2019 Gordon Research Seminar and Gordon Research Conference on Plant Lipids: Structure, Metabolism & Function, Galveston, Texas, Jan 29 - Feb 3,2019

Gordon Research Conferences, East Greenwich RI

Investigators

Abstract

The priority goals of the United Nations include "End hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture". Lipids are oil and fat-soluble molecules that play an important role in plant and animal development and serve as signals for changing environmental conditions. In addition, many lipids are important nutritional or medicinal compounds or industrial precursors. As a result, understanding synthesis, structure and function of plant lipids will serve not only the scientific understanding of plant developmental processes but will also translate into tangible improvements of food sustainability and quality: - Understanding how lipids affect plant growth and seed and fruit development will lead to higher yields and more food. - Understanding how lipids affect plant survival in changing environments (cold, freezing, drought, nutrient-deficient soil, insect feeding etc.) will reduce crop losses. - Understanding lipid biosynthesis will lead to our ability to improve the nutritional value of food (high vitamin A or E; rich in omega-fatty acids). - Transferring that knowledge into other species to produce medicinal lipids will improve human health. - Transferring that knowledge into the synthesis of industrial lipids in bacteria or algae will lead to low-cost, low-impact production of important compounds. As these processes are complex and encompass not only basic understanding of plant lipids and their detection but also the translation into agricultural systems, it is essential for plant lipid research to all meet, exchange information, and coordinate efforts. Mentoring sessions at the conference and the preceding Gordon Research Seminar will facilitate the inclusion and interaction of junior scientists. The 2019 Gordon Research Conference on "Plant Lipids: Structure, Metabolism, and Function" (1/29 - 2/3/2019 at the Hotel Galvez in Galveston, TX) will provide an international platform to discuss and integrate new approaches to understand plant lipids, including the complex metabolism of storage lipids and their links to biological membranes. Detailed topics include new techniques for lipid visualization and detection, such as newly developed optogenetics tools; novel molecular and gene editing approaches to optimize plant lipid metabolism; computational analysis/modeling to predict phenotypic changes and lipid-protein interactions; and the study of lipid-interaction with other molecules. Together, the presented findings and approaches allow us to develop new strategies to understand and utilize the role of lipids in plant growth, environmental signaling, cellular structure, and the production of valuable lipids for food, health, industry, and fuel. The meeting theme "New Insights and Technologies - Bringing Lipid Research into the Future" will combine knowledge, creativity, and cutting-edge thinking of established and next-generation lipid researchers from academia, scientific institutes, and industry. Significant meeting time will be devoted to exposure to the state of the art technologies for and by early career scientists will be included. The meeting will culminate in a final brainstorming session that will feature three respected scientists in the field who present and discuss big ideas to bring lipid research into the future and to the forefront of science. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.