Phytophiles and phycophiles alike converged on Honolulu, Hawaii, July 18–22, to participate in Plant Biology 2009, the joint annual meetings of the American Society of Plant Biologists and the Phycological Society of America. The weather was perfect, the setting delightful, and the camaraderie in high gear as ASPB president Sally Assmann welcomed more than 1,700 participants from 46 countries to share research results, ideas, questions, and visions. In addition, Honolulu provided a central location to welcome members of ASPB sister societies from across the Pacific: Australia, China, Japan, Korea, and New Zealand.
Sally began the opening address by announcing the creation of the Global Plant Council earlier that week in Honolulu, as members representing 13 plant science societies participated in an international summit organized by ASPB. Its mission was to define and engage in coordinating strategies to positively impact the most critical issues facing mankind, encouraging a shared vision to address problems of world hunger, energy self-sufficiency, climate change, environmental protection, and sustainability.
She then presided over the annual ASPB awards ceremony, which honored outstanding graduate students, young scientists, and long-term members from the United States and abroad for innovative research, groundbreaking contributions, lifelong service to ASPB, and fundamental advances in plant biology research and education. She presented a new award, the Women in Plant Biology Travel Grant, to seven deserving scientists and honored recipients of the Minority Affairs Committee Travel Award and the Education Foundation Grant Award Program. Details about each of these honorees and their awards can be found in a companion article later in this issue.
Charles Albert Schull Award Winner Lecture
Following the awards ceremony, Sheng Luan, of UC Berkeley, was the featured speaker at the Charles Albert Schull Award winner lecture. This award recognizes an outstanding young scientist under the age of 40 and is given in honor of Dr. Schull, who was instrumental in the founding of ASPB. Sheng described his research, focusing on the complex mechanisms by which calcium can relay endogenous and exogenous signals such as light, hormones, and nutrient availability.
Calcium signals lead to a diverse set of physiological responses including guard cell movement, egg fertilization and pollen tube growth, cell wall metabolism, and response to pathogens. In addressing the deceptively simple question, “How can a single cation impact so many diverse responses in plant physiology?” Sheng described how these responses could result from multidimensional sensing—not only of calcium concentration but also the spatial and temporal occurrence of Ca2+ ions, calcium-binding proteins, and interacting protein kinases. He presented a model in which individual members of a family of calcium binding proteins interact with certain members of a protein kinase family to modulate very specific protein responses.
As an example, he described in more detail how specific calcium-dependent protein–protein interactions result from sensing of low external potassium. This results in the recruitment of a specific protein kinase to the plasma membrane of root hair cells, where calcium-dependent phosphorylation and activation of a specific voltage-gated potassium channel modulates its activity to alter potassium movement into cells.
Perspectives of Science Leaders Lecture
Dr. William H. Danforth II was the recipient of the 2009 ASPB Leadership in Science Public Service Award, acknowledging a life-long commitment to improving global human welfare through plant science research. In his lecture, Dr. Danforth, who was trained as a biochemist and medical doctor, recalled how over 30 years ago he envisioned that the same type of basic biological research used to develop the polio vaccine could be used by plant biologists to combat human hunger and malnutrition.
Toward this end, he helped found the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis, attracting top-notch scientists to address three critical challenges: to promote continuing innovations in agriculture in order to produce new and better products with fewer inputs, to improve nutrition for combating hunger and famine, and to preserve our environment so that “our grandchildren will inherit a productive and livable world.” He then recalled the Green Revolution of the 1970s, which tripled agricultural productivity and saved countless lives, but also noted its heavy reliance on water and fertilizer inputs. He suggested that we now need an “Evergreen Revolution,” which can allow our land to produce adequate food for an expanding population generation after generation. He believes that “our greatest challenges will not be limited by geographic borders” and will be solved by international cooperation among scientists who will become involved not only in research but also in making decisions involving scientific policy. He added his hope that we will work together for “a larger pie for all rather than trying to keep the largest piece” for some.
Following his lecture was a very lively and thought-provoking question-and-answer session addressing topics such as the National Institute of Food and Agriculture within the USDA, the conflict between use of government money for commodity price supports versus basic research, and the public perception of biotechnology as applied to our food supply.
“Green Animals” and Other Algal Surprises
Mary Rumpho (University of Maine) delighted the audience at the joint ASPB/PSA symposium on Sunday with stunning videos of a sea slug dining on algal chloroplasts. After showing the animal sucking the chloroplasts out of an algal filament much like drinking from a straw, Mary explained the process of kleptoplastidy (plastid stealing) in the sea slug, first described as a green animal in the 1880s. The ingested chloroplasts remain active and allow the animal to survive for months on only air, sunlight, and minerals. She went on to summarize her research involving proposed mechanisms of horizontal transfer of genes from the algal nucleus to the sea slug host and speculated on how “symbiosis drives nuclear genome evolution.”
In related work highlighting the interdependence of algal and plant biology research, Debashish Bhattacharya (University of Iowa) presented his genomic research as applied to endosymbiotic gene transfer in diatoms. He described the “greening of the tree of life” by explaining how the nuclear genome retains a memory of multiple ancestral symbiotic events that led to the wide variety of plant and algal species known today. Sabeeha Merchant (UCLA) discussed some groundbreaking RNA sequencing work, the goal of which is to understand the biology of the copper-responsive transcriptome in Chlamydomonas. Her work provided a welcome complement to genome sequencing, as approximately 50% of the sequenced RNAs do not correspond to any known gene model in the current annotated Chlamydomonas genome.
Noting that the world’s oceans account for 50% of global photosynthesis, Chris Bowler (CNRS, Paris) described the discovery of a functional urea cycle in diatoms, the first time this process has been found in a photosynthetic cell. He also described a unique mechanism whereby the Calvin cycle is turned off during iron limitation, but photosystems I and II remain active and transfer electrons to mitochondria to enable ATP production in the absence of iron. Simon Prochnik (DOE Joint Genome Institute) then presented a comparative genome analysis of Chlamydomonas and Volvox, noting that, despite a large amount of genomic rearrangements between the two species, there was little difference in gene content.
Porphyra: Modern Genetics Meets an Ancient Food from the Sea
A second joint symposium among ASPB, PSA, and an NSF Research Coordination Network highlighted the biology of Porphyra species. Susan Brawley (University of Maine) described the historical and current use of these algae in aquaculture as a source of nori, which contains up to 40% protein dry weight and is high in vitamins B12 and C and minerals. She also discussed their potential as bioremediation agents and introduced the new Porphyra genome-sequencing project. Mariana Cabral de Oliveira (University of São Paulo) introduced the audience to her work with “mobilomics,” the study of DNA moving in and between genomes, as she discussed the discovery of self-splicing introns in Porphyra.
Koji Mikami (University of Hokkaido, Japan) described his pioneering work to develop methods for efficient and reproducible transient gene expression in Porphyra, and Arthur Grossman (Carnegie Institute at Stanford) introduced emulsion PCR and delivered a detailed comparative analysis of current high-throughput sequencing technologies. Not only will this work advance the biology and genetics of Porphyra, it also should allow identification of salt- and desiccation-tolerance genes from this species.
John Stiller (East Carolina University) discussed the developmental evolution of Porphyra and its use as a model for early (>1 billion years ago) multicellular development, highlighting in particular scaffold proteins used during transcription by RNA polymerase II. He then requested input from all attendees for the “Porphyra Sourcebook,” a global compilation of Porphyra research. Juliet Brodie, of the Natural History Museum in London, described her work investigating Porphyra modern systematics and finished her presentation with a profound video of the Chilean seacoast, noting “we are very insignificant as humans, and the sea will continue to roll in long after humans are gone.” In summary, she noted how the study of this ancient one-cell-thick organism could tell us a great deal of what life is all about.
Shedding Light on Plant Photomorphogenesis
Winslow Briggs (Carnegie Institute at Stanford University) then presented an especially “illuminating” talk as he described his lab’s recent work to elucidate the mechanism of action of the plant phototropin proteins. These blue light-sensing photoreceptors contain LOV domains that are not found in animals but are present in ferns, green algae, bacteria, and Archaea. Demonstrating how plant biology research can lead to advances in other fields, he showed how knocking out an LOV domain/histidine kinase protein in Brucella bacteria, which cause undulant fever, reduced their virulence by 90% as light-activated autophosphorylation was abolished. This light photoperception could explain the diurnal fluctuations in body temperature that give this disease its name. Winslow’s role as an eminent scientist and mentor was evident as several of the speakers in this photomorphogenesis symposium made special note of how they trained with him or with former members of his lab.
One of the highlights of this year’s meeting came later in this session when Rick Vierstra (University of Wisconsin–Madison) formally presented for the first time the three-dimensional structure of the active Pfr form of the red light photoreceptor phytochrome bound to its bilin chromophore. His elegant approach used a Synechococcus cyanobacterial phytochrome, a protein short enough to use for two-dimensional NMR. He developed an innovative method for sequential irradiation of purified phytochrome with red and far-red light while in the NMR magnetic field. In addition to his novel determination of the structure of Pfr, he showed how the orientation of the light-absorbing chromophore changes reversibly upon irradiation with red or far-red light, “overturning the textbook model” from the 1970s.
Modulation of plant responses to blue and red light involves not only the activation of the respective photoreceptors and interacting factors in the light, but also the release from repression in the dark as seedlings emerge from the soil. Mannie Liscum (University of Missouri) discussed the role of ubiquitylation and proteasome degradation of phototropin in modulating the response to blue light. Peter Quail (UC Berkeley) showed how several phytochrome-interacting factors act collectively to repress photomorphogenesis in the dark, but are rapidly deactivated following phytochrome-induced phosphorylation and degradation in the light. Xing Wang Deng (Yale University) finished the session by describing his work with specific protein–protein complexes that induce degradation of photomorphogenesis-promoting factors in the dark.
From Sea Urchins to Soybeans to Synchrotrons
At the annual Women in Plant Biology luncheon, featured speaker Mary Lou Guerinot (Dartmouth College) gave a wonderfully engaging presentation describing the evolution of her career interests from aspiring diver to marine biologist to plant scientist to university administrator and then back to her beloved research. Her talk, titled “Just Do It,” was an inspiring real-life look at how our careers often take unexpected turns rather than fulfilling our preconceived expectations.
Noting how she “thrives on adversity,” she described her experiences, opportunities, challenges, and successes in developing a personally satisfying and service-oriented career. Her studies ranged from bacterial symbiosis in the sea urchin–lobster–kelp ecosystem to the interaction of Bradyrhizobium and soybean, to advanced X-ray imaging studies of iron localization in plant cell vacuoles. Noting that approximately 3 billion people worldwide suffer from iron deficiency, she described her work and the goal of breeding crops for better nutrition to combat this fundamental problem.
She finished her presentation with a summary of a recent report from the National Academies, titled “Gender Differences at Critical Transitions in the Careers of Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Faculty,” pointing out in particular the value to female junior faculty of having a scientific mentor to help them achieve their full potential. And, on a more personal note, she reiterated “science is fun—if it weren’t, I wouldn’t still be doing it!”
Beware the “Good” Answer
Clifton Poodry (UC Santa Cruz), the director of the Division of Minority Opportunities and Research at the NIH, was the sponsored speaker at the annual Minority Affairs Dinner. He delivered a powerful address stressing how “passing civilization along from one generation to the next” ought to be one of our highest priorities. He described how, as a high school student, he had written a letter to Melvin Calvin regarding photosynthetic carbon fixation, which, at the time, was one of the great unsolved mysteries of biology. He was thrilled to receive a personal reply from the world-famous scientist along with a progress report from a recent grant and marveled, “What is the chance that Melvin Calvin would write to a high school student on the reservation?” of the Seneca Nation in New York.
Clifton discussed other important mentors in his life, noting that one learns “only when new information comes along that conflicts with your existing information.” He emphasized the importance of an unbiased, fresh approach to unknown questions, cautioning us that “there is nothing like a good answer to stifle learning!”
Incorporating his experience as a teacher and an artisan in woodturning, he noted that understanding students’ misconceptions is often the key to their progress in learning. He stressed the importance of risk-taking in the path to learning, as well as the need to provide a challenging yet doable path toward objectives, commenting that “practice makes permanent, be it either good or bad habits.” He presented an especially insightful perspective on diversity, noting that “when we all think alike, no one needs to think at all” and finished the engaging presentation by stating, “Hopefully I’ve left you with more questions than answers.”
Learning by Doing
In a minisymposium devoted to biology education outreach, Erin Dolan (Virginia Tech) reiterated the positive value of mentoring as she described PREP-U, the Partnership for Research and Education in Plants for Undergraduates. This program engages students in research and promotes learning based on guided discovery, rather than mere transmission of information. Kabi Neupane (Leeward Community College, Hawaii) discussed the Advances in Bioscience Education program for community college students and faculty. They work for three weeks in participating research labs completing an intensive, state-of-the-art training in molecular biology techniques, including DNA isolation and cloning, genomics and bioinformatics, Southern and Western blotting, and fluorescence and electron microscopy.
Christina Reynaga-Pena, working in association with Universidad de Guadalajara, provided one of the more innovative examples of peer mentoring. In her DVDs produced for distribution to elementary school students in rural Mexico, the teachers in the videos are grade school students themselves. They explain and demonstrate to other students simple but instructive biology experiments in topics ranging from seed germination to photosynthesis, all using inexpensive, locally available materials. She also noted her participation in work creating educational materials for blind students, which is designed to take advantage of their use of alternate senses en route to learning and discovery.
Other Symposium Highlights
Rob Last (Michigan State University) organized a seminar highlighting the incredible diversity of plant natural products, the evolution of metabolic enzymes, recent progress in metabolite profiling, and advances in the study of soil-borne pathogen resistance conferred by secondary metabolites. He also announced an advanced lab course, titled “Molecular Techniques in Plant Science,” to be given at Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., in July 2010.
A joint symposium between ASPB and the Chinese Society for Plant Physiology was co-organized by Jeff Bennetzen (University of Georgia) and Xiao-Ya Chen (Shanghai Institute of Biological Sciences). Topics included cotton genomics, transformation, and bioinformatics; the Rice Mutant Database, a new global resource for rice researchers; the Rice 2020 Project, describing long-term goals of rice genomics; “Green Super Rice,” a breeding program to create superior quality strains with high, stable yields requiring less pesticide, fertilizer, and irrigation inputs; the comparative analysis of grass genomes and their transposable elements; and the new Medicago “Hap Map” project, which will provide a global repository for legume genetics research and bioinformatics.
At the symposium titled “Darwin’s Legacy: Evolution and Plant Biology,” organized by Barbara Schall (Washington University, St. Louis), Charles himself likely would have taken a front row seat to survey the incredible advances since he published The Origin of Species. Michael Purugganan (New York University) discussed an example of adaptive radiation and gene evolution involving the Hawaiin silversword, one of the outstanding successes in native plant restoration. Other topics included the role of transposable elements in genome evolution; the challenges of genomics in nonmodel systems such as Miscanthus; and the genetics of reproductive isolation and origin of Solanum species in Ecuador, Peru, and the Galapagos islands.
Cathie Martin, editor-in-chief of The Plant Cell, presided over The Plant Cell 20th Anniversary Symposium, which featured authors of several of the most important papers ever published in The Plant Cell. Kazuo Shinozaki presented and updated his pioneering work with the DREB transcription factors that modulate responses to drought and low temperature in Arabidopsis, and Karen Schumacher discussed her work with the vacuolar H+ ATPase that helps to regulate protein sorting in the endomembrane system. John Ryals gave a wonderful historical overview of the role of salicylic acid in systemic acquired resistance to viral pathogens, after which Rick Amasino nicely summarized his work cloning and characterizing Flowering Locus C in Arabidopsis. Cathie and senior members of The Plant Cell staff led a cake-cutting ceremony in honor of all the authors who have made The Plant Cell such a successful journal.
Unfortunately, all good things must pass, and the conference drew to a close on Wednesday. In the final symposium, Sally Assmann (Penn State University) presided over the President’s Symposium on Biological Networks. Anyone frustrated by manipulating and organizing large-scale data sets found welcome information to help decipher mind-boggling amounts of data generated by microarray analyses and in silico bioinformatic studies. As an example of cutting-edge analysis, Nick Provart (University of Toronto) presented the new online ePlant resource. It allows users to view current information about a specific gene or protein at virtually any level in biology, from genetic variation in an ecosystem, to tissue and subcellular localization, to molecular interactions and three-dimensional protein structures.
And Lots More
It is impossible to relay all the excitement and cover all the events and innovative research presented at such a diverse conference in this short article. In addition to the major symposia and events discussed above, participants enjoyed any of 30 minisymposia and hundreds of posters, including an undergraduate networking poster session. Numerous well-attended workshops presented topics such as career options, grant writing, digital art preparation, and NSF international collaboration programs. In addition, there were TAIR Arabidopsis workshops, the small colleges networking breakfast, and receptions for USDA scientists and ASPB fellows.
The spirit of international cooperation promoted by Dr. Danforth earlier in the conference and evident in the creation of the Global Plant Council was restated eloquently by Dr. Mary Clutter, assistant director for Biological Science at the National Science Foundation. She envisions a new 21st-century biology in the Internet age where we are all connected more than ever, and encouraged us “to be part of an international effort as borders between disciplines and countries are fading away,” ushering in a “new way of thinking where there are no borders and barriers.” ASPB President-elect Tuan-hua David Ho echoed this sentiment, stating that “this is the opportunity for plant scientists, not just for the United States, but for the whole world.”
Click here for more information, abstracts of presentations can be found online. To really experience the excitement of plant biology and the spirit of cooperation in the plant science community, be sure to come to Montreal, Quebec, for Plant Biology 2010 and become a part of science in the making. As the popular Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwo’ole reminded us: “Remember the past but do not dwell there. Face the future where all our hopes stand” (1).
Gregory Bertoni
Reference
Source CD: “Facing Future” by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole. Copyright 1993; Big Boy Record Company. |
