Conference: 3rd International Congress on Plant Metabolomics to be held June 2004 in Ames, Iowa

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Partial support is requested for the 3rd International Congress on Plant Metabolomics to be held from June 3 to 6, 2004 at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. The meeting will include presentations by 9 invited speakers who are leaders in different aspects of plant metabolomics. Up to twelve additional speakers will be selected from submitted abstracts for short oral presentations. The meeting also includes poster sessions and time for informal discussions. The conference incorporates programmatic and educational features to encourage meaningful participation by scientists and students representing diversity in experimental system, career level, ethnicity and gender.Intellectual Merit: Since the sequencing of the first plant genome (Arabidopsis), it has become possible to envision the functionality of the entire complement of genes that encompasses a plant. This challenge has manifested a systems-based approach to visualize the expression of the entire genome. Specifically, technologies for globally measuring gene expression at the mRNA (transcriptomics) and protein (proteomics) levels have been developed. Metabolomics is the technology for globally measuring gene expression at the metabolite level, which probably represents the ultimate expression of the functionality of a genome that can be chemically defined. Metabolomics is an emerging field. The International Congress on Plant Metabolomics was initiated just 2 years ago and is the medium that brings together the leading practitioners in this new emerging area of plant functional genomics. Previous meetings have been held in Europe, and this, 3rd meeting in this series will be the first to be held in the US. The Congress will for the first time in this country provide a landmark opportunity for plant biologists, chemists and bioinformaticists to meet, discuss and interact in the context of a major international meeting on plant metabolomics. The Symposium will be one of an ongoing series of symposia sponsored by the Plant Sciences Institute at Iowa State University. The program will address the current and potential applications of metabolomics in gene discovery and directed genome modifications.Broader Impacts: This symposium is designed to initiate and foster interactions among practitioners of metabolomics and researchers studying plant biology. The speakers have been chosen to present investigations on a variety of related topics, including the development of new analytical technologies, statistical analysis of metabolomics data, and the role of metabolomics in solving biological problems via a systems approach. Approximately one third of the invited speakers are women; up to twelve additional short talks will be selected from submitted abstracts to increase diversity in career level and to enhance participation of underrepresented groups. An important purpose of these symposia is to promote interactions and new collaborations among researchers who might not normally come together at a single symposium. In addition to the attendance of graduate students and post-doctoral researchers, special efforts will be made to encourage participation by NSF-REUs, other undergraduate students, and interested high school teachers. Long-standing relationships of ISU with historically black institutions and undergraduate research experience programs will foster attendance of underrepresented students.