Global changes due to increasing temperatures and greater variation in climate and precipitation patterns are expected to have major (negative) impacts on food, fuel, and fiber production in the U.S. and throughout the world. Water deficit and salinity are two of the most important environmental stresses affecting the crop productivity of agricultural systems with water deficit from drought being the leading cause of agricultural productivity losses. In order to develop stress-tolerant plants that can help to mitigate the impact of climatic variations, information flow between basic and applied research and discussion of strategies are essential. The Gordon Research Conference on Salt and Water Stress in Plants offers a unique platform for intensive information exchange and informal discussion between molecular biologists, physiologists, breeders and industrial representatives from all over the world. It facilitates a dialogue that is essential to achieve a seamless translational pipeline from the laboratory to the field, from the molecule to the crop. The organizers want to motivate the participation of young, talented early career stage scientists in this dialogue, and are further committed to raising the participation from underrepresented groups. The current program lists fifteen women as chairs or speakers. Representation of minority groups will be further promoted with the selection of additional speakers from the submitted poster abstracts.
Salt and water stress in plants caused by drought and soil salinisation restricts world food production. The problem is further exacerbated by climate change and additional pressure on land usage for biofuel production. Scientists have made and continue to make impressive progress in identifying the biological mechanisms underlying abiotic stress responses and resistance in plants. The knowledge gained now needs to be translated into crop improvement in the field. This is a research area where excellent fundamental science is met by considerable interest from breeding institutes, agricultural agencies and companies worldwide, and hence presents an opportunity for a concerted effort to achieve sustainable food and energy production worldwide. Success in this undertaking critically relies on a regular and open dialogue between all parties involved. This proposal requests funding to contribute costs for registration and travel of 10 -12 U.S. scientists to the 11th Gordon Research Conference on Salt & Water Stress in Plants, to be held from 3th and 8th of August 2014 at the GRC site "Sunday River Resort" in Newry, ME, USA. Additional funding from the GRC and private industry will be available to cover some of the registration and travel costs associated with the participation of scientists from other countries, especially those where salinity and drought cause serious problems for agriculture. NSF funds will be used to promote the attendance of U.S. scientists at the early stages in their careers. Particular attention will be given to the representation of minority groups. The GRC format provides ample opportunity for informal discussion and personal contact, and is therefore particularly beneficial for young researchers. Specific session topics of the 2014 meeting cover evolutionary aspects of stress adaptation, transcriptional and post-translational regulation of stress-related genes and proteins, stress perception and signal transduction, metabolic responses, ion and water homeostasis, co-ordination of the whole plant response, and crop improvement for a changing global environment. The Conference is unique in that it will bring together researchers from all over the world who conduct abiotic stress research at diverse scales of organization and it will foster synergistic interactions and long-term collaborations.
The Gordon Research Conference on SALT & WATER STRESS IN PLANTS was held at Sunday River Resort, Newry, ME, August 3-8th, 2014. The Conference was well-attended with 125 participants (attendees list attached). The attendees represented the spectrum of endeavor in this field coming from academia, industry, and government laboratories, both U.S. and foreign scientists, senior researchers, young investigators, and students. Of the 125 attendees, 33 voluntarily responded to a general inquiry regarding ethnicity which appears on our registration forms. Of the 33 respondents, 39% were Minorities – 12% Hispanic, 24% Asian and 3% African American. Approximately 47% of the participants at the 2014 meeting were women. In designing the formal speakers program, emphasis was placed on current unpublished research and discussion of the future target areas in this field. There was a conscious effort to stimulate lively discussion about the key issues in the field today. Time for formal presentations was limited in the interest of group discussions. In order that more scientists could communicate their most recent results, poster presentation time was scheduled. Attached is a copy of the formal schedule and speaker program and the poster program. In addition to these formal interactions, "free time" was scheduled to allow informal discussions. Such discussions are fostering new collaborations and joint efforts in the field.
