Scope and format
Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) is a striking example of convergent evolution found in about 7% of higher plants that significantly enhances plant water use efficiency by facilitating the nocturnal uptake of CO2 coupled with day-time stomatal closure. The increased frequency of drought over the past century as well as substantial current variation and predicted future increases in its global occurrence has intensified interest in understanding how CAM plants are so well adapted to survive in water-limited environments. High-throughput sequencing of transcriptome, genome and proteome has been initiated internationally for several CAM species and the large-volume datasets generated from these projects look set to provide a step-change in our understanding of the mechanistic basis and evolutionary origins of CAM biochemistry. Effective utilization of these resources requires collaboration among molecular geneticists, physiologists, ecologists and taxonomists to generate hypotheses that expand the potential of the CAM system for developing more water-use-efficient crops, and for informing the improvement of economically and ecologically relevant CAM species for bioenergy production and maintenance of ecosystem services.
The following major topical themes will be covered :
Ecology: CAM species are key components of threatened biomes that include tropical montane cloud forests and xerophytic succulent scrub.
Evolution: Date-calibrated phylogenies are generating specific hypotheses about the evolutionary origins of CAM and the palaeoecological context in which particular lineages arose.
Ecophysiology and metabolism: How is the diel supply and demand for carbon coordinated with stomatal conductance to optimize carbon gain and water-use efficiency?
Genomics: What are the molecular triggers that underpin the C3-CAM transition? How does transcriptional/post-transcriptional regulation achieve the manifestation of CAM on a background of C3 biochemistry?
Exploiting CAM for sustainable productivity: What are the prospects for engineering CAM into C3 crops? Can species such as Agave be exploited for biofuel production on non-agricultural or under utilized semi-arid lands?
We aim to promote basic research in crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) by integrating functional genomics with biochemistry, physiology, development, ecology, and evolutionary studies to gain new insights into the regulatory mechanisms and evolutionary origins of the pathway. We will highlight the potential of CAM research for tackling bioenergy and environmental challenges pertaining to water security and resource limitation and the maintenance of productivity and ecosystems services in a changing world. In addition to this, specific talks will look at new research areas and address the big questions for future research.
The symposium will take place over four days starting at around lunchtime on Tuesday 15th July 2014 and ending in the evening of Friday 18th July 2014. Twenty four invited talks will stimulate focused discussion and the exchange of ideas at what will be a relatively small and informal meeting. There will be dedicated time for discussions, posters, selected poster talks and a conference dinner.
Abstract book
Meeting report
A free-to-access meeting report entitled 'Crassulacean acid metabolism biology' written by Travis Garcia, Karolina Heyduk, Emily Kuzmick and Jesse Mayer was published in issue 204:4 of New Phytologist.
Organising committee
Professor Xiaohan Yang, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA
Professor Anne Borland, Newcastle University, United Kingdom
Professor John C. Cushman, University of Nevada-Reno, USA
Dr James Hartwell, University of Liverpool, United Kingdom
Professor Joseph Holtum, James Cook University, Australia
Professor Stan D. Wullschleger, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA
Many congratulations to the winner of the New Phytologist poster prize: Juan Beltran, P2, ‘Evolutionary origins and ecophysiology of CAM photosynthesis in the montane genus Puya (Bromeliaceae)’
Congratulations also to the runner-up prize winner: Paul Abraham, P1, ‘Capturing the dynamics of CAM: transcriptome and proteome analysis of diel cycle gene expression in Agave americana’
Congratulations also to the runner-up prize winner: Erin Casey, P4, ‘The role of the chloroplastic glucose transporter in the operation of CAM in Kalanchoë fedtschenkoi’