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 --- 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 --- 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. --- 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. --- ORGANISING COMMITTEE William Friedman Arboretum of Harvard University, Boston, USA Andrew Groover USDA Forest Service and University of California, Davis, USA --- 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 --- Programme, registration and further information available at http://www.newphytologist.org/symposiums/view/37 Contact: Helen Pinfield-Wells np-symposia(a)lancaster.ac.uk New Phytologist Trust website: www.newphytologist.org Twitter: @NewPhyt Facebook: fb.com/NewPhytologist G+: https://www.google.com/+NewphytologistOrgplantscience