Conference: 24th Annual Crown Gall Conference, to be held at Cornell University, Noveember 22-23, 2003

申请资金用于帮助本科生和研究生参加第24届年度皇冠瘿会议的差旅费。这次会议将于2003年11月22日至23日在康奈尔大学举行，将有大约75名研究农杆菌的国内外科学家参加。其中，大约一半将是在美国实验室工作的学生，他们将是国家科学基金会财政援助的唯一受益者。这些学生中有几个在本科学院学习，他们的导师没有足够的资金来支付这种旅行。对大肠杆菌的研究继续提供一场持续的智力盛宴。这种生物是目前最发达的模式病原体之一。它为大分子从病原体到宿主的易位提供了第一个模型，这种现象现在被认为是相当普遍的。大肠杆菌转移系统仍然是其家族中最具特征的成员。该细菌为检测宿主释放的扩散化学信号提供了第一个模型，并且该系统继续引领宿主检测的方式。这种生物也为细胞间通讯现象提供了一个极好的模型，这种现象有时被称为群体感应。在宿主-微生物相互作用的基本方面，肿瘤杆菌的学生将继续发挥领导作用。因此，本次会议的重点是一个重要的模式病理系统。这些研究也在许多方面影响着科学基础设施。其中一个领域与转基因植物的产生有关。尽管农杆菌通常用于将转基因引入许多种类的植物中，但仍有很大的改进空间，特别是在单子叶植物的转化、极长t - dna的引入、转化细胞的植物再生以及从转基因作物中去除抗生素抗性标记方面。本次会议提出的基础研究成果必将对植物分子遗传学和农业产生影响。tummefaciens也为学习如何做好科学提供了一个极好的模型。这种有机体很容易培养，也很容易在基因上进行操纵。因此，这种生物及其宿主提供了许多学习如何进行高度控制、可重复、基于假设的实验的机会。简而言之，a.t amefaciens的学生学习如何成为一名优秀的科学家，并将在他们的科学生涯中随身携带这些技能。

Funding is requested to help offset travel expenses for undergraduate and graduatestudents attending the 24th Annual Crown Gall Conference. This conference will take placeNovember 22-23, 2003 at Cornell University, and will be attended by approximately 75national and international scientists that study Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Of these,approximately half will be students working in US labs, who will be the sole beneficiariesof financial assistance from NSF. Several of these students study at undergraduatecolleges, and their advisors do not have adequate funding for travel of this sort.Studies of A. tumefaciens continue to provide an ongoing intellectual feast. Thisorganism is one of the best developed model pathogens available. It provided the firstmodel for translocation of macromolecules from pathogen to host, a phenomenon that is nowknown to be quite widespread. The A. tumefaciens transfer system continues to be the bestcharacterized member of its family. This bacterium provided the first model for thedetection of host-released diffusible chemical signals, and this system continues to leadthe way in host detection. This organism has also provided an excellent model for thephenomenon of cell-cell communication, a phenomenon sometimes referred to as quorumsensing. Students of A. tumefaciens will continue to provide leadership in fundamentalaspects of host-microbe interactions. This conference therefore focuses on an importantmodel patho-system.These studies also impact the scientific infrastructure in many ways. One area has to dowith the creation of transgenic plants. Although A. tumefaciens is routinely used tointroduce transgenes into many species of plants, there is a great deal of room forimprovement, particularly in transformation of monocots, the introduction of extremelylong T-DNAs, in the regeneration of plants from transformed cells, and in the removal ofantibiotic resistance markers from transgenic crops. The fundamental studies presentingin this conference will surely impact upon plant molecular genetics and agriculture.A. tumefaciens also provides an excellent model for learning how to do good science. Theorganism is readily culturable and readily manipulated genetically. Therefore, thisorganism and its hosts provide many opportunities for learning how to do highlycontrolled, reproducible, hypothesis-based experiments. In short, students of A.tumefaciens learn how to be good scientists, and will carry these skills with themthroughout their scientific careers.