This proposal requests support for a portion of the travel costs of speakers invited to participate in the 9th Annual Penn State Symposium in Plant Physiology to be held May 19- 21, 1994, in State College, Pennsylvania. The topic for 1994 is "Pollen-pistil interactions". This symposium will bring together outstanding scientists who will provide critical analyses and syntheses of recent research concerning the development of pollen and pistils, pollen- stigma interactions (e.g., the nature of the pollen coat and sporophytic self-incompatibility), the mechanisms of growth in pollen tubes and analagous systems such as root hairs and fungal hyphae, pollen-style interactions (e.g., post- pollination signaling and gametophytic self- incompatibility), pollen selection (non-random fertilization) and the processes of fertilization. This topic is of tremendous interest to both basic and applied plant scientists. One of the goals for this symposium is to foster interaction and communication among scientists of all ranks working in academia, government and industry spanning the spectrum from basic to applied research.
