The 2009 International Conference on Plant Mitochondrial Biology (ICPMB), to be held Saturday, May 9, 2009, through Thursday, May 14, 2009, in Lake Tahoe, California, will bring together a truly international group of cellular and molecular biologists, metabolic biochemists, and geneticists investigating a wide range of fundamental problems related to the biology of these plant organelles. The field has advanced significantly in recent years with the expanded understanding of the plant mitochondrial genome and its control by the nucleus, together with an explosion of information regarding numerous metabolic pathways that intersect within the mitochondrion or that respond to mitochondrially derived signals. Mitochondria play important roles in plant metabolism, pollen fertility, programmed cell death, and ROS-mediated cellular control. Much of the recent momentum in this field has been fueled by powerful and unprecedented tools afforded investigators by genome and organelle sequencing projects and advances in cell imaging technologies. The present conference will highlight recent progress in mitochondrial evolution, molecular determinants of mitochondrial morphology and the inheritance of mitochondrial genomes, mitochondrial gene expression and RNA processing, and nuclear-organellar interactions and signaling mechanisms. The latest progress in understanding mitochondrial influence on plant growth, development, and stress response will also be highlighted. This field is particularly exciting at the moment because it is moving beyond description towards manipulation of mitochondrial behavior and dissection of important signals and pathways.
This conference has a history of moving between continents, with the most recent meetings having been held in Australia, France and Japan, a geographic span reflecting the important contributions that have been made by the worldwide community of scientists in this field. The conference, the first in the U.S. since 1995, will be held in Lake Tahoe, CA. It is the only conference that has traditionally fostered interaction between international investigators with interests in mitochondrial gene function and inter-organellar interaction and those investigating metabolism and electron transport functions. The conference is designed to include presentations by young scientists just entering the field and postdoctoral trainees, together with established leaders in the field. The program enhances the field by inviting new ideas and new participants, and providing new opportunities for international collaborations. With the upsurge in research on biofuels, the focus of the meeting on plant mitochondria and metabolism is extremely timely.
