19th International Conference on Arabidopsis Research to be held July 23 - 27, 2008 in Montreal, Canada

40多年来，拟南芥一直是遗传分析的对象。目前，世界各地成千上万的研究人员致力于这种高度驯化的参考植物，利用它来研究植物生物学的几乎所有方面。植物研究界已经通过一个雄心勃勃的功能基因组学计划来应对利用拟南芥全基因组序列的挑战，推动了拟南芥基因功能的发现，进而发现了所有植物的基因功能。拟南芥研究实验室之间协同互动的一个关键组成部分是有机会在一年一度的拟南芥研究国际会议(ICAR)上与来自世界各地的同事见面并分享科学成果。第19届ICAR年会将于2008年7月23日至27日在加拿大蒙特利尔举行，预计将吸引来自世界各国的1000多名代表。研究生、博士后助理和初级研究人员的参与将通过旅行奖励来促进参加会议。NSF提供的资金将用于扩大来自美国科学界和发展中国家的年轻科学家的参与。会议计划和摘要将在会议网站上公开提供，该网站链接到拟南芥信息资源网站(www.arabidopsis.org)。

Arabidopsis thaliana has been the subject of genetic analysis for more than forty years.Currently thousands of researchers worldwide work with this highly tractable reference plant, using it to study nearly all aspects of plant biology. The plant research community has responded to the challenge of exploiting the complete genome sequence of Arabidopsis with an ambitious functional genomics program, driving the discovery of Arabidopsis gene functions and, by extension, gene functions in all plants. A key component in the synergistic interactions among Arabidopsis research laboratories is the opportunity to meet and share scientific results with colleagues from around the world at the annual International Conference on Arabidopsis Research (ICAR). The 19th annual ICAR, to be held July 23-27, 2008, in Montreal, Canada, is anticipated to draw over 1000 delegates from countries around the world. The participation of graduate students, postdoctoral associates, and beginning investigators will be fostered through travel awards to attend the conference. The funding provided by NSF will be used to broaden participation of young scientists from the US scientific community and from developing countries. Conference program and abstracts will be publicly available on the conference website, which is linked to the Arabidopsis Information Resource (TAIR) website (www.arabidopsis.org).