Meeting: 6th International Conference on Legume Genetics and Genomics (ICLGG) to be held October 2-7 2012 in Hyderabad, India

University Of California-Davis, Davis CA

Investigators

Abstract

The 6th International Conference on Legume Genetics and Genomics (ICLGG) will convene in Hyderabad, India from October 2-7 2012. The ICLGG provides a common meeting to increase interaction among researchers working on various legume species, both as crops and as model organisms. Legumes occupy a unique position in both agricultural and natural systems. In particular, they are well known as a primary source of reduced nitrogen and phosphorus in farming systems, due to their root nodule and mycorrhizal symbioses. These same properties underlie the high protein nitrogen content in legume seed, making them an important source of nutritional nitrogen in the human diet. In both basic and applied research for legumes, there remain large gaps between theoretical and actual yields for many legume crops under many agronomic situations. Understanding the fundamental genetics, genomics, and biochemistry of traits that underlie natural fitness and agronomic performance is a major challenge for plant biology, worldwide, and has profound implications for improving human nutrition and increasing agricultural sustainability. The ICLGG meeting will bring together a diverse group of international scholars for dialogue on the most current topics of legume genomics, genetics, and biology, with strong focus on the translation of basic research in model systems to applied outcomes in crop legumes. The resources derived from this proposal will be used to broaden participation and provide provide novel opportunities by defraying the costs of participation for US graduate students, postdocs and junior faculty, with specific emphasis on women and members of underrepresented groups who might not otherwise have the financial means to attend and participate in the ICLGG.