This award provides partial support of the 2009 Interdisciplinary Plant Group Symposium on Root Biology. The symposium, to be held at the University of Missouri-Columbia, is designed to facilitate the interdisciplinary sharing of research on fundamental questions in the area of root biology. The goal is to stimulate cross-disciplinary discussions and ideas that can lead to increases in crop yield, novel adaptations to changing environments and conditions, and new solutions to pest and disease control. Root development and function are vitally important for plant adaptation to the environment. Understanding of root biology remains limited however, and increased attention to this critical area is needed to facilitate improvement of crop performance in the face of environmental constraints. The broader impacts of this project include exposure to interdisciplinary research in the plant sciences for undergraduate students; networking opportunities for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows; potential collaborative and interdisciplinary research projects for faculty. The Symposium also includes a concerted effort to broaden the participation of undergraduate students, particularly those from minority-serving institutions.
