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Newsletter Mar 2008

 
     
    APS Centenary Celebrations
     
    The American Phytopathological Society (APS) has just celebrated its centenary in a meeting < http://www.isppweb.org/nlmay08.asp#3 > in Minneapolis, USA, from 26-30 July 2008. Lodovica Gullino, President-Elect and current Vice-President of ISPP, read greetings and congratulations to APS from a letter by Richard Falloon, President of ISPP.

    Greg Johnson, Secretary-General of ISPP and President of the Australasian Society for Plant Pathology, was present and he also became a roving photographer for this Newsletter.

     
    The President of APS, Ray Martyn, is shown below with Lodovica Gullino, President-Elect of ISPP and Chairperson of ICPP2008 which will take place in Turin, Italy, later this August.
     
     
    Greg managed to get into the following picture with, from left to right, Shinji Tsuyumu, President of The Phytopathological Society of Japan (PSJ), Jan Leach, Immediate Past President of APS, Greg himself and Tomonori Shiraishi, Vice-President of PSJ.
     
     
    Included in the picture below is Florence M Wambugu, Chief Executive Officer, A Harvest Biotech Foundation International, Nairobi, Kenya, who was a Plenary Speaker on "Feeding Africa through Crop Biofortification" in the meeting.

     

     
    The next picture shows the APS Awards Ceremony with Ray Martyn making a presentation.
     
     
    Congratulations go to APS from ISPP.
     
     
     
    Launch of "Food Security"
     
    The new journal "Food Security", arising from the work of the ISPP Task Force, will be launched at about 21.00 hours after the ISPP Council Meeting on Tuesday 26 August during ICPP 2008 in Turin, Italy. The first issue will be published in March 2009.
     
    Norman Borlaug has written an introductory piece which may be seen at <http://www.isppweb.org/about_borlaug_statement.asp>.
     
    Dr Peter Scott <p.scott@cabi.org> confirms the arrangements for the meeting of the ISPP Task Force earlier that day at 14:00-17:00 hours in the Bruxelles Room, Lingotto Conference Centre, Torino, Italy. The meeting will be open to anyone attending ICPP 2008. For the slightly revised Agenda, click here, and for an attachment to the Agenda, click here.
     
     
     
    Phytophthora, Pythium and Related Genera
     
    The 3rd International Phytophthora, Pythium and Related Genera Workshop will be held in Turin, Italy, from 23-24 August 2008 in association with ICPP2008, and 106 scientists from 37 countries have registered for the workshop <www.icpp2008.org/workshops_det1.php>. For the draft program, please click here. (1 Mb Word Document)
     
    Dr Gloria Abad <Gloria.Abad@aphis.usda.gov> now of the Molecular Diagnostics Lab, Plant Safeguarding and Pest Identification, National Identification Services, USDA-APHIS, Beltsville, Maryland, USA, 　is Chair and organizer of the workshop, with co-chairs Dr David Cooke and Dr Frank Martin.
     
    Dr Abad was chair and organizer of the 1st and 2nd International Phytophthora and Pythium Workshops (2004 and 2006) given in the Plant Pathogen Identification Laboratory, North Carolina State University, USA, < www.cals.ncsu.edu/plantpath/activities/societies/stramen/index.html >She will be organising the 4th and 5th International Phytophthora, Pythium and Related Genera Workshops with the USDA/APHIS/Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory in Maryland, USA, during 2010 and 2012. It is hoped to present the 6th International Workshop in Beijing, China, in association with the ICPP2013.
     
    At present, there is no formal "Phytophthora, Pythium and Related Genera" group, but there is an expectation that a formal group of scientists working in the area of Oomycetes will arise, replacing earlier cognate ISPP Subject Matter Committees and Working Groups.
     
     
     
    Plant Pathogenic Bacteria Meeting
     
    Dr Philippe Prior <philippe.prior@cirad.fr> informs that a joint meeting of the ISPP Plant Pathogenic Bacteria Committee and the 12th ICPPB Scientific Committee will take place in the Amsterdam Room of the Lingotto Conference Center, ICPP2008, Turin, Italy, from 11:00-12:00 hours on 26 August 2008.
     
     
     
    Plant Steroid Signalling
     
    A study published in "Science 25 July 2008: 557-560" used proteomics to identify key links in the steroid signaling chain in Arabidopsis. The steroids were brassinosteroids which regulate many aspects of growth and development. The methods involved 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis to map proteins extracted from cell membranes, and targeted kinases which transmit signals by exchanging phosphate ions. Identified were a group of kinases that responded to the presence of brassinosteroids. The finding of brassinosteroid signaling kinases may open further leads to hormone signaling in plants and to steroid signaling to nuclear and cytoplasmic sites from cell-surface receptors in general.
     
     
     
    Adaptation Potential in Plants
     
    Climate and environmental changes are severely affecting agricultural productivity, and world population is projected to increase by 50% to 9 billion by 2050. The area of arable land is steadily decreasing, so understanding the mechanisms by which plants are able to adapt to a changing environment is vital. Therefore the Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS) is holding a workshop on 'Adaptation Potential in Plants' in Austria. The workshop in March 2009 is divided into four sessions: Genetics; Epigenetics; Stress Signalling; Growth & Development.
     
    There also will be a Science & Society lecture by Bill Easterling, Dean of the Pennsylvania State College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, Pennsylvania, USA, on the effects of climate change on agriculture.
     
    See "Coming Events".
     
     
     
    International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
     
    IFAD < http://www.ifad.org/ > is a specialized agency of the United Nations, dedicated to eradicating poverty and hunger in developing countries. Its work in remote rural areas of the world helps countries achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Through low-interest loans and grants, IFAD develops and finances projects that enable rural poor people to overcome poverty themselves.
     
    IFAD tackles poverty not just as a lender, but as an advocate for the small farmers, herders, fisherfolk, landless workers, artisans and indigenous peoples who live in rural areas and represent 75 per cent of the world's 1.2 billion extremely poor people. IFAD works with governments, donors, non-governmental organizations, local communities and many other partners to fight the underlying causes of rural poverty. It acts as a catalyst, bringing together partners, resources, knowledge and policies that create the conditions in which rural poor people can increase agricultural productivity, as well as seek out other options for earning income.
     
    Among its many activities, IFAD publishes regular electronic newsletters and a very recent one under the general heading "Making a difference in Asia and the Pacific" is "Issue 21 - Food security in the context of increasing commodity prices". Contact: <m.spisiakova@ifad.org>. This issue reports on: Food, oil and the poor e.g. <http://www.ifad.org/operations/food/>; Poor Chinese farmers sell and buy less in response to rising food prices; Growing vegetables helps nomadic families in Mongolia improve nutrition and reduce food expenditures; Wheat crisis and rising food prices threaten food security in Pakistan; Filipinos change their agricultural practices and production systems to secure enough food for their families; Higher food prices, fewer meals in Sri Lanka; Governments respond to increasing food prices - examples from China, Pakistan and the Philippines.
     
     
     
    Some Long-Term Resistance to Simulated Climate Change
     
    A long-term study on natural vegetation has been carried out in unproductive, grazed grassland near Buxton, Derbyshire, UK. It used experimental manipulations of temperature and rainfall. It revealed vegetation highly resistant to climate shifts over 13 years. The resistance was a constancy in the relative abundance of growth forms where there was a dominance of long-lived, slow-growing grasses, sedges, and other small plants. There were immediate but minor shifts in the abundance of several species that remained stable over the course of the experiment. No change occurred in productivity in response to climate treatments with the exception of reduction from chronic summer drought. Only minor species losses followed drought and winter heating.
     
    The ecosystems provided a refuge for many threatened plants and animals. The authors found support for the view that changing land use and over-exploitation rather than climate change constitute the primary threats to some ecosystems.
     
    The reference is J Philip Grime, Jason D Fridley, Andrew P Askew, Ken Thompson, John G Hodgson and Chris R Bennett (2008) Long-term resistance to simulated climate change in an infertile grassland. Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 7 July 2008.
     
     
     
    Tobacco Genome
     
    North Carolina State University, USA, has completed a map of the tobacco genome. The complete nucleotide sequence of the gene space of the crop, the part of the tobacco genome that contains genes as well as elements that control gene expression, has been determined. Although the tobacco genome contains approximately 4.5 billion bases, 1.5 times the size of the human genome, only 20 to 25 percent of the plant's genome is considered gene space.
     
    The genetic information will be online from the National Institute of Health National Center for Biotechnology Information GenBank < http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Genbank/index.html >.
     
    This genetic blueprint will be important because the crop is widely used as a model in a wide range of plant studies, particularly on disease resistance mechanisms.
     
     
     
     
    Climate Change and Agriculture and Biodiversity in the USA
     
    "The Effect of Climate Change on Agriculture, Land Resources, Water Resources and Biodiversity in the USA" is a recent report from the USDA　Climate Change Science Program. It is written by many authors from　universities, national laboratories, non-governmental organizations and federal service. It　is one of the most extensive examinations of climate impacts on ecosystems in the USA. It gives practical information to help land owners and resource managers in decisions making in relation to climate change.
     
    See the press release: click here
     
     
    Bayer Rice Research in Singapore
     
    Bayer CropScience has a new rice research laboratory in Singapore towards development of new high-yielding hybrid varieties. Most work will use DNA marker analysis in support of molecular-marker assisted breeding. There will also be a focus on integrating important traits, such as pest and disease resistance, into hybrid rice.
     
     
     
    Integrated Pest Management Network (IPMnet)
     
    A E Deutsch, Editor/Co-ordinator of IPMnet NEWS, reminds readers of IPMnetNews by contacting < IPMnet@science.oregonstate.edu >.
     
     
     
    Coming Events
     
    International Symposium on Induced Mutations in Plants (ISIM) in Vienna, Austria.
    12-15 August 2008
     
    The 16th Congress of the Federation of European Societies of Plant Biology (FESPB) in Tampere, Finland.
    17-22 August 2008.
    See <http://www.fespb2008.org>.
    Also satellite symposium on Peroxidases.
    20-23 August 2008.
     
    7th International Mycosphaerella and Stagonospora Symposium at the Monte Verita Conference Centre, Ascona, Switzerland.
    18-22 August 2008.
     
    4th International Symposium on Rhizoctonia in Berlin, Germany.
    20-23 August 2008.
     
    3rd Conference of the International Working Group on Legume and Vegetable Viruses (IWGLVV) at the National Institute of Biology, Vecna pot 111, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
    20-23 August 2008.
    Contact: IWGLVV@nib.si.
     
    3rd International Phytophthora/Pythium Workshop in association with the 9th ICPP-2008 in Torino, Italy.
    23-24 August 2008.
     
    The Agricultural Biotechnology International Conference (ABIC) 2008 in　Cork, Ireland.
    24-27 August 2008.
     
    9th International Congress of Plant Pathology (ICPP 2008) in Torino, Italy.
    24-29 August 2008.
    Contact: Congress Secretariat, Valentina Communication, Via Cibrario 27, 10143 Torino, Italy. Phone: +39-0114374250; Fax: +39-0114374318; e-mail: <info@icpp2008.org>.
     
    Conference on Adaptation of Forests and Forest Management to Changing Climate with Emphasis on Forest Health: A Review of Science, Policies, and Practices in Umea, Sweden.
    25-28 August 2008.
     
    The X International Fusarium Workshop and the Fusarium Genomics Workshop at the Hotel Carlos V in Alghero, Sardinia, Italy.
    30 August-2 September 2008.
     
    6th International Workshop on Grapevine Trunk Diseases in Florence, Italy.
    1-3 September 2008.
    Contact: Laura Mugnai < laura.mugnai@unifi.it > or Guido Marchi < guido.marchi@unifi.it >.
     
    First International Symposium on Biotechnology of Fruit Species in Dresden, Germany.
    1-5 September 2008.
     
    Resource Capture by Crops: Integrated Approaches at the University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, UK.
    10-12 September 2008.
    Bookings now being taken.
     
    The 5th International Hybrid Rice Symposium in Changsha, China.
    11-15 September 2008.
    See: < www.5thishr.cn/ >.
     
    The International Symposium "Harlan II - Biodiversity In Agriculture: Domestication, Evolution and Sustainability"　at the University of California, Davis, USA.
    14-18 September 2008.
     
    The European Forum for Industrial Biotechnology 2008 in Brussels, Belgium.
    15-17 September 2008.
     
    The 1st All Africa Congress on Biotechnology "Harnessing the Potential of Agricultural Biotechnology for Food Security and Socio-Economic Development in Africa" in Nairobi, Kenya.
    22-28 September 2008.
     
    APS Caribbean Division Meeting, part of the 6th International Scientific Seminar on Plant Health, in Havana, Cuba.
    22-26 September 2008.
    Contact: < aps@scisoc.org >.
     
    16th Ornamental Workshop on Diseases and Pests in Hendersonville, North Carolina, USA.
    22-26 September 2008.
     
    Detection Techniques for Mycotoxins and Toxigenic Fungi in the Food Chain, an ISM Workshop-Training Course in Bari, Italy.
    29 September-3 October 2008.
     
    The Banana 2008 conference "Banana and plantain in Africa: Harnessing international partnerships to increase research impact" at the Leisure Lodge Resort in Mombasa, Kenya.
    5-9 October 2008.
     
    ENDURE International Conference "Diversifying Crop Protection" in the Congress Palace of La Grande Motte, near Montpellier, France.
    13-15 October 2008.
     
    10th Asian Regional Maize Workshop in Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia.
    20-23 October 2008.
    Contact: Dr Kevin Pixley at <k.pixley@cgiar.org> or
     
    3rd European Whitefly Symposium in Aguadulce, Almeria, Spain.
    20-24 October 2008.
     
    IV International Silicon in Agriculture Conference at Wild Coast Sun, Port Edward, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
    26–31 October 2008.
     
    British Crop Production Council (BCPC) Congress 2008 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK.
    3-5 November 2008.
     
    2nd InternationaL Symposium on Biological Control of Bacterial Plant Diseases in Orlando, Florida, USA.
    4-7 November 2008.
    Contact: <JBJones@ufl.edu>.
     
    Third International Meeting of the Peanut Genomics Initiative on Advances in Arachis through Genomics and Biotechnology (AAGB-2008) at ICRISAT Headquarters,　Hyderabad, India.
    4-8 November 2008.
    Contact: Rajeev Varshney < r.k.varshney@cgiar.org >.
     
    The First World Biodiversity Congress in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
    20-22 November 2008.
     
    10th International Symposium on the Biosafety of Genetically Modified Organisms in Te Papa, Wellington, New Zealand.
    16-21 November 2008.
    E-mail: Michelle Kane at <mk@tcc.co.nz>.
     
    Applied Aspects of Aerobiology at Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Herts, UK.
    19 November 2008.
    See: <www.aab.org.uk>.
     
    8th Australasian Plant Virology Workshop in Rotorua, New Zealand.
    19-22 November 2008.
    Contact: Dr Robin MacDiarmid <rmacdiarmid@hortresearch.co.nz>.
     
    International Conference "Genetic control of plant pathogenic viruses and their vectors: towards new resistance strategies" in Puerto de Santa María, Cádiz, Spain.
    23-27 November 2008.
     
    2008 National Fusarium Head Blight Forum in Indianapolis, Indiana,　USA.
    2-4 December 2008.
    Contact: <scabusa@scabusa.org>.
     
    International Conference on Legume Genomics and Genetics in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
    7-12 December 2008.
     
    Global Potato Conference 2008 "Opportunities and Challenges in the New Millennium" in New Delhi, India.
    December 9-12, 2008.
    See: < www.gpc2008.in >.
    Contact Dr J S Minhas at <minhasjs@excite.com>.
     
    The International Soybean Processing and Utilization Conference at the Soybean Processing and Utilization Centre, Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering in Bhopal, India.
    10-14 December 2008.
    Contact: Dr S D Kulkarni at < sdk@ciae.res.in > or < ispuc.v@gmail.com >.
     
    BSPP Presidential Meeting "Cereal Pathosystems" at Queen Mary College, London, UK.
    16–17 December 2008.
     
    XV Latinamerican Congress of Plant Pathology and XVIII Congress of the Chilean Society of Plant Pathology at Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile in Santiago, Chile.
    12-16 January 2009.
    Papers in English, Portuguese and Spanish are welcome.
    Contact Gloria Caro at < gcaro@uc.cl > or < fitopatologia@uc.cl >.
     
    The French Plant Virology Congress in Aussois, France.
    18-22 January 2009.
     
    5th Australasian Soilborne Diseases Symposium at the Thredbo Alpine Hotel, NSW, Australia.
    5-7 February 2009.
    Abstract submissions will open shortly.
    Contact: < conference@conlog.com.au >.
     
    Crop Protection in Southern Britain at the East of England Showground, Peterborough, UK.
    10-11 February 2009
     
    International Meeting on Emerging Diseases and Surveillance 2009 (IMED) in Vienna, Austria.
    For the public health community (human and animal), scientists, health care workers, and other leaders in the field of emerging infectious diseases.
    13-16 February 2009.
     
    International Conference on Grain Legumes: Quality Improvement, Value Addition and Trade in Kanpur, India.
    14-19 February 2009.
     
    International Forest Biosecurity Conference, incorporating the 6th International Forest Vegetation Management Conference, in Rotorua, New Zealand.
    16-20 March 2009.
    Contact: Dr Brian Richardson, General Manager, Ensis Forest Biosecurity and Protection, Private Bag 3020, Rotorua, New Zealand. Phone: +64-7-343-5516; Fax: +64-7-343-5333; Mobile: 021-913-221.
     
    FEBS Workshop 'Adaptation Potential in Plants' at the Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology, Vienna, Austria.
    19-21 March 2009.
     
    Greenhouse 2009: Climate Change and Resources, in Perth, Western Australia.
    23-26 March 2009.
     
    The Second European Ramularia Workshop, Edinburgh 2009 - a new disease and challenge in Barley Production in Edinburgh, UK.
    7-8 April 2009.
    See: < www.aab.org.uk >.
     
    14th International Sclerotinia Workshop in Wilmington, North Carolina, USA.
    31 May-4 June 2009,
     
    SFP National Congress (in French) in Lyon, France.
    8–11 June 2009.
     
    XXIth International Symposium on Virus and Virus-Like Diseases of Temperate Fruit Crops and XIIth International Symposium on Small Fruit Virus Diseases in Germany.
    5-10 July 2009.
    Source: Professor Dr Wilhelm Jelkmann <Wilhelm.Jelkmann@jki.bund.de> Julius Kühn-Institut, Bundesforschungsinstitut für Kulturpflanzen, Institut für Pflanzenschutz in Obst- und Weinbau, Schwabenheimer Str. 101, 69221 Dossenheim, Germany.
     
    APS Annual Meeting 2009 at the Portland Convention Center, Portland, Oregon, USA.
    1-5 August 2009.
     
    APPS 2009 "Plant Health Management-An Integrated Approach" at the Civic Precinct, Newcastle, Australia.
    30 September-2 October 2009.
    Contact: Conference Secretariat, PO Box 6150, Kingston, ACT 2604, Australia. Phone: +61 2 6281 6624, Fax: +61 2 6285 1336.
     
    The 13th World Forestry Congress (Forests in development – a vital balance) in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
    18-25 October 2009.
    E-mail: <info@wfc2009.org>.
     
    5th International Conference on Plant Pathology, with the theme "Plant pathology in the globalized era", at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India.
    10-13 November 2009.
     
    APS Annual Meeting 2010 at Opryland, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
    7-11 August 2010.
     
    4th Asian Conference of Plant Pathology and APPC2011 in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.
    April 2011.
     
    10th International Congress of Plant Pathology 2013 (ICPP2013) "Bio-security, Food Safety and Plant Pathology: The Role of Plant Pathology in a Globalized Economy" in Beijing, China.
    25-31 August 2013.

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