A Joint NSF and JST Workshop: Identifying Potential Collaborative Research Opportunities in Metabolomics; Davis, CA

知识价值：代谢组学是对生物小分子成分(代谢物)的大规模研究。细胞中的这些小分子代表基因表达的最终产物，并提供细胞、组织和/或生物体的高分辨率生化表型。代谢组学现在是一种被证实的高分辨率工具，它正在产生对初级和次级新陈代谢的高级理解。它提供了对植物-微生物相互作用和致病过程中发生的分子和生化事件的重要洞察力，是发现新代谢物及其相关生物合成基因的强大功能基因组学工具。这项建议的具体目标是：1)为一个研讨会获得资金，该研讨会将确定并优先安排代谢组学在能源和环境领域提供最大机会促进生物学知识的关键战略领域，以及2)促进日本和美国科学家在这些优先研究领域的更大合作互动。为了实现上述目标，一个由来自日本和美国的该领域不同专家组成的小组将于2010年5月6日至7日在加州大学戴维斯分校举行为期两天的会议。研讨会将集中讨论与植物、藻类和微生物代谢组学相关的当前技术挑战和最佳合作者机会。要讨论的具体技术挑战包括定义代谢组、代谢物注释、空间和时间分辨采样、通量组学、动态范围和覆盖深度、仪器和基础设施、信息学和数据库、标准化、假定的国家植物、藻类、微生物代谢组学设施(S)。将讨论在生物能源、环境、功能基因组和基因发现、次生代谢、代谢组学和全基因组关联图谱(植物、藻类、微生物)、系统生物学以及植物、藻类和微生物代谢组学的代谢建模方面的合作应用机会。将现场起草一份会议成果报告，通过同行审查加以完善，并向国家科学基金会和日本科学技术委员会提交最终报告。更广泛的影响：这次会议将汇聚植物、藻类和微生物代谢组学领域的领先科学家组成的国际团队，并提供一个论坛，以确定和优先处理该领域当前和最关键的限制挑战。讨论应导致就应对这些挑战的最佳科学办法达成协商一致意见，并使社区团结起来，采取最有效的办法解决这些挑战。重要的是，会议还将促进和鼓励美国和日本科学家之间的合作互动，这将在应用先进的代谢组学技术解决与植物、微生物和藻类生物学相关的重大问题方面提供综合资源。由此产生的国际合作将导致对学生和博士后进行最先进的方法论培训，并将新一代科学家带入这个不断发展和重要的领域。

Intellectual Merit:Metabolomics is the large-scale study of the small molecule component (metabolites) of living organisms. These small molecules in cells represent the consequential end products of gene expression and offer a high-resolution biochemical phenotype of a cell, tissue, and/or organism. Metabolomics is now a proven high-resolution tool that is yielding advanced understanding of primary and secondary metabolism. It is providing critical insight into the molecular and biochemical events that occur during mutualistic and pathogenic plant-microbe interactions, and it is a powerful functional genomics tool for the discovery of novel metabolites and their correlated biosynthetic genes. The specific aims of this proposal are 1) to acquire funds for a workshop that will identify and prioritize key strategic areas where metabolomics offers the greatest opportunity to advance biological knowledge in the areas of energy and environment, and 2) to foster greater collaborative interactions between Japan and US scientists in these priority research areas. To achieve the above goal, a team composed of a diverse group of ~10-15 experts in the field from Japan and from the USA will meet for two days, May 6-7, 2010, at The University of California, Davis. The workshop will focus upon current technical challenges and optimum collaborator opportunities related to plant, algal, and microbial metabolomics. Specific technical challenges to be discussed include defining the Metabolome, metabolite annotation, spatially and temporally resolved sampling, flux?omics?, dynamic range and depth-of-coverage, instrumentation and infrastructure, informatics and databases, standardization, putative national plant, algal, microbial metabolomics facility(s). Collaborative application opportunities will be discussed with regards to bioenergy, environment, functional genomics & gene discovery, secondary metabolism, metabolomics & genome-wide association mapping (plant, algae, microbe), systems biology and metabolic modeling in plant, algal, and microbial metabolomics. A report of the meeting outcomes will be drafted on-site, refined through peer review, and a final report delivered to NSF and JST. Broader Impacts: This meeting will bring together an international team of leading scientists in the field of plant, algal, and microbial metabolomics, and provide a forum to identify and prioritize the current and most critically limiting challenges in the field. The discussions should lead to a consensus opinion for the best scientific approaches to address these challenges and unify the community towards the most effective approaches to solving the challenges. Importantly, the meeting will also foster and encourage collaborative interactions between US and Japanese scientists that will provide combined resources in applying advanced metabolomics technology to the solution of major questions related to plant, microbial, and algal biology. International collaborations that result will lead to training of students and postdocs in state of the art methodology and bring a new generation of scientists to this evolving and important field.