Physiological sculpture of plants: new visions and capabilities for crop development

Posters

Poster prize winners with Holly Slater (Managing Editor, New Phytologist).
Joint first awarded to Francisco Uribe and Jagger Harvey. Runner-up, Jose Rotundo.

Abstract submission deadline 18 July 2008

Posters are invited in any area of plant science relevant to the broad meeting theme. The number of posters will be limited and so will be subject to a selection procedure based on submitted abstracts. Please send your abstracts according to the guidelines below by 18 July 2008. You will receive an email by 31 July 2008 informing you whether or not your abstract has been accepted and whether it has been accepted as a poster or an oral presentation.

Poster abstracts will be published in the symposium program and will be made available on the symposium website.

Grants

Grant application deadline 16 May 2008

We have a number of travel grants available for students and early-stage career scientists (researchers in their first post-doctoral position) wishing to attend. Each grant will consist of a free registration plus a contribution towards travel expenses.

If you wish to apply for a grant please accompany your poster abstract submission with:

A brief (no more than 200 word) statement indicating your position (graduate student/postdoc) and reasons for wishing to attend.
A supporting statement from a scientist who has agreed to act as a referee for your application, usually your group leader (please include their contact details).
Expected travel expenses. Please indicate the exact level of financial assistance that you would require in order to attend the meeting.

In general, the organising committee intends to meet the needs of those who will be able to contribute to the meeting in the most able/effective manner, while maximising the number of potential delegates. In this way, it is likely that we will only be able to make a contribution towards your travel, although in exceptional cases full funding will also be considered.

Applications should be sent to Holly Slater (newphytsymp@lancaster.ac.uk) by 16 May 2008. Decisions will be communicated by 30 May 2008.

Abstract guidelines

Format

Abstracts should be no more than 200 words and should fill a space no larger than half an A4 page
Single spacing, Arial font, 10 point
First line: title in bold lower case
Second line: the author(s)' name(s) in upper case. Underline the name of the author presenting the work
Third line: full address of the institution(s) where the work was carried out, in italic lower case
Leave a single line space after the address
Main text: provide concise details of the background and objective(s) of the investigation, methods used, results and conclusions

Example abstract:

The origin of Helianthus deserticola: survival and selection in a desert habitat
GROSS, BRIANA L., KANE, NOLAN C., LEXER, CHRISTIAN & RIESEBERG, LOREN H.
Department of Biology, Indiana University, Jordan Hall 142, 1001 East Third Street, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA

The diploid hybrid species Helianthus deserticola inhabits an extreme environment relative to its parental species H. annuus and H. petiolaris. Adaptation to the arid desert floor may have occurred via the acquisition of novel phenotypes resulting from transgressive segregation in early hybrids. We have explored this possibility through a field experiment designed to test the direction and intensity of phenotypic selection, using crosses between the parental species as proxies for the ancestral genotype of the ancient hybrid species. Helianthus deserticola, H. annuus, H. petiolaris, and early-generation hybrids between H. annuus and H. petiolaris were all grown in native H. deserticola habitat, and a selection analysis revealed that several traits were subject to strong selective pressures. Several of the traits under selection were also extreme or transgressive in H. deserticola, and the range of variation present in BC2 hybrids suggests that many aspects of the H. deserticola phenotype are easily recreated. Thus, transgressive segregation may have contributed to the adaptation of H. deserticola to the desert habitat.

Submission

Abstracts should be formatted as .DOC or .RTF documents and emailed as an attachment to Holly Slater (newphytsymp@lancaster.ac.uk). In the subject header of the email write 19th NPS Abstract – followed by the name of the author presenting the work (e.g. 19th NPS Abstract – J Bloggs).
Receipt of abstracts will be notified by email.

Poster guidelines

Posters should be no larger than A0 size, portrait (118 cm high x 84 cm wide).

Physiological sculpture of plants logo by Gretchen Bracher. Illustrations: Pod rupture during seed development from, Chiurugwi et al. Growth of compatible pollen tubes through stigma and style, from Kemp & Doughty. Invasive wild oats and Localization of the defence-related triterpenes in oat roots from Field et al. Transcriptomic analysis of senescence-associated genes in barley, from Parrott et al. Simulating the effects of localized red:far-red ratio on tillering in spring wheat, from Evers at al. Phenotypic and transcriptomic analysis of lignification in Aradopsis, from Rogers et al. Increased and acquired resistance to TMV in tobacco, from Develey-Rivière & Galiana. Physiological sculpture of plants: new visions and capabilities for crop breeding is sponsored by the New Phytologist Trust