Conference: How SynBio can realistically impact crop improvement and agriculture

Synthetic biology has significant potential in plant agriculture, for example, by providing new trait genes to breeding programs, engineering plant-microbe interactions, and developing new crops and products. This Workshop brings together a number of different communities such as established, public- and private-sector plant breeders and metabolic engineers as well as early-career plant synthetic biology researchers such as faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and PhD student trainees to catalyze interactions that will help the field reach its potential positive impact on science and society. The workshop forum provides an opportunity for the participants from these different communities, to learn from and network with each other, and to leave with fresh, down-to-earth, actionable perspectives and contacts. The format of the workshop would include keynote talks, short talks, idea pitches and posters, as well as panel and breakout discussion sessions. After the workshop, a report will be prepared and circulated within the plant synthetic biology community. This Workshop brings together early-career synthetic biology researchers, agricultural synthetic biology and agribusiness professionals as well as postdoctoral researchers and graduate students. The format is a lively mix of talks highlighting realistic opportunities and challenges and showcasing real-world applications. Also included are idea-pitches from early career researchers and live feedback from professionals, posters and breakout sessions. The end point will be a crafting of a report to project the Workshop’s message to the plant synthetic biology community. The aim above all is to give participants from different communities opportunities to learn from and network with each other, and to leave with fresh, down-to-earth, actionable perspectives and contacts. This award is co-funded by the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, the Systems and Synthetic Biology Program, the Cellular and Biochemical Engineering Program and the Plant Genome Research Program. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.