RCN: Broadening and Energizing the Maize Genetics Research Community

玉米是一种重要的研究植物模型系统，也是一种全球重要的作物，为人类提供食物、饲料、纤维和原材料。国际玉米研究界包括公共和私人研究人员，他们代表着一个全球研究引擎，使玉米能够通过基础和应用发现满足世界范围的需求。展望未来，该社区面临的挑战和机遇包括大数据的生产和利用，支持持续研究成功的技术开发，增加社区的广度和跨学科互动，以设想和协同新发现，并确保将发现转化为种植者和消费者。这些挑战和机遇将通过招募和装备一个多样化的科学社区，并通过识别和倡导资源来应对，这些资源使这个充满活力的社区能够开发所需的技术，并继续其在基础和应用研究方面的卓越历史。该研究协调网络（RCN）将支持加速下一个十年的研究计划，将为协同互动创造机会，并将允许经过深思熟虑的社区建设努力，以增加美国玉米研究界的科学和分类多样性。该项目由综合生物系统部植物基因组研究计划和分子与细胞生物科学部遗传机制计划共同资助。该研究协调网络的目标是通过系统规划和确定优先活动，以及鼓励社区发展和协同互动，加速玉米研究进入下一个十年。社区意见已经确定了值得RCN特别关注的四个领域：新型功能基因组技术的开发，大数据的获取和利用，产品的发现，以及重要的招募和培训下一代研究人员。这些主题将通过有针对性的焦点小组会议来讨论，并产生对所有利益相关者都有价值的白皮书。信息将在年度玉米遗传学会议上收集，并通过会前调查收集，然后将这些调查作为在线资源广泛传达给会议上的社区成员。最后，RCN还将通过积极从所有类型的代表性不足的群体中招募科学家和通过扩大玉米研究界的学科广度来寻求扩大社区的新方法。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Maize is a premier research plant model system as well as a globally important crop providing food, feed, fiber, and raw materials that sustain humankind. The international maize research community includes public and private researchers that represents a global research engine that has allowed maize to meet world-wide demands through fundamental and applied discoveries. Looking to the future, challenges and opportunities that face the community include big-data production and utilization, development of technologies that will support continued research success, increasing the breadth and interdisciplinary interactions of the community to envision and synergize new discovery, and ensuring translation of discoveries to growers and consumers. These challenges and opportunities will be met by recruiting and equipping a diverse scientific community, and through identification and advocacy for resources that allow this vibrant community to develop needed technologies and to continue its history of excellence in fundamental and applied research. This Research Coordination Network (RCN) will support planning to accelerate research into the next decade, will create opportunities for synergistic interactions, and will allow deliberate community-building efforts to grow the scientific and categorical diversity of the U.S. maize research community. This project was co-funded by the Plant Genome Research Program in the Division of Integrative Organismal Systems and the Genetic Mechanisms Program in the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences. The goal of this Research Coordination Network is to accelerate maize research into the next decade by systematic planning and prioritization activities, and by encouraging community growth and synergistic interaction. Community input has identified four areas meriting specific attention by the RCN: development of novel functional genomic technologies, big data acquisition and utilization, discovery to product, and importantly, recruiting and training the next generation of researchers. These topics will be addressed by targeted focus group meetings that will produce white papers of value to all stakeholders. Information will be gathered at the annual Maize Genetics Conference and through pre-conference surveys which will then be broadly communicated to the community members at the conference and as online resources. Finally, the RCN will also seek new ways to broaden the community by active recruitment of scientists from underrepresented groups of all types and by expanding the disciplinary breadth of the maize research community.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.