Keystone Symposia: Climate Change-Linked Stress Tolerance in Plants

Current and anticipated impacts of climate change and atmospheric gases on water availability and weather extremes affect the production of crops that provide food and fiber to meet the growing needs of humanity. Innovative research on crops, related wild species and model plant species is enabling the identification of stress signaling, metabolic and developmental strategies that limit yield loss in zones with increased climate stress and variability. The use of functional genomics to dissect abiotic stress sensing and signaling networks and the downstream adjustments in metabolism and development continue to provide solutions for crop improvement. These advances are accelerated by tools such as genome editing and use of synthetic biology to fine-tune key pathways. Moreover, advances in genomics and GWAS approaches provide powerful platforms towards identifying new genes and mechanisms for increasing plant vigor while limiting yield losses in agriculture. New advances in physiological and molecular phenotyping and recognition of synergistic multigene combinations that provide stress resiliency without limiting productivity promise to enable rapid deployment of advantageous genetic combinations. This conference will bring together experts pursuing advances on the cutting edge of climate change-linked stress tolerance in plants and provide a dynamic interactive setting to map future challenges and solutions.

Topics: plant science, plant biology, climate change, plant physiology, food production, plant genomics