A Joint NSF and JST Workshop: Identifying Potential Collaborative Research Opportunities in Metabolomics; Davis, CA

代谢组学是对生物体的小分子成分（代谢物）进行大规模研究。细胞中的这些小分子代表基因表达的最终产物，并提供细胞、组织和/或生物体的高分辨率生化表型。代谢组学现在是一种经过验证的高分辨率工具，可以深入了解初级和次级代谢。 它提供了重要的洞察力的分子和生物化学事件中发生的互惠和致病性植物微生物相互作用，它是一个强大的功能基因组学工具，发现新的代谢产物及其相关的生物合成基因。该提案的具体目的是：1）为一个研讨会筹集资金，该研讨会将确定并优先考虑代谢组学为推进能源和环境领域生物学知识提供最大机会的关键战略领域，2）促进日美科学家在这些优先研究领域的合作互动。为了实现上述目标，一个由来自日本和美国的10-15名该领域专家组成的小组将于2010年5月6日至7日在戴维斯的加州大学举行为期两天的会议。该研讨会将重点关注当前的技术挑战和最佳合作机会与植物，藻类和微生物代谢组学。具体的技术挑战，讨论包括定义代谢组，代谢物注释，空间和时间分辨采样，通量？经济学？动态范围和覆盖深度、仪器和基础设施、信息学和数据库、标准化、推定的国家植物、藻类、微生物代谢组学设施。合作应用机会将讨论生物能源，环境，功能基因组学基因发现，次生代谢，代谢组学全基因组关联映射（植物，藻类，微生物），系统生物学和植物，藻类和微生物代谢组学的代谢建模。会议成果报告将在现场起草，通过同行评审进行完善，最终报告将提交给NSF和JST。更广泛的影响：本次会议将汇集植物，藻类和微生物代谢组学领域的领先科学家组成的国际团队，并提供一个论坛，以确定和优先考虑该领域当前和最关键的限制性挑战。这些讨论应导致就应对这些挑战的最佳科学方法达成共识，并将社区团结起来，采取最有效的方法来解决这些挑战。重要的是，会议还将促进和鼓励美国和日本科学家之间的合作互动，为应用先进的代谢组学技术解决与植物、微生物和藻类生物学相关的重大问题提供综合资源。国际合作的结果将导致培养学生和博士后在最先进的方法，并带来新一代的科学家到这个不断发展和重要的领域。

Intellectual Merit:Metabolomics is the large-scale study of the small molecule component (metabolites) of living organisms. These small molecules in cells represent the consequential end products of gene expression and offer a high-resolution biochemical phenotype of a cell, tissue, and/or organism. Metabolomics is now a proven high-resolution tool that is yielding advanced understanding of primary and secondary metabolism. It is providing critical insight into the molecular and biochemical events that occur during mutualistic and pathogenic plant-microbe interactions, and it is a powerful functional genomics tool for the discovery of novel metabolites and their correlated biosynthetic genes. The specific aims of this proposal are 1) to acquire funds for a workshop that will identify and prioritize key strategic areas where metabolomics offers the greatest opportunity to advance biological knowledge in the areas of energy and environment, and 2) to foster greater collaborative interactions between Japan and US scientists in these priority research areas. To achieve the above goal, a team composed of a diverse group of ~10-15 experts in the field from Japan and from the USA will meet for two days, May 6-7, 2010, at The University of California, Davis. The workshop will focus upon current technical challenges and optimum collaborator opportunities related to plant, algal, and microbial metabolomics. Specific technical challenges to be discussed include defining the Metabolome, metabolite annotation, spatially and temporally resolved sampling, flux?omics?, dynamic range and depth-of-coverage, instrumentation and infrastructure, informatics and databases, standardization, putative national plant, algal, microbial metabolomics facility(s). Collaborative application opportunities will be discussed with regards to bioenergy, environment, functional genomics & gene discovery, secondary metabolism, metabolomics & genome-wide association mapping (plant, algae, microbe), systems biology and metabolic modeling in plant, algal, and microbial metabolomics. A report of the meeting outcomes will be drafted on-site, refined through peer review, and a final report delivered to NSF and JST. Broader Impacts: This meeting will bring together an international team of leading scientists in the field of plant, algal, and microbial metabolomics, and provide a forum to identify and prioritize the current and most critically limiting challenges in the field. The discussions should lead to a consensus opinion for the best scientific approaches to address these challenges and unify the community towards the most effective approaches to solving the challenges. Importantly, the meeting will also foster and encourage collaborative interactions between US and Japanese scientists that will provide combined resources in applying advanced metabolomics technology to the solution of major questions related to plant, microbial, and algal biology. International collaborations that result will lead to training of students and postdocs in state of the art methodology and bring a new generation of scientists to this evolving and important field.