Conference: How Microbes Can Help Feed the World - American Society for Microbiology, Washington, DC - December 7-9, 2012

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Intellectual Merit By conservative UN estimates, the world's human population is expected to surpass 9 billion by 2050. At the same time, arable land, clean water and phosphate fertilizers are increasingly limited resources. At the same time, the productivity gains of the Green Revolution are leveling off; the costs of using fossil fuels to transport fertilizer and food around the world are becoming prohibitive; and climate change will affect crop range and productivity in ways that are not yet predictable. To meet this new challenge, inexpensive and sustainable approaches will be necessary not only to improve food production of major commodity crops like wheat and rice, but also local crops and vegetables, especially in areas of massive global population expansion. The field of plant-microbe interactions has entered an era of particular promise and has the potential to provide innovative and highly adaptable approaches to increase plant productivity. Beneficial plant-Microbe interactions are known to improve plant resilience to many kinds of stresses, including disease, drought, salinity, nutrient limitation, and extreme temperature. Advances in the fundamental understanding of the natural relationships between plants and the microbial world can be put to immediate use to ensure sustainable food production worldwide. The time is especially ripe for an in-depth examination of the current state of the art in the study of microbe-plant interactions because scientific, technological, and computational advances of the last decade have opened avenues to address the complexity and dynamics of these interactions. The proposed colloquium is devoted specifically to develop novel integrated mechanisms that can lead to meaningful measures to enhance crop productivity and food security for the future. Broader impact The connection between greater fundamental understanding of plant-microbe interactions and the practical solution of enhanced crop productivity is compelling. Historically, the field has been hampered by the complexity and intractability of the biological system. The colloquium will bring together a diverse group of experts in the field who can identify the needs and challenges and develop a road map for rapid scientific progress and strategies to exploit the beneficial plant-microbe interactions, while curtailing those that are detrimental. Raising awareness of the potential of this field is likely to inspire young scientists to choose careers in basic science knowing that their contributions have positive impact on a number of societal grand challenges. Discussions at the colloquium will be captured in a report that will be freely available to the public. Also, a proposal has already been submitted for a session featuring colloquium participants at the 2013 AAAS meeting in Boston. The American Academy of Microbiology is committed to identifying opportunities like the AAAS meeting to disseminate the results of its colloquia to audiences beyond those of the participants and sponsors.