This project supports a U.S.-Pakistan Workshop on Molecular Biology, Genetics, Genomics and Breeding, with Focus on Abiotic Stress Tolerance of Cereal Crops, to be held in Lahore, Pakistan in March 2003. The U.S. organizer is Dr. Hans Bohnert, Department of Biology and Crop Science, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois. The Pakistani organizers are Dr. Tayyab Husnain, Center of Excellence in Molecular Biology, Punjab University, Lahore, Pakistan and Dr. Kauser Malik, Member/Biology, Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, Islamabad, Pakistan. The workshop themes are "the physiological and agronomical parameters determining stress responses, and the integration of traditional breeding techniques with molecular marker technology," and "the exchange of information about genomic type studies directed towards the understanding of stress tolerance determinants and the application of results from mutational studies in model plants to cereal crops and their improvement." The subjects to be covered include: mechanism of stress tolerance, functional genomics related to stress tolerance, and plant transformation for introduction of stress tolerance traits. The proceedings will identify selected areas of high priority, as well as a literature guide for cooperative research.
Scope: The results of the workshop will include identifying joint research that would benefit the United States, Pakistan and other countries that must cultivate cereal crops under stressful plant growth conditions including drought, excessive heat, and salinity.
