August 2002 • Volume 36 • Number 8

Comments Requested on Plant-Associated Microbe Genome Initiative 
 

Plant-associated microbes play critical roles in agriculture and food safety and security and in the maintenance of ecosystem balance. Some of these diverse microbes, which include viruses, bacteria, oomycetes, fungi, and nematodes, cause plant diseases, while others prevent diseases or enhance plant growth. Despite their importance, we know little about them on a genomic level. A concerted and coordinated genomic analysis of these microbes is essential to intervene in diseases and understand the basis of biological control or symbiotic relationships.

To initiate discussions on how to achieve genome analysis of these diverse organisms, the APS Public Policy Board organized the Workshop on Genome Analysis of Plant-Associated Microbes (Washington DC, April 9–11, 2002), which was funded by the NSF, DOE, USDA-ARS, and USDA-NRI. Workshop participants were members of the international microbe–plant interaction research community and included academic, government, and industrial scientists with expertise in structural and functional analysis and bioinformatics of microbial genomes. The product of the workshop is a draft white paper for a Plant-Associated Microbe Genome Initiative. The draft is available online for review at http://www.apsnet.org/members/ppb/top.asp.

The APS Public Policy Board invites the research community to review the document and e-mail comments or suggestions to microbegenomics@scisoc.org by August 31, 2002.

For additional questions regarding this initiative, contact: Jan E. Leach, Kansas State University. Phone: +1.785.532.1367, Fax: +1.785.532.5692, E-mail: jeleach@ksu.edu.

Call for Proposals: John and Ann Niederhauser Endowment (JANE) Award

The John and Ann Niederhauser Endowment was created to facilitate international cooperation related to research and management of plant diseases, with particular emphasis on those caused by Phytophthora. Project proposals should have a clear implication for developing countries. The endowment will support one award of up to $10,000 or two awards of up to $5,000 for projects to begin January 1, 2003.

Proposals are requested for 2003 (maximum of two pages) postmarked on or before November 15, 2002. Hard copies of the proposals should be sent to the APS Office of International Programs (OIP), c/o George Abawi, Department of Plant Pathology, NYSAES, Cornell University, 113 Barton Laboratory, Geneva, NY 14456, USA. Funding should be requested for one year or for the first year of a multiple year project to begin in January 2003. A progress report must be submitted to the technical advisory committee of the JANE Fund by March 31 following the conclusion of the grant year. All proposals should contain the full contact information of the investigators, including an e-mail address and a fax number (if available).
 

Milwaukee Meeting Highlights Coming Soon
 

Watch next month’s issue of Phytopathology News for highlights and photos from the 94th APS Annual Meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Also in this issue: (as a .PDF file, see link below)

• Public Policy Update 102
• APS Foundation 103
• People 107
• Classifieds 108
• Journal Articles 111
• Calendar of Events 112
• Advertiser Index
• Arvesta 105
• Multidata 103

 
Have an event you want listed? Go to http://www.apsnet.org/meetings/calsubmit.asp and submit your meeting information. Your listing will be posted on the APSnet calendar as well as in this section of Phytopathology News.
 

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© Copyright 2002 by
The American Phytopathological Society