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，可耕地、清洁水和磷肥资源越来越有限。与此同时，绿色革命带来的生产率增长正在趋于平稳；使用化石燃料在世界各地运输肥料和食品的成本正变得令人望而却步；气候变化将以目前尚无法预测的方式影响农作物的种植范围和生产力。为了应对这一新的挑战，不仅需要采用廉价和可持续的方法来改善小麦和大米等主要商品作物的粮食生产，而且还需要改善当地作物和蔬菜的生产，特别是在全球人口大规模扩张的地区。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。众所周知，有益的植物-微生物相互作用可以提高植物对多种胁迫的适应能力，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认识的进展可以立即用于确保全球粮食生产的可持续发展。由于过去十年科学、技术和计算的进步为解决这些相互作用的复杂性和动态性开辟了途径，因此，对微生物与植物相互作用研究的当前艺术状态进行深入研究的时机尤其成熟。拟议的讨论会专门致力于发展新的综合机制，以导致有意义的措施，以提高作物生产力和未来的粮食安全。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生产力的实际解决方案之间的联系是令人信服的。从历史上看，该领域一直受到生物系统复杂性和顽固性的阻碍。讨论会将汇集该领域的不同专家小组，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许多社会重大挑战具有积极影响。讨论会的讨论将收录在一份报告中，并将免费提供给公众。此外，2013年在波士顿举行的美国科学促进会（AAAS）会议上，已经提交了一份以研讨会参与者为主题的提案。美国微生物学会致力于寻找像AAAS会议这样的机会，向参与者和赞助商以外的受众传播其讨论会的结果。

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.