Genomics Symposium 2000

Proposed Symposium on Microbial Genomics for APS 2000

Goal: Present to the APS membership an instructive picture of the value of genomic research using plant-associated bacteria as the focus.

Type of Session: Symposium

Subject Matter Section: Molecular/Cellular Plant Microbe Interactions

APS Sponsoring Committee: Bacteriology

APS Co-sponsor(s): ??

Session Organizers: C. A. Ishimaru and L. S. Pierson.

Use of Funding: Funds would be requested from APS Council and from the Bacteriology Committee (through funds provided by APHIS in compensation for the widely prevalent plant pathogenic bacterial list) to support travel of invited speakers. In anticipation of the high cost to bring in reputable international speakers, funds will also be sought from corporations, USDA, and other appropriate organizations.

CONTENT:

Emphasis on genomic sequencing of plant-associated bacteria, include both plant pathogenic and beneficial bacteria.

An overview talk would set the stage for the symposium. It would provide background on why a genomics approach is valuable and how it is changing the way we think about bacteria, bacterial evolution, and plant microbe interactions.
Talks by scientists working on specific examples of important plant pathogenic and plant beneficial bacteria. They would be informed of the content and focus of the overview and asked to make their own presentations germane to this focus. What is not critical is sheer numbers of ORFs, etc., but a useful overview of the genomes and exciting discoveries relevant to plant pathology and plant health.
A summary talk would be presented by a well respected scientist outside of plant pathology who is invovled in post-sequencing and comparative genomic approaches, and who would be capable of providing future perspectives relevant to our discipline.

Example of speakers:

Session Outline	Speakers (Country)	Titles/Topics
Overview	Noel Keen (USA)	Genomics of plant-associated bacteria: changing the way we think about plant-microbe interactions and more
Sect.1. Plant Pathogenic Bacteria
a.Gram-negative bacteria	C. Boucher (France)	Ralstonia solanacearum Genome
	E. Nester or C. Kado (USA	Agrobacterium tumefaciens Genome
	F. Reinach (Brazil)	Xylella fastidiosa Genome
b.Gram-positive bacteria	C. Ishimaru (USA	Clavibacter Genomics on a Shoestring
Sect. 2. Beneficial Bacteria
a. symbionts	A. Puehler (Germany)	Bradyrhizobium japonicum Genome
	M. Gottfert (Germany	Rhizobium meliloti Genome
b.plant-associated bacteria	??	Pseudomonas putida Genome
Summary	Speaker: Big name	Evaluation of field, future directions, comparative genomics (someone outside of plant pathology who is already doing comparative genomics)

Attendance Estimate: 200

Time Required: 4.5 hours

2.2 Alternative. Microbial genomics in general.

The session would be organized to include speakers who would answer questions like: What is microbial genomics? How are genomes analyzed? Why this is useful and how it is changing the way we think about bacteria and bacterial evolution?

This approach would necessitate bringing in non plant pathology scientists.

Examples of speakers:

Speaker	Topic
Howard Ochman (University of Arizona EEB)	Evolution of the E. coli genome
James Lipski (Baylor College of Medicine)	Interspersed repetitive elements in bacterial genomes
Eugene Koonin (Natl Center for Biotechnology Information, NIH)	Minimal gene complements for life
Burkard Tummler (Germany)	B. cepacia physical mapping

Attendance Estimate: 200

Time Required: ??