Plant Genomes in a Changing Environment (Virtual Conference)

The increasing availability and improved quality of plant genomic data are helping to tackle global challenges such as food security and environmental change.  This conference will showcase the application of genomic techniques and technologies advancing understanding of plant genomes and how they vary across changing environments.

The focus of this year’s virtual event is the genomics of polyploidy and evolutionary genomics, as well as emerging research tools.  How to improve plants for tolerance of biotic and abiotic stresses will be discussed.  The conference aims to facilitate knowledge transfer across plant systems of differing ecology, physiology and genomic complexity.

The virtual platform will enable researchers from academia and industry to connect.  Global participation is encouraged with sessions running in afternoons for Europe and Africa | mornings for the Americas.

The conference will run from Monday 18 October until Wednesday 20 October 2021.  Sessions will start at 13:00 BST and finish at approximately 18:00 BST each day.  See the time where you are here.

Topics will include:

• Genomics of Polyploidy
• Abiotic Adaptation
• Biotic Interaction
• Plant Evolutionary Genomics
• Emerging Technology

Scientific programme committee

Joy Bergelson
New York University, USA

Kirsten Bomblies
ETH Zurich, Switzerland

Michele Morgante
University of Udine, Italy

Cristobal Uauy
John Innes Centre, UK

Keynote speakers

Deborah Charlesworth
University of Edinburgh, UK

Zachary Lippman
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, USA

Confirmed speakers

Siobhan Brady – University of California, Davis, USA
Eunyoung Chae – National University of Singapore, Singapore
Patricia Lang – Stanford University, USA
Polina Novikova – Max Planck Institute for Breeding Research, Germany
Ruben Rellan-Alvarez – NC State University, USA
Matthew Reynolds – CIMMYT, Mexico
Loren Rieseberg –  University of British Columbia, Canada
Eva Stukenbrock – University of Kiel, Germany
Andrea Sweigart – University of Georgia, USA
Amos Tanay – Weizmann Institute, Israel
Mario Vallejo-Marin – University of Stirling, UK
Dan Voytas – University of Minnesota, USA

Organisers – Wellcome Connecting Science

Lucy Criddle – Conference Organiser
Jane Murphy – Scientific Programme Officer

Registration deadline: 11 October 2021
Bursary deadline: 7 September 2021

Registration includes:

• access to the virtual event portal (Log in details will be emailed a few days before the event starts)
• live-stream sessions, including posters and online networking channels
• recordings of the live-stream sessions, available ‘on-demand’ for four weeks after the event ends.

*To increase the international diversity of attendees at our meetings, we have reduced fees for delegates from Lower and Middle Income Countries (see list of countries here).

If you are in need of financial support and would like to apply for a bursary, please follow the instructions below.

Bursaries

A limited number of bursaries are available to cover up to 100% of the registration fee.

To apply, please complete your event registration and bursary application via this unique link before the bursary deadline. For your application to be considered and your place reserved, you must also submit the following supporting documents:

• letter stating financial need and explaining how you will benefit from attending the event
• brief CV.

We will be contact with the result of your application shortly after the bursary deadline.

If you have any questions, please contact the conference organiser.

Abstract deadline: 7 September 2021

We welcome abstracts from all areas relevant to the main themes of the meeting, for both oral and poster presentations. Several oral presentations will be chosen from the abstracts submitted.

Abstracts will only be considered from registered delegates. Please use our online abstract submission system and follow the instructions below to ensure your abstract is submitted correctly. All abstracts must be submitted by the deadline. If you are intending to submit more than one abstract, please contact the conference organiser prior to registration.

The scientific programme committee will assess your abstract after the deadline has passed and you will be notified whether you have been selected for an oral or poster presentation. All those accepted for a poster presentation will be given the opportunity to upload a short video describing their work.

Uploading abstracts after completed registration:

1. Login to your account via ‘My Account’.
2. Click on ‘View account history’ to show a table of your event registrations.
3. Select the appropriate conference
4. Click on ‘Upload file’ (in right hand column).
5. Select ‘Abstract’ and upload via the abstract form.
6. If you wish to upload a second abstract, click on ‘Additional Abstract’ and again upload via the abstract form.

Please note: documents submitted via ‘Supporting Documents’ are for bursary applications only and cannot be seen during the abstract selection process.

At the root of cellular responses to water extremes in rice

Keynote lecture by Julia Bailey-Serres (University of California, Riverside, USA) at Plant Genomes in a Changing Environment 2020