A Global Plant Stress Initiative Workshop will be held from April 6-8, jointly hosted by Penn State, the University of Leeds, United Kingdom and the Worldwide Universities Network at University Park, Pa.

Climate change may limit global agricultural productivity and economic development by placing crops under stress due to rising temperatures and increased demand for water. Changing environmental conditions may also increase plant stress by intensifying plant pests and diseases.

At the workshop, international experts representing many different fields from climate modeling, through ecology, to plant biology and systems biology will address the challenges relating to plant stress, identify areas for potential collaboration and map out potential responses to this challenge.

Using the WUN framework, the researchers will meet to make real progress about how to meet the increasing need for food globally in the face of increasing risks to agricultural productivity from traditional farming techniques. The event will have three main themes: global climate change, agricultural productivity and plant stress, and the molecular basis of plant stress.

The goals of the workshop are to identify research and education projects eligible for seed funding from the WUN and establish a roadmap for future research and action.

"Stress is very important in plant biology," said Jonathan Lynch, professor of plant nutrition at Penn State and workshop co-chair. "A plant is under stress if temperature is too high or too low, if there is too much water or too little of it, or there aren't enough nutrients. Most plants on earth are dealing with some type of stress."

The Worldwide Universities Network, formed in 2001, comprises leading universities in U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia and Asia that pool their resources and strengths to address topics of major significance, such as wireless technologies, poverty, environment and climate change, contemporary societies, spintronics and global health.

The goal is for WUN partners to secure substantial support from government and industry to sustain one or more major global collaborative initiatives in this area.

In his research, Lynch focuses on solutions that are independent of infrastructure, education and additional investment.

"If you look at poor countries in east Africa, people live in remote places without electricity and have little contact with the outside world or even their own government," he said. "But if you can them supply them with improved seeds that grow better in harsh conditions and produce more food, the women who plant and grow these crops will exchange the seeds with others, and over time a larger number of people will benefit."

The Penn State researcher is currently working on nutrient-efficient seeds - for maize and common bean, the staple crops in east Africa - that will help plants grow with less nutrients and water.

"Climate change models suggest there will be an increase in temperature, and the main effect on plant growth is going to be increased demand for water," Lynch explained. "As the temperature rises gradually, plants will use up more water through transpiration."

Lynch and his colleagues have identified certain root traits that help plants thrive in harsh conditions. He says breeders can select for these traits and develop crop varieties that will grow better in those harsh conditions.

"This has not happened before because the focus was always on maximizing yield when there are enough nutrients and water available to the plants. But what if there is no fertilizer and irrigation?" Lynch said.

The new approach, he adds, is getting attention in the United State and Europe. "People in the West are starting to get concerned because the cost of fertilizer is rising due to higher prices of oil," he notes.

Penn State is a founding member of the WUN partnership, which spans more than 3,000 students and scientists from 16 universities worldwide while tackling some of society's most pressing problems, fueled by more than $40 million in research funds.

"WUN therefore is well suited to address an issue of the magnitude, scope, and complexity of plant stress," says Lynch. "Understanding the complex and highly variable effects of global change will require the concerted effort of international scientists to study the varying and localized effects around the world and to share that information with the people of developing solutions."

For more information, visit the Global Plant Stress Initiative Workshop webpage or contact Dr. Lynch by sending email to: jpl4@psu.edu or calling 814-863-2256.

3/28/2008