VIB and Nature will host a symposium in Ghent, Belgium, about recent breakthroughs in plant biology. The last few years have seen an explosion of new high-throughput technologies which, in turn, have enabled ground-breaking discoveries in plant sciences.

Next-generation sequencing and advances in genome assembly and analysis are helping to crack the code of even the most complex genomes. Transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics are leading the way in providing new insights into the inner workings of plant cells and cell-to-cell communications.

Equally importantly, the cell biology toolbox, which was previously restricted mainly to animal and yeast cells, now also allows researchers to explore the fundamental questions in plant cell biology and compare plant solutions with those of other organisms. These ‘omics’ and cell biology tools are helping to shed light on plant-environment interactions, including responses to abiotic signals and plant-pathogen interactions.

The programme will be organised into the following themes:

• Intracellular regulation
• Short range communication
• Long range communication
• Communication with the environment
• Signal integration
• Future Direction

More information & registrations: website Nature