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

根据联合国的保守估计，到2050年，世界人口预计将超过90亿。与此同时，耕地、清洁水和磷肥也越来越成为有限的资源。与此同时，绿色革命带来的生产力增长正在趋于平稳;使用化石燃料在世界各地运输化肥和粮食的成本越来越高;气候变化将以尚无法预测的方式影响作物范围和生产力。为了迎接这一新的挑战，必须采取廉价和可持续的方法，不仅要提高小麦和水稻等主要商品作物的粮食生产，而且要提高当地作物和蔬菜的生产，特别是在全球人口大规模增长的地区。植物-微生物相互作用领域已经进入了一个特别有希望的时代，并有可能提供创新和高度适应性的方法来提高植物生产力。已知有益的植物-微生物相互作用可提高植物对多种胁迫的适应性，包括疾病、干旱、盐度、营养限制和极端温度。对植物和微生物世界之间自然关系的基本理解的进展可以立即用于确保全球可持续的粮食生产。深入研究微生物-植物相互作用的最新技术水平的时机已经特别成熟，因为过去十年的科学，技术和计算进步为解决这些相互作用的复杂性和动态开辟了途径。拟议的座谈会专门致力于制定新的综合机制，从而采取有意义的措施，提高未来的作物生产力和粮食安全。更广泛的影响对植物-微生物相互作用的更深入的基本理解与提高作物产量的实际解决方案之间的联系是引人注目的。从历史上看，该领域一直受到生物系统的复杂性和棘手性的阻碍。该研讨会将汇集该领域的各种专家，他们可以确定需求和挑战，并制定快速科学进步的路线图和战略，以利用有益的植物-微生物相互作用，同时减少有害的相互作用。提高对这一领域潜力的认识可能会激励年轻科学家选择基础科学领域的职业，因为他们知道自己的贡献对一些社会重大挑战具有积极影响。座谈会上的讨论情况将载入一份报告，向公众免费提供。此外，已经提交了一份关于在波士顿举行的2013年美国科学促进会会议上举行一次专题讨论会的建议。美国微生物学会致力于寻找机会，如美国科学促进会会议，向与会者和赞助者以外的受众传播其座谈会的结果。

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.