Saturday
2:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Arrival and Check-in
3:30 pm - 3:45 pm
Introductory Comments by GRC Site Staff / Welcome from the GRS Chair
3:45 pm - 4:30 pm
Molecular Mechanisms Guiding Salt and Water Stress Tolerance
Discussion Leader: Maria-Cecília Costa (University of Cape Town, South Africa)
3:45 pm - 3:55 pm
Lee Cackett (University of Cape Town, South Africa)
"A Potential Role for Auxin in the Plant Response to Salinity Stress"
3:55 pm - 4:00 pm
Discussion
4:00 pm - 4:10 pm
Biruk Ayenew Feyissa (University of Western Ontario, Canada)
"miR156-SPL13-DFR Module Triggers Molecular and Physiological Drought Tolerance Strategies in Alfalfa"
4:10 pm - 4:15 pm
Discussion
4:15 pm - 4:25 pm
Tejashree Ghate (Savitribai Phule Pune University, India)
"ABA-Mediated Regulation of Sugar Metabolism and Allocation in Stay Green Sweet Sorghum Under Post Flowering Drought Stress"
4:25 pm - 4:30 pm
Discussion
4:30 pm - 6:00 pm
Poster Session
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Insights from System and Comparative Biology into Salt and Water Stress Tolerance
Discussion Leader: Astrid Radermacher (University of Cape Town, South Africa)
7:30 pm - 7:40 pm
Emily May Armstrong (University of Glasgow, United Kingdom)
"Getting to the Root of the Matter: Identifying Epigenetically Regulated Tissue Specific Transcriptional Networks"
7:40 pm - 7:45 pm
Discussion
7:45 pm - 7:55 pm
Gil Eshel (New York University, USA)
"Phylogenomics and Systems Biology Approaches Reveal Conserved Adaptive Processes in Atacama Desert Plants"
7:55 pm - 8:00 pm
Discussion
8:00 pm - 8:10 pm
Mariana Silva Artur (Wageningen University and Research, The Netherlands)
"Comparative Genomics to Unveil the Evolution of Water Stress Adaptation in Plants: A Case Study of LEA Genes"
8:10 pm - 8:15 pm
Discussion
8:15 pm - 8:25 pm
Halford Dace (Wageningen University, The Netherlands)
"Desiccation Tolerance and Sensitivity in the Resurrection Grass Eragrostis nindensis "
8:25 pm - 8:30 pm
Discussion
8:30 pm - 8:50 pm
Magdalena Julkowska (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia)
"MVApp: Multivariate Analysis Pipeline for Streamlining the Identification of New Plant Traits with Significant Contribution to Stress Tolerance"
8:50 pm - 9:00 pm
Discussion
9:00 pm - 9:20 pm
Sven Nelson (Agricultural Research Service, USDA / University of Missouri, USA)
"A High Throughput, Low Cost Robotic System for Investigating Root Responses to Water-Deficit Stress in Soil"
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm
Discussion
Sunday
7:30 am - 8:30 am
Breakfast
9:00 am - 11:00 am
Identification of Novel Phenotypic Traits in Salt and Water Stress / Mentorship Component: Career Panel
Discussion Leaders: Mariam Awlia (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia) and Caitlin Byrt (The University of Adelaide, Australia)
9:00 am - 9:10 am
Harel Bacher (Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel)
"Phenotypic Plasticity Among Wild Emmer Wheat Introgression Lines Promote Drought Tolerance"
9:10 am - 9:15 am
Discussion
9:15 am - 9:25 am
Sara Blicharz (Institute of Plant Genetics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland)
"The Role of the Phloem in Drought Stress Responses in Pea"
9:25 am - 9:30 am
Discussion
9:30 am - 9:40 am
Abdeljalil Elhabti (The University of Adelaide, Australia)
"Contrasting Daily Water Use During Grain Filling in Wheat Under Combined Drought and Heat Stress"
9:40 am - 9:45 am
Discussion
9:45 am - 9:55 am
Viviana Jaramillo Roman (Wageningen University and Research, The Netherlands)
"Physiological Responses of European Sweet Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa ) Varieties to Severe Salinity Stress"
9:55 am - 10:00 am
Discussion
10:00 am - 11:00 am
Panel Discussion
Career Opportunities in Academia, Government, Research Institutions and Industry
Amelia Henry (International Rice Research Institute, Philippines)
Melvin Oliver (Agricultural Research Service, USDA / University of Missouri, USA)
Julia Bailey-Serres (University of California, Riverside, USA)
Frank Dohleman (The Climate Corporation, USA)
11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Poster Session
Coffee will be served in the poster area from 11:00 am - 11:30 am
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm
Lunch
1:30 pm - 2:30 pm
Applications of Fundamental Research in Field Conditions
Discussion Leader: Allison Pearson (The University of Adelaide, Australia)
1:30 pm - 1:40 pm
John Ferguson (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA)
"Increasing Stomatal Resistance to Water Loss in Sorghum"
1:40 pm - 1:45 pm
Discussion
1:45 pm - 1:55 pm
Simon Groen (New York University, USA)
"Systems Genetics of Stress Adaptation in Rice"
1:55 pm - 2:00 pm
Discussion
2:00 pm - 2:10 pm
Stephanie Klein (The Pennsylvania State University, USA)
"Smaller Root Metaxylem Vessels for Improved Drought Tolerance in Maize"
2:10 pm - 2:15 pm
Discussion
2:15 pm - 2:25 pm
Stephanie Saade (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia)
"Identifying the Components of Salinity Tolerance in a Barley Association Mapping Population"
2:25 pm - 2:30 pm
Discussion
2:30 pm - 3:00 pm
Evaluation Period
Fill in GRS Evaluation Forms
3:00 pm
Seminar Concludes