XVIth International Congress

on

Sexual Plant Reproduction



PROGRAM

Saturday, April 1

Registration: 6:00 - 9:00 p.m.

(Max Bell Foyer)

Reception: 6:00 - 9:00 p.m.

(Max Bell Foyer; buffet dinner will be available)

Sunday, April 2

8:30 - 10:30 a.m. Registration (Max Bell Foyer)

8:15 a.m. Introductory Comments (Max Bell Auditorium)

8:30 - 9:00 a.m. Keynote address: Joseph Mascarenhas. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Albany, New York, USA.

Sexual plant reproduction: past, present and future.

SYMPOSIUM I: EXPERIMENTAL EMBRYOGENESIS (Max Bell Auditorium)

Chair: Erhard Kranz, Institute for General Botany, University of Hamburg, Germany

9:00 - 9:30 a.m. Stefan Scholten, Horst Lörz and Erhard Kranz. Center for Applied Plant Molecular Biology, University of Hamburg, Germany.

Development of in vitro - produced zygotes and primary endosperm cells and inducible expression of transgenes in maize.

9:30 - 9:45 a.m. David Cass and John Laurie. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Canada.

Experimental studies of living flowering plant embryos.

9:45 - 10:00 a.m. Marisa Otegui and Andrew Staehelin. Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado, USA.

A novel method of endosperm cellularization in Arabidopsis thaliana based on high-pressure frozen/freeze-substituted samples and electron microscopic tomography.

10:00 - 10:30 a.m. REFRESHMENTS

10:30 - 11:00 a.m. Mohan Singh. Institute of Land and Food Resources, University of Melbourne, Australia.

Molecular analysis of gene expression during male gamete development in flowering plants.

11:00 - 11:30 a.m. Beáta Barnabás, Zsolt Pónya, Attila Fehér and Dénes Dudits. Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Martonvásár and Szeged, Hungary.

Introducing DNA and fluorophores into egg cells isolated from wheat Triticum aestivum via microinjection.

11:30 - 11.45 a.m. Thomas Dresselhaus, Sigrid Heuer, Simone Cordts, Joerg Bantin and Horst Lörz. Applied Plant Molecular Biology, Univesity of Hamburg, Germany.

Fertilization suppressed genes are involved in gene regulation and pathogen defense.

11:45 - 12:00 a.m. Stephane Caredda, Pierre Devaux, Rajbir Sangwan and Christophe Clement. Université de Reims and Université d'Amiens, France.

The involvement of microspore plastids in albinism during androgenesis in barley.

12:00 noon LUNCH

SYMPOSIUM II: FLOWERING AND FLOWER DEVELOPMENT

(Max Bell Auditorium)

Chair: George Haughn, University of British Columbia, Canada

1:30 - 2:00 p.m. George Coupland, Alon Samach, Paula Suarez-Lopez, Kay Wheatley, Hitoshi Onouchi, Shelley Hepworth, Paul Reeves, Karen Lee, Claire Perilleux, Manuel Pineiro, Jon Clarke and Manuela Costa. John Innes Centre, Norwich, U.K.

Control of flowering by daylength in Arabidopsis.

2:00 - 2:30 p.m. Brendan Davies, Hans Sommer and Zsuzsanna Schwarz-Sommer. University of Leeds, U.K. and Max Planck Institut für Züchtungsforschung, Köln, Germany.

PLENA and FARINELLI: similar genes doing different things?

2:30 - 2:45 p.m. Liz Dennis, Candice Sheldon, Jean Finnegan, Dean Rouse, David Bagnall and Jim Peacock. CSIRO Division of Plant Industry, Canberra, Australia.

FLC: a repressor of flowering regulated by methylation and vernalisation.

2:45 - 3:00 p.m. A. van Lammeren, M. Dornelas, I. von Recklinghausen, P. Wittich and M. Kreis. Wageningen University, The Netherlands and Université de Paris-Sud, France.

Arabidopsis thaliana SHAGGY-related protein kinases (AtSKs) function in pattern formation and establishing boundaries during flower development.

3:00 - 3:30 p.m. REFRESHMENTS

3:30 - 4:00 p.m. Sabine Zachgo and Zsuzsanna Schwarz-Sommer. Max Planck Institut für Züchtungsforschung, Köln, Germany.

Genetic and molecular mechanisms controlling petal and stamen organogenesis in Antirrhinum majus.

4:00 - 4:30 p.m. George Haughn, Mohammed Bellaoui, William Crosby, Dietmute Godt, Susanne Kohalmi, Kumuda Kushalappa, Zora Modrusan, Mark Pidkowich and Alon Samach. University of British Columbia, Vancouver and Plant Biotechnology Institute, Saskatoon, Canada.

For whom the BELL tolls: ovule morphogenesis and beyond.

4:30 - 4:45 p.m. Chiaraluce Moretti, Andrea Porceddu, Lara Reale, Luisa Lanfaloni, Mario Falcinelli, Francesco Ferranti, Bruno Romano and Marjo Pezzotti. Università degli Studi di Perugia and Università degli Studi di Verona, Italy.

Transcript profiling for dissection of flower development in Petunia hybrida.

5:30 - 7:30 p.m. DINNER

SYMPOSIUM III: ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS AND REPRODUCTION

(Max Bell Auditorium)

Chair: Hargurdeep Saini, Université de Montréal, Canada

7:30 - 8:00 p.m. Hargurdeep Saini, Joginder Minhas, Chantale Nunes, Inder Sheoran and Nuzhat Farooqui. Institut de recherche en biologie végétale, Université de Montréal, Canada.

Metabolic and molecular bases for water stress-induced male reproductive failure in cereals.

8:00 - 8:30 p.m. M. Nepi, J.L. Vesprini, M. Guarnieri, G.G. Franchi and E. Pacini. Università di Siena, Italy.

Pollen carbohydrate reserves and water content.

8:30 - 8:45 p.m. Beny Aloni, Mary Peet, Mason Pharr, Etan Pressman, David Granot and Leah Karni. Volcani Center, Bet-Dagan, Israel and North Carolina State University, Raleigh, USA.

The relationship between the changes in pollen carbohydrates and related enzymatic activities and pollen germination in pepper, Capsicum annuum, under high temperature and high atmospheric CO2.

8:45 - 9:00 p.m. Rebecca Cross, Alan McHughen and Peta Bonham-Smith. University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.

Effect of heat shock on flowering and boll formation in flax.

9:00 - 9:30 p.m. Mark Westgate and Chris Zinselmeier. Iowa State University and Pioneer Hi-bred International, Iowa, USA.

Re-engineering carbohydrate metabolism in maize to sustain zygote development during drought.

Monday, April 3

SYMPOSIUM IV: APOMIXIS (Max Bell Auditorium)

Chair: A.M. Chaudhury, CSIRO Division of Plant Industry, Canberra, Australia

8:00 - 8:30 a.m. Jim Peacock, Ming Luo, Pierre Bilodeau, Liz Dennis and A.M. Chaudhury. CSIRO Plant Industry, Canberra, Australia.

MEA, FIS2 and FIE genes of Arabidopsis, a pathway to apomixis.

8:30 - 9:00 a.m. Ueli Grossniklaus, James Moore, Jean-Philippe Vielle-Calzada, Ramamurthy Baskar, Charles Spillane and Julie Thomas. Friedrich Miescher Institute, Basel, Switzerland and Cold Spring Harbor, New York, USA.

From sexuality to apomixis: Arabidopsis as a model system.

9:00 - 9:15 a.m. Rinke Vinkenoog, Sally Adams, Melissa Spielman, Robert Fischer, Hugh Dickinson and Rod Scott. University of Bath and University of Oxford, U.K. and University of California, Berkeley, USA.

Demethylation promotes apomictic endosperm development and rescues post-fertilization lethality in fie mutants.

9:15 - 9:30 a.m. Matthew Tucker, Nicholas Paech and Anna Koltunow. CSIRO Division of Plant Industry and University of Adelaide, Glen Osmond, Australia.

Dynamics of -1,3-glucanase expression during embryo sac formation in apomictic Hieracium.

9:30 - 10:00 a.m. John Carman. Utah State University and F1 Technologies Inc., Logan, USA.

New findings support new models for the origins and stabilization of agamic complexes.

10:00 - 10:30 a.m. REFRESHMENTS

10:30 - 11:00 a.m. Peggy Ozias-Akins, Dominique Roche, Joann Conner and Wayne Hanna. Department of Horticulture and USDA-ARS, University of Georgia, Tifton, USA.

A comparative genome approach for the analysis of apomixis.

11:00 - 12:00 noon IASPRR General body meeting

12:00 - 1:30 p.m. LUNCH

1:30 - 6:00 p.m.AFTERNOON FREE

5:00 - 7:00 p.m. DINNER

7:00 - 9:00 p.m. Posters (Max Bell Rooms 251, 252, 253)

9:00 - 9:30 p.m. SPECIAL LECTURE (Max Bell Auditorium)

John Owens, Vivienne Wilson and Danilo Fernando. University of Victoria, Canada, and State University of New York, USA.

Conifer reproduction: Diversity in a small but ancient group.

7:00 - 10:00 p.m. Cash bar (Max Bell foyer)

Tuesday, April 4

SYMPOSIUM V: POLLEN-TUBE GROWTH (Max Bell Auditorium)

Chair: C. Mariani, University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

8:30 - 9:00 a.m. E.M. Lord, S.-Y. Park, J.-C. Mollet, K.J. Eckard, E.A. Nothnagel and L.L. Walling. University of California, Riverside, USA.

Adhesion molecules in lily pollination.

9:00 - 9:30 a.m. Patricia Bedinger, Diane Hohorst, Jason Sagert, William Barnes, Suzanne Stratford, Sheila McCormick and Robyn Cotter. Colorado State University, Clarion University of Pennsylvania and USDA-ARS-University of California, Berkeley, USA.

Extension chimeras in pollen of monocots and dicots.

9:30 - 9:45 a.m. Michiel Willemse. Wageningen University, The Netherlands.

Pollen-pistil interaction: recognition and activation signals in Gasteria verrucosa (Mill.) H. Duval.

9:45 - 10:00 a.m. Sofia Cordeiro and José Feijó. GIE - Desenvolvimento Vegetal, Oeiras, and Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal.

Chloride and potassium fluxes and their role in pollen tube growth.

10:00 - 10:30 a.m. REFRESHMENTS

10:30 - 11:00 a.m. C. Mariani, R. Feron, M. Bosch, J. Nieuwland and J. Derksen. University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands

What pollen tubes do not have but do need.

11:00 - 11:15 a.m. Yi-Qin Li, Toshihisa Kotake, Mai Takahashi and Naoki Sakurai. Tsinghua University, Beijing, China and Hiroshima University, Japan.

The role of wall-bound exo--glucanases in regulating tip-growth of Lilium longiflorum pollen tubes.

11:15 - 11:30 a.m. Giampiero Cai, Silvia Romagnoli, Elisa Ovidi, Gabriella Gambellini, Antonio Tiezzi, Alessandra Moscatelli and Mauro Cresti. Università di Siena, Università della Tuscia, and Università di Messina, Italy.

Characterization of a microtubule motor protein that associates with cortical microtubules in tobacco pollen tubes.

11:30 - 11:45 a.m. Rui Malhó, Ana Moutinho, Anthony Trewavas and Patrick Hussey. Faculdade de Ciências de Lisboa, Portugal, and University of Edinburgh and University of London, U.K.

cAMP is a second messenger in pollen tube growth and reorientation.

12:00 - 1:30 p.m. LUNCH

1:30 - 6:00 p.m.AFTERNOON FREE

6:00 - 7:00 p.m. Cocktails

7:00 - 10:00 p.m. BANQUET - Dinner

Wednesday, April 5

SYMPOSIUM VI: MALE STERILITY AND HYBRID SEED PRODUCTION

(Max Bell Auditorium)

Chair: Andy Greenland, Zeneca Plant Sciences, Jealott's Hill, U.K.

8:30 - 9:00 a.m. Sally Mackenzie, Maria Arrieta-Montiel, Gilbert Meyer-Gauen, Bailin Li and Anna Lyznik, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, and DuPont Corp., Newark, USA.

Mitochondrial dynamics in the wild: Implications for plant reproductive biology and genetic variations in natural populations.

9:00 - 9:30 a.m. Kees van Dun, Han de Rooy, Jan Pertijs, Paul Thompson and Oscar Goddijn. Advanta Seeds and Zeneca Mogen, The Netherlands, and Zeneca Agrochemicals, Jealott's Hill, U.K.

Modulating male fertility in crops by modification of trehalose-metabolism.

9:30 - 9:45 a.m. Larry Fowke, Yongming Zhou, Steve Whitwell and Hong Wang. University of Saskatchewan and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saskatoon, Canada.

Modifying flower growth and development using the plant cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor ICK1.

9:45 - 10:00 a.m. Hong Ma, Yoshitaka Azumi, Dehua Liu, Yi Hu and Ming Yang. Penn State University, USA and Kanagawa University, Japan.

Molecular genetic analysis of Arabidopsis genes required for male meiosis.

10:00 - 10:30 am. REFRESHMENTS

10:30 - 11:00 a.m. Marc Albertsen. Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Johnston, Iowa, USA.

Genetic engineering for induction of male fertility in maize.

11:00 - 12:00 noon Closing & Farewell

12:00 - 1:30 p.m. LUNCH