Conference: 2024 Multiscale Plant Vascular Biology Gordon Research Conference and Seminar

该奖项支持约75名研究科学家参加戈登多尺度植物维管生物学研究会议和研讨会(GRC/GRS)，该会议于2024年6月8日至14日在美国缅因州波特兰举行。这些会议的目标是：(A)在一系列尺度上分享植物维管生物学方面最新和最有影响力的研究成果，其中包括从基因网络和蛋白质到全球气候变化模型的各种研究成果；(B)建立一个具有代表性、包容性和公平性的科学界，以确保该领域的研究继续向前发展，造福整个社会。由于植物是连接地球土壤和大气的关键纽带，对植物维管生物学的了解是21世纪一些最紧迫的社会和环境挑战的基础。这些措施包括改善全球粮食安全，减少农业用水量，增加生物能源生产，加强自然生态系统的碳储存，以及污染土壤的生物修复(即去污)。在完整的GRC之前，为期两天的GRS仅限于非常早期的职业科学家(即博士生和博士后研究人员)，并包括职业指导小组。因此，这次会议的主要预期成果之一是在植物生物学领域培养一支更加多样化(即在人口统计学上具有代表性)、包容和公平的劳动力队伍，他们已经为应对这些挑战做好了专业准备。在这些会议上公开分享当前的科学成果有望带来新的方向和富有成效的合作。2024年GRC和GRS多尺度植物维管束生物学的主题分别是植物维管束和土壤-植物-大气连续体和植物对胁迫的弹性。2024年GRC计划包括31位演讲者和讨论领袖，他们在会议上组织了以下主题：植物维管系统发育；气孔控制和调节；根微生物组和互惠共生对植物耐受非生物胁迫能力的作用；改进植物表型的计算和成像技术；维管生物学在可持续种植系统中的作用；从根际到景观的水力学；韧皮部运输和植物内部碳动态；以及植物在不断变化的气候中的维管功能。今年的特别重点包括碳化合物和水的转移，包括双向转移(例如，进入土壤和土壤到大气)；土壤-根生物界面的重要性；以及在农业和集约管理系统中更多地代表工作。GRC/GRS结构包括充足的讨论时间，所有讨论都是在“非正式”政策下进行的，以促进最新和最具前瞻性的意见交流。预计将从这些会议中开展多种合作，从而有意义地推动这一领域的发展。总的来说，与会者将确定我们对植物维管生物学理解中最紧迫的差距，从而确定研究的最高优先事项，以及解决这些差距的最有效和最有前途的技术。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award supports the attendance of approximately 75 research scientists, mostly those at early stages of their career, at the Gordon Research Conference and Seminar (GRC/GRS) on Multiscale Plant Vascular Biology, two linked meetings held in Portland, Maine, USA from June 8-14, 2024. The goals of these meeting are to (a) share the most current and impactful research in plant vascular biology at a range of scales, which includes everything from gene networks and proteins to global climate change models; and (b) build a representative, inclusive and equitable scientific community to ensure that research in this field continues to advance for the benefit of society as a whole. Because plants serve as a critical link between the earth's soils and our atmosphere, an understanding of plant vascular biology underpins some of the most urgent societal and environmental challenges of the 21st century. These include improved global food security, reduced agricultural water consumption, increased bioenergy production, enhanced carbon storage in natural ecosystems, and bioremediation (i.e., decontamination) of contaminated soils. The two-day GRS that precedes the full GRC is restricted to very early career scientists (i.e., doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers) and includes a career mentoring panel. Thus, one of the primary expected outcomes of this conference is to develop a more diverse (i.e., demographically-representative), inclusive and equitable workforce in plant biology who are prepared professionally to tackle these challenges. The open sharing of current scientific results at these meetings is expected to lead to new directions and productive collaborations.Themes for the 2024 GRC and GRS Multiscale Plant Vascular Biology are Plant Vasculature and the Soil-Plant-Atmosphere Continuum and Plant Resilience to Stress, respectively. The 2024 GRC program includes 31 speakers and discussion leaders organized in sessions on plant vascular development; stomatal control and regulation; the role of the root microbiome and mutualisms on the ability of plants to tolerate abiotic stress; computational and imaging techniques for improved plant phenotyping; the role of vascular biology in sustainable cropping systems; hydraulics from the rhizosphere to landscape; phloem transport and within-plant carbon dynamics; and plant vascular function in a changing climate. Special emphases this year include the transfer of carbon compounds as well as water, including bidirectional transfer (e.g., into the soil vs. soil-to-atmosphere); the importance of the soil-root biotic interface; and greater representation of work in agricultural and intensively-managed systems. GRC/GRS structure includes ample time for discussion, all of which occurs under an “off-the-record” policy in order to foster the most up-to-date and forward-looking exchange of ideas. It is expected that multiple collaborations will develop from these meetings that will meaningfully advance the field. Collectively, attendees will identify the most pressing gaps in our understanding of plant vascular biology and thus the highest priorities for research, as well as the most effective and promising techniques to address them.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.