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

拟南芥作为基因分析的主题已经有四十多年了。目前，全世界成千上万的研究人员都在研究这种高度易处理的参考植物，用它来研究植物生物学的几乎所有方面。植物研究界以雄心勃勃的功能基因组学计划来应对开发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，并进一步扩展到所有植物的基因功能。拟南芥研究实验室之间协同作用的一个关键组成部分是有机会在一年一度的国际拟南芥研究会议（ICAR）上与来自世界各地的同事会面并分享科学成果。第19届年度ICAR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鼓励参加会议。NSF提供的资金将用于扩大美国科学界和发展中国家青年科学家的参与。会议日程和摘要将在会议网站上公开，该网站链接到拟南芥信息资源（TAIR）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).