosstalk Involving SFR6 in Cold, and OX1 in Wounding
	Sarah M. Assmann, Pennsylvania State University Heterotrimeric G Protein Signaling in Guard Cell ABA Responses
	Jen Sheen, MGH/HMS Sugar and Stress Signaling Networks
	Phil Mullineaux, University of Essex Plant Responses to Excess Light: Molecular Genetic Dissection of Signaling Pathways
	Julian I. Schroeder, University of California, San Diego Short Talk: Guard Cell Signal Transduction from Genomics to Cellular Signaling Dynamics
	Jörg Kudla, Universität Münster Short Talk: Integration and Channeling of Abiotic Stress Signals by the CBL-CIPK Interaction Network
9:20 - 9:40 AM	Coffee Break	Promenade
11:15 AM - 1:00 PM	Poster Setup	Mesa C
1:00 - 10:00 PM	Poster Viewing	Mesa C
4:30 - 5:00 PM	Coffee & Snacks Available	Promenade
5:00 - 7:00 PM	Biochemistry of Stress Tolerance	Mesa A-B
	* Elizabeth Vierling, University of Arizona Genetic and Biochemical Dissection of Functions Involved in Thermotolerance
	José M. Pardo, Consejo Superior De Investigaciones Cientificas Dual Regulation of SOSI by Protein Phosphorylation
	Teun Munnik, University of Amsterdam Stress-Activated Phospholipid Signaling
	Alejandra Covarrubias, Independent National University of Mexico Short Talk: Functional Analysis of Plant Hydrophilins
7:00 - 8:00 PM	Social Hour	Mesa C
7:30 - 10:00 PM	Poster Session 2: Biochemistry of Stress Tolerance/Physiology of Stress Tolerance	Mesa C
Sunday, February 22
7:00 - 8:00 AM	Breakfast	Chamisa
8:00 - 11:15 AM	Physiology of Stress Tolerance. Session Sponsored in part by BASF Plant Science.	Mesa A-B
	* Christine H. Foyer, IACR-Rothamsted Research Antioxidant Systems and Stress Tolerance
	Agnes N. Chardonnens, Discovering Novel Genes that Confer Drought Tolerance using a High Throughput Functional Genomics Approach

	Gladys I. Cassab, National University of Mexico Root Growth and Responses to Water
	Pamela J. Green, Delaware Biotechnology Institute A Role for Noncoding RNAs in ABA Stress Responses
	Christophe Maurel, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Short Talk: Aquaporins and Regulation of Water Transport in Roots Under Anoxic and Salt Stresses
	Stefan Kempa, MDC Berlin Short Talk: New Insights in the Glutathione Ascorbate Cycle from Studies of the Dehydroascorbate Reductase Family in Arabidopsis thaliana
9:20 - 9:40 AM	Coffee Break	Promenade
11:15 AM - 1:00 PM	Poster Setup	Mesa C
1:00 - 10:00 PM	Poster Viewing	Mesa C
4:30 - 5:00 PM	Coffee & Snacks Available	Promenade
5:00 - 7:00 PM	Coordinating Growth and Development with Environmental Cues	Mesa A-B
	* Stacey L. Harmer, University of California, Davis Circadian Rhythms and Plant Growth

	Richard Amasino, University of Wisconsin Memories of Winter: Vernalization (Cold Stress?) and Meristem Competence

	George Coupland, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Photoperiod Regulation of Flowering
	Dale T. Karlson, West Virginia University Short Talk: Functional Characterization of Plant Cold Shock Domain Proteins
7:00 - 8:00 PM	Social Hour	Mesa C
7:30 - 10:00 PM	Poster Session 3: Genetic Analysis of Stress Tolerance/Breeding and Biotechnology Approaches to Improve Stress Tolerance	Mesa C
Monday, February 23
7:00 - 8:00 AM	Breakfast	Chamisa
8:00 - 11:15 AM	Breeding and Genetics of Stress Tolerance in Crops. Session Sponsored in part by Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., a DuPont Company.	Mesa A-B
	* Marianne Bänziger, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center Breeding Tropical Maize for Increased Abiotic Stress Tolerance
	Donald E. Nelson, Monsanto Company Approaches to Improving Crop Stress Tolerance
	Tim Helentjaris, Pioneer HiBred International, Inc. Productivity under Abiotic Stree: Biotechnology and the Farm Environment
	Julio Salinas, National Institute of Investigation and Agrarian and Nourishing Technology Using Genetic Analysis in Arabidopsis to Identify Components of Freezing Tolerance
	Anabel Sanz, CropDesign N.V. Short Talk: Applied Genomics For Improving Stress Tolerance In Cereals
	Elizabeth Van Volkenburgh, University of Washington Short Talk: Physiological Mechanism of Density Stress Tolerance in Corn (Zea mays) H
9:20 - 9:40 AM	Coffee Break	Promenade
4:30 - 5:00 PM	Coffee & Snacks Available	Promenade
5:00 - 7:00 PM	Biotechnology Approaches to Improve Stress Tolerance	Mesa A-B
	* Edwardo Blumwald, University of California, Davis Engineering Salt Tolerant Crops: The Role of Vacuolar Cation/Proton Antiporters
	James Zhang, Mendel Biotechnology Inc Trascription Factors and Engineering of Drought Tolerance
	Ray Wu, Cornell University Trehalose Accumulation Increases Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Rice and the Advantage of Using an Inducible Promoter
	Naoko K. Nishizawa, University of Tokyo Short Talk: Improving Crop Tolerance to Low Iron Availability in Alkaline Soils by Using the Genes Participated in Iron Acquisition Strategies in Plants
	Yafan Huang, Performance Plants, Inc. Short Talk: Molecular Tailoring of Farnesylation: Engineered Canola Exhibiting Drought Stress Tolerance and Yield Protection in Field Trials
7:00 - 8:00 PM	Social Hour	Mesa C
8:00 - 11:00 PM	Entertainment	Mesa C
Tuesday, February 24
	Departure

*Session Chair †Speaker invited, not yet responded.