Conference: Hemipteran-Plant Interactions Symposium, July 11-14, 2011, Brazil

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This award supports an international symposium on the interactions between herbivorous hemipteran insects and the plants on which they feed. The interactions between herbivorous Hemiptera and their host plants has been the subject of many scientific studies because herbivorous Hemiptera comprise some of the world's worst agricultural pests. Their mouthparts are designed as miniature hypodermic needles, similar to those of mosquitoes, but they feed on plant sap rather than blood. Just the same as the specialized feeding mechanism of mosquitoes makes them important vectors of animal diseases, herbivorous hemipterans are the most important vectors worldwide of plant diseases, including diseases of crop plants. Their hypodermic needle-like mouthparts are thin enough to pierce individual plant cells which allow these insects to specialize feeding on particular cell types. This ability has led to the evolution of intimate physiological interactions between these insects and the plants upon which they feed. Consequently, major future advances in the study of these interactions will require an interdisciplinary approach that brings together entomologists and plant physiologists. Studies of these interactions provides the biological foundation for determining mechanisms of plant resistance against these insects and for understanding the mechanisms of transmission of plant pathogens by hemipteran vectors, both areas of increasing importance as a growing world populations stretches our agricultural resources thin. Entomologists and plant biologists working in isolation can advance this field only so far. Future major advances in Hemiptera-plant interactions will require intimate collaboration between entomologists and plant biologists, and therein lies the importance of this symposium: to bring together entomologists and plant biologists to exchange ideas and forge new collaborations. With an eye to the future, the travel support from NSF will go primarily to new young investigators in order to foster interdisciplinary collaborations early in their careers.