35th New Phytologist Symposium: The genomes of forest trees – new frontiers of forest biology

Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA. 16–17 June 2015

http://www.newphytologist.org/symposiums/view/37

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On behalf of the New Phytologist Trust and symposium organisers we are pleased to invite you to participate in a symposium entitled ‘The genomes of forest trees – new frontiers of forest biology’.

Travel grants are available for students and early career scientists. Application deadline 13th MARCH 2015.

Poster abstract submissions are open. Submission deadline 10th APRIL 2015

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SCOPE

New genomic technologies are bringing previously intractable but fascinating aspects of forest tree biology to the forefront of plant biology. Completed and ongoing sequencing projects are providing extensive expressed gene and even full genome sequence resources for tree species from diverse taxa. At the same time, creative applications of genomic and sequencing technologies are producing tools capable of probing the fundamental processes responsible for woody growth and other unique biological processes in trees. Among the most promising but largely unexplored areas of research is the use of comparative evolutionary genomics approaches that can illuminate key regulatory processes and how they have evolved over macro- and micro-evolutionary history. For example, the evolutionary innovations leading to the vast array of woody growth forms in extant plants are almost entirely unknown at the genetic level, but could soon be elucidated using comparative genomics approaches.

We will bring together researchers who are exploring the frontiers of tree evolution, ecology, and development using next generation sequencing, genomics, and systems biology approaches. Together, we hope to inspire new ideas for collaborative research that will bring together currently disjoint research communities, and usher in a new era of genome-based forest biology. Ultimately, the approaches and insights from genome-based forest biology will inform us how to address problems ranging from forest conservation during climate change to tailoring of tree-based biofuels feedstocks.

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FORMAT

The symposium will take place over two days at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA. There will be dedicated time for discussions, posters, selected poster talks, a conference dinner and a tour of the Arboretum’s collections.

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ORGANISING COMMITTEE

William Friedman             Arboretum of Harvard University, Boston, USA

Andrew Groover              USDA Forest Service and University of California, Davis, USA

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KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Peter Crane                        Yale University, New Haven, USA

SPEAKERS

Siobhan Brady                   University of California, Davis, USA

Taku Demura                     Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Nara, Japan

Steve DiFazio                     West Virginia University, Morgantown, USA

Carl Douglas                       University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

William Friedman             Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, Boston, USA

Andrew Groover              USDA Forest Service and University of California, Davis, USA

Ykä Helariutta                    University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

Isabelle Henry                   University of California, Davis, USA

Nathalie Isabel Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Québec, Canada

Catherine Kidner              University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

Francis Martin                   INRA, Nancy, France

David Neale                        University of California, Davis, USA

Nathaniel Street               Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden

Jill Wegrzyn                        University of Connecticut, Storrs, USA

Matthew Zinkgraf            USDA Forest Service, Davis, USA

DISCUSSION LEADER

Steve Strauss                     Oregon State University, Corvallis, USA

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Programme, registration and further information available at

http://www.newphytologist.org/symposiums/view/37

Contact: Helen Pinfield-Wells np-symposia@lancaster.ac.uk

New Phytologist Trust website: www.newphytologist.org  Twitter: @NewPhyt  Facebook: fb.com/NewPhytologist G+: https://www.google.com/+NewphytologistOrgplantscience