Keystone Symposia is pleased to present
Plant Abiotic Stress and Sustainable Agriculture: 
Translating Basic Understanding to Food Production
Scientific Organizers: Julia Bailey-Serres and Paul Michael Hasegawa
January 17–22, 2013 | Sagebrush Inn and Conference Center | Taos, New Mexico | USA
T
he world must immediately increase global crop production
to meet the food, fiber and bio-fuel demands of our growing
population. This challenge is complicated by a decline in arable
farmland due to human occupancy and soil degradation. Crop
production is also compromised by an increased occurrence of
severe weather events due to global climate change. To meet human
needs, major crops must be rapidly modified to ensure productivity
in extreme environments. A major target is the improvement of
tolerance to abiotic stresses including extremes in water availability,
temperature and soil contamination by salts, phosphate and heavy
metals. Allied with abiotic stress tolerance is the need to improve
crop yields in nutrient poor soils. Genetic diversity for stress
tolerance and nutrient acquisition exists within some crop species.
The molecular genetic basis of this diversity is being identified and
harnessed into cultivars by marker-assisted breeding. The use of
functional genomics to dissect abiotic stress sensing and signaling
networks and the downstream adjustments in metabolism and
development can provide additional solutions for crop improvement
through genetic engineering. The emergence of deep-sequencing
promises to permit rapid exploration of abiotic tolerance
mechanisms of non-crop plants. Finally, the efforts to precisely define
abiotic stress tolerance mechanisms can aid the effective pyramiding
of multiple tolerances in a single plant. This Keystone Symposia
meeting will highlight progress in the dissection of the molecular
basis of abiotic stress tolerance and the practices that enable rapid
translation of abiotic stress tolerance to the farmer’s field.
Session Topics:
> Harnessing Genetic Diversity to Improve Crop Stress Tolerance
> Extremes in Water Availability: From Genes to Field
> Understanding and Improving Water Use Efficiency
> Stress Sensing, Signaling and Response Networks
> Roots and Their Environment
> Stress Systems Biology to Genetic Variation
> Challenges and Solutions in the Field
> Global Climate Change: CO2 and Temperature
Abstract & Scholarship Deadline: September 19, 2012
Late-Breaking Abstract Deadline: October 18, 2012
Early Registration Deadline: November 14, 2012
1.970.262.1230 | 1.800.253.0685 (US & Canada)
Keystone Symposia on Molecular and Cellular Biology is a nonprofit organization
headquartered in Colorado, USA directed and supported by the scientific community.
Note: Scholarships are available to students and postdoctoral fellows and require
a brief application and submission of an abstract. Short talk speakers will also be
selected from abstracts. Early registration saves US$150 on later fee. Information
shown is subject to possible change.
www.keystonesymposia.org/13A6
Keystone Symposia on Molecular and Cellular Biology is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Colorado, USA directed and supported by the scientific community.
KEYSTONE SYMPOSIA
on Molecular and Cellular Biology
Plant Abiotic Stress and Sustainable Agriculture: Translating Basic Understanding to Food
Production (A6)
January 17-22, 2013 • Sagebrush Inn & Suites • Taos, New Mexico, USA
Scientific Organizers: Julia Bailey-Serres and Mike Hasegawa
Sponsored by Monsanto Company
Abstract & Scholarship Deadline: September 19, 2012 / Late-Breaking Abstract Deadline: October 18, 2012 / Early Registration Deadline: November 14, 2012
THURSDAY, JANUARY 17
Arrival and Registration
FRIDAY, JANUARY 18
Welcome and Keynote Address
*Mike Hasegawa, Purdue University, USA
Marc Van Montagu, Ghent University, Belgium
30 years of Transgenic Plants: Discover, Innovate, Communicate
Biswa R. Acharya, Pennsylvania State University, USA
Short Talk: Protein Interaction Network in Arabidopsis Guard Cell
ABA Signaling: A Systems Biology Approach
Julian I. Schroeder, University of California, San Diego, USA
Short Talk: Molecular Mechanisms Mediating CO2 Control of
Transpiration and Stomatal Development
Stress Sensing, Signaling and Response Networks
*Julian I. Schroeder, University of California, San Diego, USA
Sean Cutler, University of California, Riverside, USA
Harnessing Genetic Diversity to Improve Crop Stress Tolerance
Structure and Function of ABA Receptors
Mark Tester, University of Adelaide, Australia
Dongdong Kong, University of Maryland, USA
Understanding and Manipulating Salininty Tolerance in Wheat and
Short Talk: Arabidopsis Glutamate Receptor Homologs Regulate
Barley
Ca2+ Homeostasis and Signaling
Julia Bailey-Serres, University of California, Riverside, USA
Jörg Kudla, Universität Münster, Germany
Flooding Survival Strategies
Short Talk: Functions of the Ca2+ Decoding CBL-CIPK Signaling
Network in Mediating and Enhancing Abiotic Stress Responses
Sigrid Heuer, University of Adelaide, Australia
A Novel Rice Protein Kinase, OsPSTOL1, Confers Tolerance of
Jian-Kang Zhu, Purdue University, USA
Phosphorus Deficiency by Enhancing Root Growth
Osmotic Stress Sensing and Signaling in Arabidopsis
Matthew H. Siebers, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA Ron Mittler, University of North Texas, USA
Short Talk: The Effects of Regionally Defined Heatwaves on Crop
Dissecting the Rapid Systemic Signaling Pathway of Plants
Production in Central Illinois at Current and Future [CO2]
SUNDAY, JANUARY 20
Extremes in Water Availability: From Genes to Field
*Susanne von Caemmerer, Australian National University, Australia
L.A.C.J. Rens Voesenek, Utrecht University, Netherlands
Submergence Coping Mechanisms in Wild Species
Andy Pereira, University of Arkansas, USA
Enhancing Photosynthesis for Increasing Yield and Abiotic Stress
Resistance in Rice
Michael L. Nuccio, Syngenta Biotechnology, Inc., USA
Improvement of Drought Tolerance in Crops
Stephen H. Howell, Iowa State University, USA
Short Talk: Heat, ER Stress, and the Unfolded Protein Response
(UPR)
Poster Session 1
SATURDAY, JANUARY 19
Understanding and Improving Water Use Efficiency
*Dirk Inzé, VIB 2 -Ghent University, Belgium
Michael V. Mickelbart, Purdue University, USA
Physiological and Molecular Genetic Basis of Water Use Efficiency
Alistair M. Hetherington, University of Bristol, UK
Environmental Regulation of Stomatal Dynamics
Dominique Bergmann, Stanford University, USA
Developmental Regulation and Functional Consequences
Hilde Nelissen, VIB-Ghent University, Belgium
Short Talk: The Effect of Drought on the Growth Processes in the
Maize Leaf
Roots and their Environment
*Sigrid Heuer, University of Adelaide, Australia
Luis Herrera-Estrella, Cinvestav, Mexico
Development of a Novel Fertilizer and Weed Control System based
on Phosphate Metabolism
Leon V. Kochian, US Department of Agriculture, ARS, NAA, USA
Molecular and Biochemical Regulation of Cereal Aluminum Tolerance
Mary Lou Guerinot, Dartmouth College, USA
From the Soil to the Seed: Metal Homeostasis in Plants
Maria J. Harrison, Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, USA
The Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Symbiosis
Aaron P. Smith, Louisiana State University, USA
Short Talk: Dissecting the Roles of Nucleosome Occupancy and
H2A.Z Abundance in Modulating Responses to P- and/or
Fe-Deficiency in Rice
Stress Systems Biology to Genetic Variation
*Alistair M. Hetherington, University of Bristol, UK
Jerzy Paszkowski, University of Cambridge, UK
Epigenetics Regulation of Abiotic Stress Responses
Philip N. Benfey, Duke University, USA
A Systems Approach to Important Root Traits
Dirk Inzé, VIB 2 -Ghent University, Belgium
The Impact of Stress on Growth and Development
Claudia Jonak, Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology,
Austria
Short Talk: The RNA-Directed DNA Methylation Pathway Regulates
the Temperature Stress Response
* Session Chair † Invited but not yet accepted Program current as of July 31, 2017. Program subject to change. Meal formats are based on meeting venue.
For the most up-to-date details, visit www.keystonesymposia.org/13A6.
KEYSTONE SYMPOSIA
on Molecular and Cellular Biology
Plant Abiotic Stress and Sustainable Agriculture: Translating Basic Understanding to Food
Production (A6)
January 17-22, 2013 • Sagebrush Inn & Suites • Taos, New Mexico, USA
Scientific Organizers: Julia Bailey-Serres and Mike Hasegawa
Sponsored by Monsanto Company
Abstract & Scholarship Deadline: September 19, 2012 / Late-Breaking Abstract Deadline: October 18, 2012 / Early Registration Deadline: November 14, 2012
Poster Session 2
MONDAY, JANUARY 21
Challenges and Solutions in the Field
*Mark Tester, University of Adelaide, Australia
Donald E. Nelson, Monsanto Company, USA
Advances in Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Key Crops
Mitch R. Tuinstra, Purdue University, USA
Prospects for Adapting Maize to Drought and High-Temperature Stress
Richard A. James, CSIRO, Australia
Development and Evaluation of Salt-Tolerant Wheat
Katharina Bräutigam, University of Toronto, Canada
Short Talk: Genetic and Epigenetic Impacts on the Poplar Drought
Response
Amandeep Mittal, Texas Tech University, USA
Short Talk: Field Testing of Transgenic Cotton Expressing Arabidopsis
ABA Insensitive5 (ABI5) and B3-Domain Related to
ABI3/VIVIPAROUS1 (RAV) Transcription Factors
Global Climate Change: CO2 and Temperature
*Julia Bailey-Serres, University of California, Riverside, USA
Jian Hua, Cornell University, USA
Modulation of Plant Immunity by Temperature
Lisa Ainsworth, US Department of Agriculture, USA
Maximizing Soybean Production in a High CO2, High Ozone World
Sharon B. Gray, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA
Short Talk: Elevated Atmospheric CO2 Alters Root Depth Distribution,
Enhancing Abscisic Acid Signaling and Stomatal Closure Under
Drought in Field-Grown Soybean
Susanne von Caemmerer, Australian National University, Australia
Impacts of Elevated CO2 and Temperature on Photosynthesis and
Other Processes
TUESDAY, JANUARY 22
Departure
* Session Chair † Invited but not yet accepted Program current as of July 31, 2017. Program subject to change. Meal formats are based on meeting venue.
For the most up-to-date details, visit www.keystonesymposia.org/13A6.