Agricultural Ethics in a Changing World Edited by Maarten J

ASPB News THE NEWSLETTER OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF PLANT BIOLOGISTS Volume 31, Number 4 July/August 2004

Inside This Issue ASPB Members Delmer, Quail, Bennetzen

Henry Daniell Elected Elected to National Academy of Sciences Member of Italian National Academy Deborah Delmer of the Rockefeller Foundation, Delmer’s positions have been varied, starting as of Sciences Peter Quail of the University of California at an NIH postdoctoral fellow, Department of Berkeley, and Jeffrey Bennetzen of the University of Chemistry, University of Colorado (with Peter Western Section: Integrating Plant Omics Georgia have been elected to the National Academy Albersheim, 1968–1969). She was then an NIH post- Research 2004 of Sciences (NAS), the NAS announced April 20, doctoral fellow, Department of Biology, University of 2004. “The Academy has elected three outstanding California San Diego (with Stan Mills, 1969–1970). members who have made extraordinary contribu- She continued as a research biologist and lecturer tions to plant science,” commented ASPB President (1970–1973) and then an acting assistant professor Mary Lou Guerinot of Dartmouth College. (1973–1974). In 1974, she started as an assistant professor, Michigan State University–U.S. Energy Research and Development Administration Plant Deborah Delmer Research Laboratory and Department of “I was stunned! But Biochemistry and became associate professor with pleased and honored tenure in 1981. Also in 1981 she was visiting profes- to join such an out- sor, Department of Biological Chemistry, The standing group of sci- Hebrew University, Jerusalem (where she would later entists. I just never become associate professor and then professor, considered I would be Department of Botany, Institute of Life Sciences). In a candidate,” Delmer 1982, she was a visiting scientist, then a principle sci- remarked after hearing entist, at ARCO Plant Cell Research Institute, Dublin, of her election. California. From 1993 to 1994 she took sabbatical Delmer, a past pres- leave at Calgene Inc., Davis, California. In 1997, she ident of ASPB, is asso- was professor and chair, Section of Plant Biology, ciate director, Food Security, at the Rockefeller University of California, Davis. In 2002, she came to Foundation, New York City. In this position, she is her current position at the Rockefeller Foundation. science and policy adviser for the Foundation in its Delmer’s past research interests have included support of research related to the advancement of biosynthesis of tryptophan in higher plants, sucrose agriculture in developing countries. biosynthesis and metabolism, circadian rhythms in Delmer graduated with distinction and departmen- fungi, and mechanism of glycosylation and secretion tal honors with an undergraduate degree in bacteriol- of plant proteins. But her long-standing major ogy from Indiana University (1964). In 1968, she was research interest involved studies on the plant cell awarded a Ph.D. in cellular biology from the University wall with emphasis on the mechanism and regulation of California San Diego, where she was a National of the synthesis of cellulose in higher plants. This Institutes of Health (NIH) predoctoral fellow. work included the first identification of a CesA gene

continued on page 3 The ASPB News is now available online as well as in print. Members will be alerted by e-mail when a new issue is posted. The ASPB News welcomes member feedback. Contact the editor at [email protected].

ASPB Officers & Staff CONTENTS

President Mary Lou Guerinot 603-646-2527 1 ASPB Members Elected to National President-Elect Roger Hangarter 812-855-5456 Academy of Sciences Immediate Past President Daniel R. Bush 970-491-2442 Secretary Edgar Spalding 608-265-5294 4 Henry Daniell Elected Member of Italian National Academy of Sciences Treasurer Mark R. Brodl 210-999-7246 Chair, Board of Trustees Louis Sherman 765-494-8106 6 International Plant Physiology/ Chair, Publications Committee C. Robertson McClung 603-646-3940 Biochemistry Cooperation in Chair, Women in Plant Biology Committee Mary Tierney 802-656-0434 Mongolia Minority Affairs Committee Regina McClinton 616-331-2470 Education Committee Lawrence Griffing 979-845-6493 7 Membership Corner Elected Members Nick Carpita 765-494-4653 9 Foothills Footnote Adrienne E. Clarke +61-38-344-5043 Linda Walling 909-787-4687 10 Call for Applications: American Sectional Representatives Philosophical Society Research Midwestern Steven Rodermel 515-294-8890 Programs Northeastern Rakesh Minocha 603-868-7622 11 Call for Proposals: WSSA Southern Mel Oliver 806-723-5225 Undergraduate Research Award— Mid-Atlantic Jonathan Monroe 540-568-6649 2005 Western Dina Mandoli 206-543-4335

13 Public Affairs

21 Education Forum Executive director Crispin Taylor, ext. 115 [email protected] Executive assistant Donna Gordon, ext. 131 [email protected] 22 Obituary: Harry Beevers Assoc. dir. of finance & administration Kim Snell, ext. 140 [email protected] Assoc. dir. of meetings, marketing, & membership Jean Rosenberg, ext. 110 [email protected] Network administrator Burton Nicodemus, ext. 146 [email protected] Webmaster Wendy Sahli, ext. 123 [email protected] Membership and marketing manager Kelley Noone, ext. 142 [email protected] Deadline for November/December 2004 Subscription and fulfillment assistant Suzanne Moore Cholwek, ext. 141 [email protected] ASPB News: October 5, 2004 Accounts receivable specialist Stephanie Liu-Kuan, ext. 143 [email protected] Accounts payable specialist Stefanie Shamer, ext. 144 [email protected] Administrative assistant Carolyn Freed, ext. 122 [email protected] Director of public affairs Brian M. Hyps, ext. 114 [email protected] Education Foundation assistant Paula Brooks, ext. 116 [email protected] Director of publications Nancy A. Winchester, ext. 117 [email protected] NOTICE: The ASPB News no longer Publications assistant Diane McCauley, ext. 133 [email protected] carries job ads or meeting Managing editor, Plant Physiology George Kendall, ext. 118 [email protected] announcements. Job ads appear Science writer, Plant Physiology Peter Minorsky, 845-878-4570 [email protected] online at www.aspb.org/jobbank. Production manager, Plant Physiology Jon Munn, ext. 130 [email protected] The list is updated every Friday. Manuscript manager, Plant Physiology Leslie (Ash) Csikos, ext. 125 [email protected] Meeting notices can be posted at Managing editor, The Plant Cell Beth Staehle, ext. 121 [email protected] www.aspb.org/meetings. News and reviews editor, The Plant Cell Nancy Eckardt, 970-495-9918 [email protected] Production manager, The Plant Cell John Long, ext. 119 [email protected] Manuscript manager, The Plant Cell Annette Kessler, ext. 120 [email protected]

ASPB News ASPB News is distributed to all ASPB members and is published six times annually, in odd-numbered months. It is edited and prepared by ASPB staff from material provided by ASPB members and other Headquarters Office interested parties. 15501 Monona Drive Copy deadline is the 5th day of the preceding even-numbered Rockville, MD 20855-2768 USA month (for example, December 5 for January/February publication). Phone: 301-251-0560 Submit copy by e-mail whenever possible; submit all other copy by Fax: 301-279-2996 mail, not by fax. Contact: Nancy A. Winchester, Editor, ASPB News, 15501 Monona Drive, Rockville, MD 20855-2768 USA; [email protected]; 301-251-0560, ext. 117.

© 2004 American Society of Plant Biologists. continued from page 1 Institut, Universität Freiburg. In 1973, he the University of California San Diego (B.A. in cotton that encodes the catalytic subunit became a research fellow and group leader, with highest honors in biology) and his Ph.D. of cellulose synthases. Other studies have Photobiology Laboratory, Research School of in biochemistry from the University of included genomic studies on CesA gene fam- Biological Sciences, Australian National Washington in Seattle (1980). While there, he ily in maize and Arabidopsis, studies on role University, Canberra. From February to April was involved with the first cloning of genes of sterylglucosides in cellulose synthesis, 1977, he was a visiting scientist, plant genet- by complementation in yeast (ADH1—the mode of action of herbicide(s) that affect the ics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel. alcohol making gene) and the first study of process of cellulose biosynthesis, biochem- Later he was a senior fellow, Department of codon bias in microbes (yeast and E. coli). istry of callose synthesis, and characteriza- Biology, Carnegie Institution, Stanford His postgraduate work included a one-year tion of cotton fiber development including University. In 1979, he became an associate postdoctoral fellowship between three uni- cell wall structure and the role of redox regu- professor of Botany, University of versities: Washington University, St. Louis; lation in regulation of cell wall synthesis. She Wisconsin–Madison, and then professor in University of California at Berkeley; and is currently responsible for decisions on how 1984. In 1987, he became research director, Stanford University. plant molecular biology/biotechnology can Plant Gene Expression Center, and professor, Bennetzen then worked in industry at the be used wisely in support of Rockefeller Molecular Plant Biology, University of International Plant Research Institute (San Foundation programs for improvement of California at Berkeley. Since 1989, he has Carlos, California) from 1981 to 1983. While crops for the developing world. She also deals been a professor in the Department of Plant there, he cloned the maize adh1 gene and extensively with issues of access to intellectu- and Microbial Biology, University of cloned the first active transposable element al property for humanitarian purposes. California at Berkeley. from plants (Mu1). He took a faculty posi- Delmer has 83 published peer-reviewed arti- Quail has published 184 refereed journal tion in the Department of Biological Sciences cles, 28 book chapters, and two patents. articles, 41 invited reviews and book at Purdue University in 1983, eventually ris- chapters, and two patent applications. ing through the ranks to become the Recent coauthored articles Umbarger Professor of Genetics. Peter Quail have included “Arabidopsis While at Purdue, Bennetzen discovered Quail noted that he was PSEUDO RESPONSE REG- epigenetic modification/regulation of plant “Thrilled and honored to ULATOR 7 (PRR7) Is a transposable elements, identified the first be elected to the National Signaling Intermediate in case of gene acquisition by a transposable Academy of Sciences. There Phytochrome Regulated element in any plant species (Bs1), demon- is no greater honor than to Seedling De-etiolation and strated that a plant disease resistance gene be recognized by one’s Phasing of the Circadian (Rp1) is highly unstable by a process of peers. I feel truly fortunate Clock” in The Plant Cell unequal recombination, performed the first to have had such wonder- and “EARLY FLOWERING comparative mapping of any two cereal fully talented students, 4 Functions in Phytochrome species (maize and sorghum), proposed the postdocs, and associates B-Regulated Seedling “grasses as a single species” model, deter- over the years who have De-etiolation” in Plant mined the general structure of the maize contributed to the research Physiology. genome (since shown to be similar for all that has made this possible. other investigated plant genomes) as small I am enormously proud of their achieve- gene islands in a sea of nested retrotrans- ments and wish to share this recognition Jeffrey Bennetzen posons, developed a new with them.” “This is a great honor that method to date transpos- Quail is research director, Plant Gene deserves to be shared with able element insertions, Expression Center, and professor, Depart- the outstanding students determined that transpos- ment of Plant and Microbial Biology, and other colleagues who able elements have inserted University of California at Berkeley. He have inspired and accom- into plant genomes very earned his bachelor of science in agriculture plished the research in my recently and that an active in 1964 and his Ph.D. in 1968 from the lab over the past 23 years,” process of small deletions University of Sydney. Bennetzen remarked. (mostly illegitimate recom- In 1968, he was a research associate, Bennetzen is Norman bination) is rapidly remov- Michigan State University–Atomic Energy Giles Professor of Genetics ing these sequences, devel- Commission Plant Research Laboratory. In at the University of Georgia, oped a number of tech- 1971, he traveled to West Germany where he Athens. He received his niques that can allow effi- was a research associate at Biologisches undergraduate degree from continued on page 4

ASPB News, Vol. 31, No. 4 • 3 People continued from page 3 cient shotgun sequencing of complex plant Henry Daniell Elected Member of genomes, and began the process of sequencing the maize genome. Italian National Academy of Sciences Bennetzen has served on various federal granting panels and chaired the Plant Dr. Henry Daniell, Pegasus ideal system for oral Genome Panel at USDA in 1999. He helped Professor and Trustee delivery of therapeutic found, and served as the first elected chair of, Chair, Department of proteins. Recently, the the Maize Genetics Executive Committee. He Molecular Biology and Daniell lab has extended is coeditor for several journals and a reviewer Microbiology, University this technology to several for many journals and grant programs. He of Central Florida, was major crops, including has published more than 140 manuscripts elected a member of the cotton (Plant Mol Biol, in and served nearly eight years as a coeditor for Italian National Academy press). Multigene engi- The Plant Cell. of Sciences at its 222nd neering via the plastid Since August 2003, he has been the Giles annual inauguration in genome with exception- Professor of Genetics and the Georgia Rome on April 29, 2004. ally large accumulation of Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in He is the 15th American national to be foreign proteins (Nature Biotech 19:20) Molecular Biology and Functional Genomics elected in the history of this academy. Past has opened the door for engineering for- in the Department of Genetics at the members include Benjamin Franklin and eign pathways for nutritional enhance- University of Georgia. Albert Einstein. ment or multivalent vaccines in a single Daniell was recognized for his pio- transformation event. neering inventions on chloroplast genetic Daniell is the technical founder of The election was held the morning of engineering. He developed and advanced Chlorogen, Inc., which has received April 20 during the business session of the this concept, which overcomes concerns multimillion-dollar investment to com- 141st annual meeting of the academy. of transgene containment, low levels of mercialize this technology. His pioneering Election to membership in NAS is considered transgene expression, gene silencing, publications in PNAS (1987–1990) have one of the highest honors that can be accord- position effect, pliotropic effects, or pres- resulted in several U.S. and foreign ed a U.S. scientist or engineer. NAS is a pri- ence of undesirable foreign DNA patents with broad claims to facilitate vate organization of scientists and engineers sequences (Nature Biotech 20:581; Trends commercial development. dedicated to the furtherance of science and its Plant Sci 7:84). His laboratories used this Daniell has been a member of ASPB use for the general welfare. The 72 members concept to confer plant traits, including since 1980, when he was a postdoctoral elected to NAS this year bring the total num- herbicide (Nature Biotech 16:345), insect fellow at the University of Illinois, ber of active members to 1,949. (PNAS 96:1840), and disease (Plant Urbana–Champaign. Since then, he has Physiol 127:852) resistance; salt tolerance served on the faculty of Washington State (Plant Physiol, in press); drought tolerance University, University of Idaho, Auburn (Mol Breeding 11:1); and phytoremedia- University, and University of Central ASPB Election Results tion (Plant Physiol 132:1344). Florida and was on sabbatical with the Furthermore, the chloroplast genetic engi- late Professor Lawrence Bogorad at President-Elect Michael Thomashow neering concept has been used in his labo- Harvard University. Daniell is a dedicat- ratory to express several therapeutic pro- ed teacher and has received several Elected Member teins including human interferon, human awards for his teaching accomplish- Bonnie Bartel serum albumin, antimicrobial peptides, ments. His forthcoming book, titled Corresponding Members and vaccine antigen against anthrax, Molecular Biology & Biotechnology of Joseph Hirschberg plague, cholera, and canine parvovirus. Plant Organelles (coedited by Christine Peter Hedden Chloroplast-derived therapeutic proteins Chase and published by Kluwer Yukiko Sasaki were properly folded and fully functional Academic Press), features 24 chapters Full stories will appear in (Encyclopedia of Plant Crop Science, 2004, contributed by pioneering authors from the September/October 2004 p. 705). Carrot has been developed as an 10 countries. issue of the ASPB News.

4 • ASPB News, Vol. 31, No. 4 A Supplement to The Plant Cell Plant Reproduction Edited by Robert B. Goldberg

his unique collection of papers provides timely reviews and current perspectives on all aspects of plant reproduction from seed development to flower- This publication is a must-have for T ing.In 19 papers,experts in the field document the progress that has been researchers working in any area of plant made in our understanding of plant reproduction since 1993,when the first Plant Cell reproduction as well as an excellent teaching special issue on this subject was published. tool. Subject coverage includes:

“The field of plant reproduction is at a crossroads,as is the entire area of plant flower development biology. Reading the articles contained in this volume reveals the remarkable dis- control of flowering time coveries that are being made in every aspect of plant reproduction—discoveries development of floral reproductive organs that have critical applied implications.” —RBG development of gametophyte Plant Reproduction is part of the 2004 subscription to The Plant Cell. It is available to pollination subscribers online at www.plantcell.org. Copies of the publication may be purchased fertilization for $30.00 by visiting http://www.aspb.org (or calling 301-251-0560). Inquire about multiple-copy discounts.To subscribe to The Plant Cell, contact [email protected]. fruit development 247 pages.Item 30097.$30.00 each embryogenesis

endosperm formation American Society of Plant Biologists 15501 Monona Drive,Rockville,MD 20855 using plant reproduction to improve crops Tel:301-251-0560 • Fax:301-279-2996 Order online at Deadline for January/February 2005 www.aspb.org http://www.aspb.org/ ASPB News: December 5, 2004 publications

Order Information Payment Information 1. For credit card orders call 301-251-0560 Name: 2. For fax orders send to 301-279-2996 Institution: 3. For secure online ordering, see http://www.aspb.org/publications 4. For mail, send to: American Society of Plant Biologists Address: 15501 Monona Drive, Rockville, MD 20855-2768

City: Quantity: I’ve enclosed my check or money order for $

State/Province: Zip/Postal Code: Country: Please charge my: VISA MasterCard American Express Phone: Fax: Credit Card Number E-mail: Exp.Date Note: Please include $7.00 shipping for delivery in North America and $9.00 for delivery out- Signature ASPB News side North America. International Plant Physiology/Biochemistry Cooperation in Mongolia In this article, long-time ASPB member Clanton C. Black shares some of his experiences with science teaching abroad and discusses opportunities available to other scientists.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, a third-grade students. She and they loved it! I and (2) to let them learn/practice English by chance arose to work on plants new to me in recently saw that former third-grade bunch comparing two languages side by side. In my Mongolia. That opportunity presented of students; now they are “grown” and can evaluation, this type of modern science numerous ways to share plant physiology/ carry out conversations in what is close to instruction sharing could be repeated in biochemistry knowledge and to gain new impeccable English. It’s wonderful to chat numerous languages. knowledge of plants that exist in different with them and to see the self-confidence they Last fall I was in Mongolia, and we organ- environments and are used in ways not famil- gained from learning another language. ized a workshop out of which the Mongolian iar to me. Hence, I have worked with many Indeed, one need I saw very clearly was participants wanted to publish their research interested persons not only in Mongolia but the desire of young students to learn English. in English. Finding it very difficult to locate a in other places as well—for example, along To assist with that, we planned, wrote, and publisher for a mixed set of articles, our solu- what we know today as the ancient Silk Road. assembled a bilingual plant physiology text- tion was to place their articles online at the Such opportunities are open essentially book at the National University. In 2002, the University of Georgia’s Biochemistry and worldwide to anyone who is interested. text Plant Physiology was published in Molecular Biology site. So their ideas, theo- I’d like to recount some of my own expe- Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, in Mongolian and ries, and work will soon be readily available riences in hope of encouraging other biolo- English. It has now been distributed and used worldwide, later this year we hope. gists to become more personally engaged in by other Mongolian-speaking universities. I’ve been engaged in similar cooperative finding international partners and sharing This bilingual text is a good example of inter- efforts in four other Central Asian countries. through international plant biology. There is national cooperation in that Professor Bill Each situation has its own opportunities and a widespread need for personal international Outlaw at Florida State University gave us challenges that one can approach differently cooperation among plant physiologists/ permission to use and translate his class in context. biologists, particularly in lesser known places notes in text form while three Mongolians This account is offered to interest and and countries. wrote special chapters on medicinal plants, engage other plant scientists in international I spent a fall semester as a Fulbright lec- secondary metabolism, and environmental partnership, especially in countries where turer at the National University of Mongolia, stresses in Mongolia. That gave us a textbook opportunities and needs are evident. The Ulaanbaatar, where I taught plant physiology/ that simply needed translating into two lan- opportunities are numerous; how and where biochemistry and shared my experiences guages, editing, and publishing. The expens- they might be pursued is limited only by with a bright, eager bunch of junior-level stu- es of publication were paid by several groups dents. During many faculty and student in Ulaanbaatar. Another distinct advantage one’s persistence and imagination. Certainly interactions, I shared my thoughts on what of such an endeavor was the low cost in I am available to chat and offer experiences today’s plant biology is and what opportuni- Mongolia; students now have the book for with anyone who is interested. ties are available. As an extra, my wife taught about $5. We had two major aims: (1) to give Clanton C. Black conversational English to first-, second-, and students and faculty sound plant physiology [email protected]

Help Support ASPB and Other Nonprofit Scientific Journals

Nonprofit scientific societies and associations publish many of the finest scientific journals available today, but each alone lacks the finan- cial resources to compete with commercial publishers’ marketing efforts. ASPB has joined with 16 other nonprofit scientific societies and associations to form the Nonprofit Journals Group. This group needs your help to spread the word and create awareness for these valuable journals. Please visit the new Nonprofit Journals Group website and use the library recommendation form, found within each journal page, to request these journals for your library—and pass it on to your colleagues now!

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6 • ASPB News, Vol. 31, No. 4 Membership Corner

ASPB members share a common goal of promoting the growth, development, and outreach of plant biology as a pure and applied science. This column features some of the dedicated and innovative members of ASPB who believe that membership in our Society is crucial to the future of plant biology. If you are interested in contributing to this feature, please contact Kelley Noone, ASPB membership and marketing manager, at [email protected].

Name: David 5. Have you found a job using ASPB job experiments that we have to now do E. Salt postings or through networking at before we hit on the really insightful Title: the annual meeting? experiments. Associate No, not directly, but contacts in the 9. What person, living or dead, do you Professor plant biology community have certain- most admire? ly helped. I would say that it has to be Mahatma Place of work 6. Have you hired anyone as a result of a Gandhi and Winston Churchill, both or school: job posting at the meeting or on our amazing leaders who were able to Purdue online Job Bank? mobilize people to achieve extraordi- University Yes, several postdocs. nary goals. Research area: Molecular Physiology of 7. Do you still read print journals? If so, 10. What are you reading these days? Metal Hyperaccumulation and Tolerance where do you usually read them? The last four books I read were Elvis, Member since: 1991 Almost all the articles I now read are Jesus, & Coca-Cola, by Kinky Friedman; printed from online pdf files that I read The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View 1. Has being a member of ASPB helped in my office. of the World, by Michael Pollan; White you in your career? If so, how? 8. What do you think is the next “big Mughals, Love and Betrayal in Yes, by giving me the chance to meet thing” in plant biology? Eighteenth-Century India, by William and collaborate with other plant Two areas that I am excited by are what Dalrymple; and The Piano Tuner, by biologists I call “post Arabidopsis genomics” and Daniel Mason. I am not sure what the 2. Why has being a member of ASPB “in silico biology.”The first is the use of connections are, but they were all great been important? Arabidopsis tools to study interesting fun to read. Since I came to the United States in biology in close relatives of Arabidopsis 11. What are your hobbies? 1990, after my graduate education had thaliana. There are many species out I will interpret this as what do I do finished, it was very important for me there with similar genomes to when I am not at the university. The to meet the plant biology community Arabidopsis that do really interesting answer would be spend as much time in the USA. Being a member of ASPB things like tolerate high salt, drought, outside on my five-acre mini-farm as and attending the annual meetings cold, heavy metals, and low nutrient possible. This would involve anything helped me achieve this. levels; produce floral scent; and the like. from having fires in my woods, tending 3. Was someone instrumental in getting I think we can leverage the tools and the vegetable garden, looking after the you to join ASPB? information we have on Arabidopsis to sheep, making repairs on the barn and I first joined ASPB when I was a post- learn more about these processes. The farmhouse, and all sorts of other “phys- doc in George Wagner’s laboratory at second area, “in silico biology,” will ical, getting dirty” type of stuff. I find the University of Kentucky. George require the development and use of this is a good counterpoint to all the motivated me to join so that I could integrated data-mining tools to perform “mind work” that I do at the university. attend the annual meeting in experiments in a synthetic environ- 12. What is your most treasured Albuquerque. ment on the computer. Such experi- possession? 4. What would you tell nonmembers to ments would lead to sophisticated The ability to not treasure possessions. encourage them to join? predictions that could then be tested 13. What do you still have left to learn? Attending the annual meeting is a with “wet experiments.”I think such an How to see the wood for the trees. great way to find like-minded drink- approach should help us leap-frog over ing buddies who also happen to be a lot of the preliminary range-finding plant biologists!

ASPB News, Vol. 31, No. 4 • 7 Now Available! Agricultural Ethics in a Changing World Edited by Maarten J. Chrispeels

“Ethics is about choices, and agricultural ethics is about choices for people engaged in agriculture either directly as farmers, or indirectly as government regulators, extension agents, researchers, CEOs, industrial workers, lawmakers, technology developers, consumers, or protestors. Although all of us make choices, few of us actively engage in an ethical analysis of our actions or can provide reasons for the choices we make.” — Maarten Chrispeels Plant Physiology, May 2003

Agricultural Ethics in a Changing World is an important compilation of articles from Maarten Chrispeels’s series in Plant Physiology on Agricultural Ethics. Many experts in the field contributed to this edited volume.

Selected Topics • Agricultural Ethics and Multifunctionality • The Societal Costs of Agricultural Production • Ethical Questions of Equitable Worldwide Food Production Systems • Biotechnology and the Poor • Agricultural Biotechnology for Africa • Transgenic Maize and the Evolution of Landrace Diversity in Mexico This ground-breaking collection of papers addresses issues of increasing urgency. As Maarten Chrispeels states: “We live in a time American Society of Plant Biologists when many are questioning the priorities of our food production 15501 Monona Drive, Rockville, MD 20855 systems and confronting us with our role in it.” Tel: 301-251-0560 • Fax: 301-279-2996 www.aspb.org 96 pages. Item 30099. $10.00 Order online at http://www.aspb.org/ publications

City: Quantity: I’ve enclosed my check or money order for $

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Morel Memories

It’s been an uncharacteristically rainy week, experience,” and it was certainly true for but despite the mud I went for a run along me. Slowly we began to find more…and trails in a nearby state park. The hillsides more. Suddenly they were everywhere! The were dripping with moisture and shrouded day was transformed from a walk in the in mist, creating the illusion that I was run- woods to a journey of discovery in a fantas- ning on the damp foggy moors of England tical fairy-like forest. Upon arriving home, instead of the dry desert-like foothills of I laughed with delight to see Jenny’s look of the Colorado Rockies. As I climbed higher, stunned amazement at our haul, and we I left the open grassy slopes and entered a cooked up one of the most delectable pine–oak forest. The dampness increased; I meals imaginable: fresh morels sautéed in stopped to scrape the globs of mud from butter with a bit of garlic and splash of my shoes, and it was then I began to notice white wine, served on toast. them—mushrooms! An impressive display There are lots of “rules” about where to of all sizes, textures, and colors: large find morels: in abandoned orchards; near boletes, slimy yellow jelly fungi, shiny batch of succulent beauties around the pine, elm, beech, ash; more rarely around brown tree ears, little white puffballs, time the lilacs came into bloom. I had maple or oak (ha!). Perhaps the best and those look like…tiny orange-yellow heard all the stories, and had even looked description I have read of where morels chanterelles! I slowed to a walk and kept for them—unsuccessfully—on my own grow is “wherever they feel like it.”They are my eyes peeled for the one I love best, that from time to time. I rather doubted their sneaky, and liable to pop up just when your most-prized and elusive of all mushrooms: existence. I don’t remember exactly how it back is turned. I have lately heard that the morel. I didn’t really expect to see any, happened, but a friend who was leaving morels are particularly fond of burned for- and if I did, I would almost certainly lie our fair state one day offered to show me est areas. Unfortunately for many crea- about their location. his morel hunting grounds before he tures, this is a rather common feature of I fondly recall my first successful morel moved away. So on a fine Saturday morn- the landscape in Colorado. There is, in fact, hunting experience, nearly 20 years ago in ing, we headed off into the woods, full of a brand-new 9,000 acre burn site just a few Minnesota. I knew almost nothing about hope. Those hopes dimmed after one or miles from my home, and what with this mushrooms at the time, but one cannot two hours of trudging through the woods weather, I may have to take a little walk up live in Minnesota for long without hearing with no signs of the mythical creatures. something about the state mushroom, Then in a flash, my world was forever there soon. Morels just might be a bit of sil- Morchella esculenta. Those “in the know” changed; I spotted the distinctive convolut- ver lining in the dissipating clouds of wild- would speak of them in hallowed terms, ed creamy brown cap of a morel growing fire smoke. near the base of an old oak. I have read that their eyes wistfully gazing off into the dis- Nan Eckardt tance as they dreamed of finding that first one morel “induces a dream and a mystical [email protected]

Reminder! In consideration of the low member subscription rates to the print versions of Plant Physiology and The Plant Cell and the free online access to both journals that all members enjoy, members agree to retain their personal copies of the journals for at least three years from the date of issue, not depositing them in any library or institution before the end of this time. Members also agree not to release their personal access code, assigned by ASPB, to any other party for the duration of their membership in ASPB. Thank you!

ASPB News, Vol. 31, No. 4 • 9 CALL FOR APPLICATIONS NEW “PARTNERS PROGRAM” MEANS American Philosophical Society DISCOUNTS FOR Research Programs ASPB MEMBERS

All information, and forms, for all of the Society’s programs can be downloaded from As an added benefit of membership, the Society’s new Partners Program our website, http://www.amphilsoc.org. Click on “Grants” on the homepage. allows ASPB members to receive dis- Franklin Research Grants counts on products and services Scope offered by an array of vendors. Since 1933 the American Philosophical Society has awarded small grants to scholars in order to support the cost of research leading to publication in all areas of knowledge. In Go to the ASPB members-only 2003 the Franklin Research Grants program awarded over $300,000 to 80 scholars. The page at http://www.aspb.org/ membersonly.cfm Franklin program is particularly designed to help meet the costs of travel to libraries and for discounts on products archives for research purposes, the purchase of microfilm, photocopies or equivalent and services from research materials, the costs associated with fieldwork, or laboratory research expenses. The Society does not pay overhead or indirect costs to any institution, or costs of pub- Chemicals lication. Franklin grants are made for non-commercial research. They are not intended Sigma-Aldrich to meet the expenses of attending conferences. Gold Biotechnology, Inc. Eligibility Reagents Applicants are expected to have a doctorate, or to have published work of doctoral char- Cartagen Molecular Systems acter and quality. Pre-doctoral graduate students are not eligible, but the Society is par- Posters ticularly interested in supporting the work of young scholars who have recently received SciencePresentations.com their PhDs. American citizens and residents of the United States may use their Franklin SciFor, Inc. awards at home or abroad. Foreign nationals must use their Franklin awards for research Literature in the United States. Applicants who have received Franklin grants may reapply after an Kluwer Academic Publishers interval of two years. Signal Transduction Knowledge Maximum Award: $6000 Environment Deadlines: October 1, December 1 Comparative and Functional Genomics Decisions are reached in late January and in March. Annual Reviews Tax Information Grants and fellowships are taxable income, but the Society is not required to report pay- Current Trends ments. It is understood that grant and fellowship recipients will discuss their reporting Blackwell Plant Sciences Publications: obligations with their tax advisors. Grants and fellowships made to non-resident aliens The Plant Journal require additional processing time. Plant, Cell & Environment Plant Biotechnology Journal Contact Information New Phytologist Questions concerning the eligibility of a project or the use of funds are accepted at 215- Molecular Plant Pathology 440-3429, via email to [email protected], or in writing to Franklin Research Physiologia Plantarum Grants, American Philosophical Society, 104 South 5th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106 Include the following information: Discounts with new • indication of your eligibility; specify the name of the program companies every month! • nature of the research (e.g. archival, laboratory, fieldwork, etc.) We are adding vendors on a regular • proposed use of the grant funds (travel, purchase of microfilm, etc.) basis. If you have any suggestions for • Foreign nationals must state what objects of research they need access to, available vendors you would like to see enrolled only in the United States. in this program, please e-mail Kelley Information Updated: May 2004 Noone at [email protected].

10 • ASPB News, Vol. 31, No. 4 CALL FOR PROPOSALS WSSA Undergraduate Research Award—2005

The Weed Science Society of America has developed an Undergraduate Student Research Grant designed to encourage and involve exceptional undergraduates in agricultural research. Interested faculty members are encouraged to identify potential award candidates and discuss the possibility of sponsoring a research project. Awards may be used as a stipend, for research budget expenses (travel, supplies, etc.), to defer fees, to defray living expenses for summer research, or any combination of these items.

Award Up to $1000 for support of undergraduate research to be conducted over a minimum of one quarter/semester during 2005. This award may be used to defray the cost of research supplies or as a stipend. Support of a faculty sponsor is required. Awards will be made to the student, to be administered by the faculty sponsor’s department.

Applicant The applicant is an undergraduate student with a strong interest in Weed Science. Students majoring in all related disciplines may apply.

To Apply Applicants should prepare a 2-3 page research proposal including name, address, phone number, title, objective, experimental approach, discussion, budget and references. The discussion section of the proposal should describe the expected results and their possible significance to Weed Science. The student should provide a cover letter in which general academic and career goals are discussed. A copy of the student’s academic transcripts should also be provided.

Faculty Sponsor Any faculty member who is actively engaged in Weed Science research is qualified to be a sponsor. The faculty sponsor should review the research proposal with special attention to the budget; the distribution of funds should be approved by both the student and sponsor. In addition, the sponsor should provide a letter of reference including a statement of his/her willingness to supervise the proposed research and to provide needed space, equipment and supplies above those requested in the proposal. The sponsor is encouraged to assist the student in presenting his/her results at a regional Weed Science Meeting.

How to Apply The completed proposal, academic transcripts, cover letter and faculty letter of support should be forwarded to: Dr. John Jachetta, Dow AgroSciences, 9330 Zionsville Road, Indianapolis, IN 46268-1054; Phone: (317) 337-4686, Fax: (317) 337-4649, E-mail: [email protected]. Proposals should be received no later than November 15, 2004. Funding decisions will be made by January 22, 2005 and presented at the 2005 WSSA National Meeting General Session.

Deadlines for ASPB News

We invite you to submit articles and letters to the ASPB News. Deadlines for submission of copy follow:

Issue Deadline November/December 2004 ...... October 5, 2004 January/February 2005 ...... December 5, 2004 March/April 2005 ...... February 5, 2005 May/June 2005 ...... April 5, 2005 July/August 2005 ...... June 5, 2005 September/October 2005 ...... August 5, 2005

ASPB News, Vol. 31, No. 4 • 11 CALL FOR APPLICATIONS West Virginia State University – Biochemistry

The Department of Chemistry at West Virginia State University solicits applications for the newly endowed position, the Dow Chemical Company Professor Chemistry Research and Education. This is a non-tenure track position, renewable for up to 5 years. Candidates for this new position will have a PhD in biochemistry. Both postdoctoral research and experience in securing externally- funded grants are desired. The successful candidate will be expected to interact with members of the Department of Chemistry and other researchers in the campus Land Grant Programs and to strengthen the corporate partnership between Dow Chemical Company and West Virginia State University. In addition, participation in the new MS in Biotechnology program is encouraged. The successful candidate is expected to teach biochemistry courses and to establish a research program in her/his area of expertise, which should complement ongoing activities within one of the programs sustained in the USDA 1890 Land-Grant Plan of Work: applied, industrial, or environmental microbiology and biotechnology; horticulture and alternative agriculture; environmental biology or environmental chemistry; aquaculture. This research will attract external funding and active participation by undergraduate and graduate students. Many modern instruments are available at www.wvsc.edu. Send a resume, a brief outline of research accomplishments and interests, contact information for 4 references, and a statement on research and teaching philosophy to Dr. Katherine L. Harper, Dean of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, West Virginia State University, Institute, WV 25112. Email inquiries should be directed to [email protected]. Screening of applicants will begin on July 31, 2004 and will continue until the position is filled. The successful candidate should be prepared to start by January 15, 2005. WVSU is a historically black university, which has evolved into a fully acces- sible, racially diverse, and multi-generational institution, serving approximately 5,000 students. It is the largest institution of higher education in the Charleston metropolitan area, and is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer.

12 • ASPB News, Vol. 31, No. 4 Public Affairs

House Subcommittee Recommends 10 Percent Increase for NRI, ARS

The U.S. House Appropriations Subcommit- bringing the recommendation to $1.259 bil- demonstration of support for the NRI and tee on Agriculture approved on June 14 an lion for the FY2005 budget. ARS in this first major action on the spend- increase of $17 million, or 10 percent, for These increases recommended for the ing bill. the USDA National Research Initiative NRI and ARS are higher than some observers ASPB members who sent letters or con- Competitive Grants Program (NRI) for fis- had predicted and are particularly welcome ducted visits to their congressional offices cal year 2005. This increase would bring in view of the lower overall spending alloca- contributed to this increased support for the funding for the NRI to $181 million com- tion the subcommittee had to work with for NRI when possible cuts were being projected pared to $164 million in current-year FY2005. earlier. funding. USDA had requested an appropri- The full Committee on Appropriations ASPB shared with a number of other sci- ation of $180 million for the NRI for was expected to take up the bill the week of ence societies the alert sent to ASPB Campus FY2005. June 21. There are many steps still to go in Contacts in March urging letters of support The subcommittee also approved an the annual appropriations process, but this for the NRI. Several other science societies increase of $113 million, or 10 percent, for recommendation of the Appropriations subsequently sent alerts to their members on the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Subcommittee on Agriculture is a strong behalf of the NRI.

Senator Bond, Joined by ASPB, AAU, Upholds NSF Grant Eligibility Standards for Scientists

ASPB joined with Senator Christopher In a letter sent to Washington May 7, The ASPB letter then noted the benefits of Bond (R-MO) and the Association of ASPB President Mary Lou Guerinot and the action by Washington to await further American Universities in raising concerns Committee on Public Affairs Chair Thomas study before implementing the resolution. over a resolution (NSB-04-48) approved Sharkey said the March 26 resolution raised “We commend you for the actions you March 26 by the NSB that would make feder- serious concerns. took recently concerning the SI as outlined in al researchers at the Smithsonian Institution “The resolution makes all full-time and your letter sent April 27 to Senator (SI) eligible to apply directly for grants from post-doctoral scientists of the SI eligible to Christopher Bond,” Guerinot and Sharkey the National Science Foundation. apply for NSF grants through the normal commented. “In that letter, you noted that Senator Bond sent a letter to NSB merit review process,” Guerinot and Sharkey you have asked the NSF Acting Director to Chairman Warren Washington April 23 not- said. “The resolution also authorizes the NSF discontinue negotiations between NSF and ing that the resolution sets a dangerous director to negotiate an MOU with the SI SI to develop draft MOU implementation precedent that will negatively affect NSF’s undersecretary for science that will provide language and procedures. You also noted that current activities—especially those programs the specific details and protocol by which you would recommend at the NSB’s May 3–4 targeted toward underrepresented popula- NSF will accept SI proposals and make meeting that the Board consult further with tions that are currently underfunded by NSF. awards to the SI. The MOU shall be submit- Congress and OSTP on this issue. You also Bond urged Washington to stop the ted to the NSB for approval prior to imple- said that you would recommend that the process of negotiating a memorandum of mentation, the resolution noted.” Board not take further action toward imple- understanding (MOU) with the SI and to “The OSTP has begun a review of federal menting such a policy change until OSTP has allow the White House Office of Science and researchers who compete for federal funding. completed its government-wide review and Technology Policy (OSTP) to review this mat- Completion of the OSTP examination of this consensus on the resolution could be reached ter. “OSTP has already begun a government- issue is needed before further consideration by Congress. wide review of federal researchers who com- of implementation of the resolution,” “Your thoughtful recommendations and pete for other federal funds,” he noted. Guerinot and Sharkey added. actions as outlined in the April 27 letter will

continued on page 14

ASPB News, Vol. 31, No. 4 • 13 Public Affairs

continued from page 13 allow for further consideration of more Western Section, American Society of Plant Biologists comprehensive information needed on this issue,” Sharkey and Guerinot said. AAU President Nils Hasselmo had also Integrating Plant Omics sent a letter to Washington voicing concerns with the March 26 SI resolution and the precedent it could set. The ASPB letter Research to Washington noted agreement with AAU’s concerns. Washington sent a letter to Guerinot October 22–23, 2004 and Sharkey on May 24 responding to University of Nevada–Reno their May 7 letter. Washington explained Grant Cramer and John Cushman in the letter to ASPB as he had to Senator Bond that the board will take no further Co-organizers action toward implementing a policy change until the OSTP has completed a The Western Section of the American Society of Plant Biologists is organiz- government-wide review of federal ing a meeting on Integrating Plant Omics Research. The meeting will present researchers who compete for other federal advances in our understanding of fundamental biological processes in plant funds and until consensus has been growth and development and responses to environmental stresses and signals reached on this issue with Congress. using integrated genomic approaches. While mRNA and protein expression ASPB Public Affairs forwarded the let- profiling and metabolite profiling are providing genome-wide insights into piv- ter sent to Washington from Guerinot and otal processes in plant growth and development in response to physiological Sharkey to OSTP and has been in discus- and environmental stimuli, the current challenge facing plant scientists is to sions with an NSB board member on this be able to integrate these large data sets and mine useful information that will issue. In a meeting with NSF Acting increase our understanding of signaling and regulatory pathways. This meet- Director Arden Bement that ASPB Public ing will include participants whose research is at the forefront of these fields Affairs staff attended May 18, Bement and provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and discussion amongst under- noted that he has halted discussions graduate and graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in the Northern between NSF and SI officials regarding California and Nevada region. To facilitate this exchange, each conference ses- implementation of the resolution. ASPB sion will spotlight presentations by graduate students and postdoctoral fel- will continue to follow developments on lows. First- and second-place cash prizes of $250 will be awarded for the best this issue. oral presentation and the best poster. “Senator Bond has provided valuable assistance to the science community in Number of participants limited to 120. asking NSB to refrain from implementing the SI resolution while we await further Keynote Lecture: study results,” Guerinot remarked. Richard Dixon, Plant Biology Division Director, S.R. Noble Foundation, Ardmore, OK Session 1: Proteomics and Metabolic Processes Chair: David Shintani Session 2: Developmental Processes Chair: Ron Mittler Session 3: Signaling and Transport Chair: Jeff Harper

For registration and more information, visit http://www.aspb.org/meetings/.

14 • ASPB News, Vol. 31, No. 4 Public Affairs

Inter-Agency Efforts Support U.S./Developing World Research Collaboration in Plant Genomics/Biotechnology

Legislation sponsored by Congressman Nick grams for fiscal year 2005, what resources In addition, the Interagency Working Smith (R-MI) and Congresswoman Eddie are being made available to implement Group on Plant Genomes, an NSTC subcom- Bernice Johnson (D-TX) that was included this new budget authority? mittee involving NSF, the Department of in the 2002 authorization bill for the A: To encourage international collaboration Agriculture, USAID, the Department of National Science Foundation (NSF) author- on crop plants important to the develop- Energy, the White House Office of Science ized basic genomic research related to crops ing world, the Plant Genome Research and Technology Policy, NASA, and the White grown in the developing world. Program Announcement soliciting pro- House Office of Management and Budget, is Smith and Johnson have taken a lead in posals for FY2004 and FY2005 includes discussing an interagency joint program to the House in support for plant genome the following language: support research collaboration in plant research that would benefit people here and “NSF encourages international genomics/biotechnology between U.S. scien- in poor nations. Senator Christopher Bond research collaborations, particularly tists and scientists from developing nations. (R-MO) continues to be a leader in the with investigators from developing Furthermore, database and genomic tools Senate in supporting plant genome research countries, and especially where there is developed through NSF-funded research will for the benefit of Americans and those in a common research focus or system.” provide the basis for future international developing countries. cooperation. The development of tools for In FY2004, the Plant Genome Research In answering “questions for the [hearing] rice is an excellent example. These tools can Program released a Dear Colleague letter record” posed by the House Science be used to identify genes governing econom- entitled “Developing Country Collaborations Committee on implementation of the legisla- ically important traits such as drought toler- tive language, NSF outlined the responsive in Plant Genome Research” (NSF 04-563 at http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2004/nsf04563/nsf ance, flowering time, and disease resistance actions it has taken in this area. Among the across a range of rice species, including actions taken by NSF is announcement of the 04563.htm) to announce the availability of funding to augment existing grants for activ- African cultivars, which are distinct from availability of funding to augment existing ities designed to support research collabora- those grown in Asia. grants for activities designed to foster tions between U.S. scientists and scientists It should be noted that NSF-supported research collaborations between U.S. scien- from the developing countries. The focus of researchers are already collaborating with tists and scientists from the developing world. the added support would be on research on institutions in developing countries, utilizing The following question and response was crops grown in the developing world and/or results from previously funded research. submitted April 30 by NSF for the hearing on traits that are important to crops grown in Examples include a collaboration between the record: the developing world. The NSF Office group studying a model legume (Medicago) Plant Genome Research of International Science and Engineering and a group in India studying chickpea, and The recently enacted NSF authorization law and the U.S. Agency for International the group studying sorghum genomics with includes an authorization for basic genomic Development (USAID) provided substantial groups working on sorghum in Africa. NSF research related to crops grown in the devel- input to the Dear Colleague letter. USAID supported a training workshop on maize in oping world. has agreed to provide assistance to principal Mexico City that was attended by students Q: Within NSF’s proposed plant genome investigators in identifying potential scien- and researchers from Africa who received research activities and international pro- tists and institutions in developing countries. travel support from USAID.

CLARIFICATION: The discovery of the wheat vernalization gene described in the May/June 2004 issue of the ASPB News was the result of research led by University of California, Davis, scientists Liuling Yan and Jorge Dubcovsky.It is published in the March 12, 2004, issue of Science (Yan et al., Science 303:1640–1644).

ASPB News, Vol. 31, No. 4 • 15 Public Affairs

United Nations FAO Strongly Endorses Agricultural Biotechnology Cites Need for More Research on Subsistence Crops in Poor Nations

In its most sweeping endorsement yet of the and herbicide tolerance) accounted for 99 More than 70 percent of the world’s poor applications of plant biotechnology to crops, percent of the global area planted in trans- still live in rural areas and depend on agricul- the Food and Agriculture Organization genic crops in 2003, the report said. ture for their survival. Agricultural (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) released Basic food crops of the poor such as research—including biotechnology—holds the report “The State of Food and cassava, potato, rice, and wheat receive little an important key to meeting their needs, Agriculture 2003–04” May 17 at news confer- attention by scientists, FAO said. “Neither the according to the FAO report. ences held in Washington, DC, and Rome. private nor the public sector has invested sig- Biotechnology should complement—not ASPB staff attended the news conference nificantly in new genetic technologies for the replace—conventional agricultural technolo- in Washington, DC. At the news conference, so-called ‘orphan crops’ such gies, FAO said. Biotechnology Prabhu Pingali, FAO director, Agricultural & as cowpea, millet, sorghum, can speed up conventional Development Economics Division, said, and tef that are critical for the The challenge is to breeding programs and may “Biotech should be looked at as one tool in a food supply and livelihoods develop technolo- offer solutions where con- basket of tools.” He noted the high rate (15 of the world’s poorest peo- gies that combine ventional methods fail. percent) of yearly global expansion in plant- ple,” said FAO Director- several objectives: Biotechnology can provide ing of genetically modified crops. General Dr. Jacques Diouf in increase yields and farmers with disease-free “Transgenic crops have delivered large a news release on the report. reduce costs, pro- planting materials and devel- economic benefits to farmers in some areas “Other barriers that pre- tect the environ- op crops that resist pests and of the world over the past seven years,” the vent the poor from accessing ment, address con- diseases, reducing use of report said. In several cases, per hectare gains and fully benefiting from sumer concerns for chemicals that harm the envi- have been large when compared with almost modern biotechnology in- food safety and ronment and human health. any other technological innovation intro- clude inadequate regulatory quality, enhance It can provide diagnostic tools duced over the past few decades. procedures, complex intellec- rural livelihoods and and vaccines that help control “In China [genetically modified] cotton tual property issues, poorly food security. devastating animal diseases. It yields are up 20 percent compared to conven- functioning markets and seed can improve the nutritional tional cotton. There has also been a 70 percent delivery systems, and weak quality of staple foods such as drop in pesticide use. This is a drop of some domestic plant breeding capacity,” he added. rice and cassava and create new products for 78,000 tons in pesticide use [in 2001],”Pingali Although the potential benefits and risks health and industrial use, FAO added. said. This represents a reduction equal to of GMOs need to be carefully assessed case But poor farmers can only benefit from about one-quarter of the total quantity of by case, the controversy surrounding trans- biotechnology products if they “have access chemical pesticides used in China. As a result, genics should not distract from the potential to them on profitable terms,” the report said. farmers of (genetically modified) cotton offered by other applications of biotechnolo- “Thus far, these conditions are only being experienced fewer pesticide poisonings than gy such as genomics, marker-assisted breed- met in a handful of developing countries.” those growing conventional varieties, the ing, and animal vaccines, FAO said. “There are no major public—or private— report said. Some 4 million small farmers are Agriculture will have to sustain an addi- sector programs to tackle the critical prob- growing insect-resistant cotton on about 30 tional 2 billion people over the next 30 years lems of the poor or targeting crops and ani- percent of China’s total cotton area. from an increasingly fragile natural resource mals that they rely on,” the report said. The report noted that biotechnology base. The challenge is to develop technologies Even though transgenic crops have been holds great promise for agriculture in devel- that combine several objectives: increase delivered through the private sector in most oping countries, but so far only farmers in a yields and reduce costs, protect the environ- cases, the benefits have been widely distrib- few developing countries are reaping these ment, address consumer concerns for food uted among industry, farmers, and con- benefits. safety and quality, enhance rural livelihoods, sumers, according to FAO. “This suggests Six countries (Argentina, Brazil, Canada, and food security, FAO said. that the monopoly position engendered by China, South Africa, and the United States), Agricultural research can lift people out of intellectual property protection does not four crops (maize, soybean, canola/rapeseed, poverty by boosting agricultural incomes automatically lead to excessive industry prof- and cotton), and two traits (insect resistance and reducing food prices, the FAO noted. its,”the report said.

16 • ASPB News, Vol. 31, No. 4 Public Affairs

The report also noted that the scientific genic product must be addressed prior to its ASPB Committee on Public Affairs mem- evidence concerning the environmental and release. Careful monitoring of the post- ber Daphne Preuss gave a presentation to the health impacts of genetic engineering is still release effects of these products is essential.” UN November 6, 2002, on the potential ben- emerging. “Scientists generally agree that the FAO recommends a case-by-case evalua- efits genetically modified foods offer to transgenic crops currently being grown and tion that considers the potential benefits and developing nations. Her talk was part of a the foods derived from them are safe to eat, risks of individual transgenic crops. The seminar series hosted by UN Secretary- although little is known about their long- report says that although some benefits have General Kofi Annan and organized by Bruce term effects,” Diouf commented. “There is been observed, adverse environmental effects Alberts, president of the National Academy less scientific agreement on the environmen- have not been detected in commercial pro- of Sciences (see ASPB News, vol. 30, no. 1). tal impacts of transgenic crops. The legiti- duction. Continued monitoring is needed, mate concerns for the safety of each trans- FAO stressed.

Veneman Cites USDA’s Efforts to Bring Plant Biotech Products to Hungry Nations

Department of Agriculture Secretary Ann M. 120 countries represented. We had 119 peo- tary and phytosanitary systems. We have Veneman addressed the department’s ple at ministerial levels. These were minis- another regional conference scheduled in Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and ters of Agriculture, of Science and Burkina Faso in June—again, to look at some 21st Century Agriculture on June 3 in Technology, of Environment, of the specific issues around Washington, DC. On a number of fronts, of Trade, Commerce—a the needs of Africa. Veneman and the administration have ratch- whole range of people that “[Africa] missed the “We’ve also promoted eted up U.S. efforts to bring products of plant participated, with speakers. Green Revolution. farmer-to-farmer dialogues. biotechnology to developing and developed “Norman Borlaug spoke [It] cannot afford to Certainly we’ve had a lot of nations. and made a really powerful miss the gene discussions with countries The Advisory Committee on Biotechnol- presentation that I think real- revolution.” about how we work together ogy & 21st Century Agriculture, which ly hit home, particularly with —Norman Borlaug in the whole structure of includes ASPB member Carole Cramer, pro- the African countries. And biotech. So I know there’s a vides guidance to the department on issues he talked about the Green tremendous amount of work related to the application of biotechnology in Revolution, which he’s attributed as being the that you all are doing to look at all of the var- agriculture. The committee also examines father of, and he said, specifically directed at ious issues relating to these emerging tech- the long-term impacts of biotechnology on the Africans, that ‘You missed the Green nologies. I think it’s very important that we the U.S. food and agriculture system. Revolution. You cannot afford to miss the set the…course in the right direction to make Following are some of the comments gene revolution.’ That was the central mes- sure that we harness the value of these tech- Veneman made to the committee: sage of his comments. nologies while making sure that we protect “One of the things that we thought could “We had such interest in this conference, the food supply and appropriately regulate. be done is to really help people understand and we didn’t just focus on biotechnology. “So again, we appreciate your efforts and how science and technology can impact par- We focused on a range of technologies…one look forward to working with you. And thank ticularly those areas of the world where the of the issues that came out [was] water and you again for your willingness to serve.” most hungry people are and where agricul- water availability and quality and…some of ASPB staff attended a portion of the two- ture is also at a subsistence level, where so the basic technologies that can help that. And day committee meeting. ASPB members much of economic activity centers around of course that ties in with biotech as well R. James Cook and C. S. Prakash served on agriculture as a means to allow people to because we need…help the science be directed the department’s biotechnology advisory have enough to eat. toward drought-resistant varieties of things committee in previous years. Dr. Borlaug was “So we hosted the ministerial conference like cassava…and test resistance of things that the Perspectives of Science Leaders speaker at in Sacramento last June. It really exceeded they eat in impoverished areas of Africa. the ASPB annual meeting 2002 in Denver. He our expectations in terms of its success. We “Let’s share our expertise on regulatory sys- received the 2002 ASPB Leadership in Science had over 1,000 participants. We had about tems, on recognizing the need for strong sani- Public Service Award.

ASPB News, Vol. 31, No. 4 • 17 Public Affairs

Daniel Gallie’s Research on High-Protein Maize Could Save Lives in Developing World

A genetically engineered breed The protein-packed corn complete article can be read online at of corn with half the usual could also offer benefits to http://www.nature.com/nsu/nsu_pf/040510/ amount of carbohydrates but farmers who want high-energy 040510-1.html. twice the oil and protein has corn for their pigs, chickens, Further scientific information on this been created by ASPB member and cows. subject can be found in the following: Young, Daniel Gallie and his col- The increased protein, low- T. E., Giesler-Lee, J., and Gallie, D. R. (2004). leagues of the University of carbohydrate trait might be Senescence induced expression of cytokinin California, Riverside. bred into other strains of corn reverses pistil abortion during maize flower Nature reported May 11, such as sweet corn. development. Plant Journal 38:910–922. 2004, that Gallie’s main hope Gallie said several compa- is that the new corn breed will nies are interested in develop- Two seedlings emerge from a kernel pro- supplement protein-deficient ing the crop for consumers Daniel Gallie duced from a plant diets in Africa and South adhering to low-carbohydrate that contained the America. Malnutrition caused by a lack of diets. As with other genetically modified cytokinin-synthesizing calories is usually accompanied by a lack of crops, there remain some regulatory steps gene isopentenyl protein in the diet. Protein-energy malnutri- before this corn could be planted. transferase (IPT) under tion is the leading cause of death in children See “Corn Cuts the Carbs” by Helen the control of the in developing countries. Pearson from Nature News Service. The senescence-inducible promoter SAG12.

ASPB Members in Rice Genome Consortia Recognized with 2004 Secretary’s Honor Awards at USDA

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Group Members Bell, Sujit Dike, Lidia Nascimento, Andrew Cooperative State Research, Education and USDA, Edward K. Kaleikau O’Shaughnessy, Lori Spiegel Extension Service (CSREES) hosted its National Science Foundation, Judith Plesset Washington University School of Medicine recognition ceremony for the 2004 Department of Energy, Sharlene C. Group Members Weatherwax Secretary’s Honor Awards group leaders and Richard K. Wilson, Patrick Minx individual winners at the Ronald Reagan Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey University of Wisconsin Group Member Building June 25. Group Members Jiming Jiang Joachim Messing, Rentao Song, Arvind Category Bharti, Galina Fuks, Victor Llaca University of Arizona Group Members Enhancing Economic Opportunities for Yeisoo Yu, Carol Soderlund, Hye Ran Kim, Institute for Genomic Research Group Agricultural Producers Teri Rambo, Kristi Collura, Jennifer Currie United States Rice Genome Consortia, Members Tucson, Arizona C. Robin Buell, Qiaoping Yuan, Jia Liu, Shu Clemson University Group Members Rod A. Wing, group leader Ouyang, Kristen Gansberger Mingsheng Chen, Long Mao For leading the United States partnership Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Group North Carolina State University Group in the multinational achievement to decode Members Member the rice genome to advance knowledge, W. Richard McCombie, Melissa Kramer, Ralph A. Dean improve nutrition, and alleviate world hunger. Lance Palmer, Robert Martienssen, Maureen

18 • ASPB News, Vol. 31, No. 4 Public Affairs

The Definitive Resource for Relevant Research in Plant Biology A n n u a l R e v i e w o f P l a n t B i o l o g y ®

Now Available in Print and Online—Volume 55, June 2004 Editor: Deborah P. Delmer, The Rockefeller Foundation Associate Editor: Sabeeha Merchant, University of California, Los Angeles

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Biochemistry & Molecular Biology of Plants Online Image Library!

ASPB’s Online Image Library contains all the images from the best-selling Mark your calendars for textbook/reference work Biochemistry & Molecular Biology of Plants, by PlantBiology2005 Buchanan, Gruissem, and Jones.

Seattle, Washington The Online Image Library features images listed by chapter plus the capability to search by indi- July 16–20, 2005 vidual images.And images are easily imported into PowerPoint for use in presentations. Access to the site is available for $49.95.ASPB members receive a 20% DISCOUNT, making the Washington State Convention & purchase price for members $39.95. Trade Center To purchase the images from Biochemistry & Molecular Biology of Plants using our secure web site, go to http://www.aspb.org/publications/biotext/imagelibrary/. Log in as a member for your member discount.Contact [email protected] for more information. Photo courtesy of Seattle’s Convention and Visitors Bureau

ASPB News, Vol. 31, No. 4 • 19 Now Available! Sharing of Biological Data and Materials Edited by Robert Last, Associate Editor, Plant Physiology

“Many wars have been fought because of disagreement over property rights. …This is an extremely complex and interesting outcome of our science where cutting-edge research, international law, commercial interests, and humanitarian efforts converge.” —Robert Last Plant Physiology, May 2003

So begins the exciting and informative Plant Physiology editorial series on sharing biological data and materials, edited by Associate Editor Robert Last. Over the past year more than a dozen papers on this important subject have been presented in Plant Physiology, covering a wide range of topics including • Sharing Publication-Related Data and Materials • Material Transfer Agreements • Publications from Industry: Personal and Corporate Incentives • The Preservation of Plant Genetic Resources • Intellectual Property Resources for International Development in Agriculture • Databases in the Biological Sciences: A User’s Guide to the Current Copyright Landscape American Society of Plant Biologists 15501 Monona Drive, Rockville, MD 20855 Tel: 301-251-0560 • Fax: 301-279-2996 These important articles have now been bound into a convenient print collection. www.aspb.org Order your copy today!

64 pages. Item 31000. $7.00 Order online at http://www.aspb.org/ publications Order Information Payment Information 1. For credit card orders call 301-251-0560 Name: 2. For fax orders send to 301-279-2996 Institution: 3. For secure online ordering, see http://www.aspb.org/publications 4. For mail, send to: American Society of Plant Biologists Address: 15501 Monona Drive, Rockville, MD 20855-2768

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Compiled and edited by Sheila Blackman, Grand Valley State University, Biology, One Campus Drive, Allendale, MI 49401, [email protected]

Planting Seeds of Knowledge in Golden Minds

ASPB members have been active in educa- appealing subtitle, such as tional outreach to K–12 students, as evi- Vegetable Oils: What denced by numerous articles in the ASPB Cooking Oils Should You News. We want to educate our budding scien- Buy and Use? Instead of tists and encourage them to become plant sci- asking the students to entists and other plant-related professionals. purchase a textbook, I However, let’s not forget senior citizens. provided them with about They are unlikely to become plant scientists, eight pages of lecture out- but many have become more curious about lines to study in advance the world. Education should be for all curi- of each lecture. The insti- ous minds. tute’s policy dictated no In a practical sense, senior citizens are examination. I gave home- active in politics because they know how to work assignments (from get things done and because they have the solving simple Mendel- Anthony Huang during a lecture. The castor bean in the fruit- time to petition the media and elected repre- ian genetic problems to ing branch contains the toxin ricin and the laxative castor oil. sentatives. Who better to champion the ASPB reading news items about agenda than well-informed senior members plants). of our Society? I addressed the class as “mature students” when, the following week, I gave each a brand Recently, I gave a formal course on “Plants instead of “senior citizens.” My style was new biology textbook still wrapped in plastic and Human Affairs” to senior citizens. The largely show-and-tell. I followed the lecture and including a CD, authored by Neil course was administered by the Osher outlines and left abundant time for questions Campbell (Biology, 5th edition, published in Lifelong Learning Institute through the uni- and discussion. The students had plenty to 1999). Afterward, they all wrote to the versity extension system. The institute was say because of their life experiences but were author, thanking him for his gift. created two years ago by the Osher very considerate about allowing others to The university extension, without prior Foundation to provide education for people participate. The participation was tremen- notification to me, administered student 50 years and older and has since expanded to dous, especially compared with that in regu- evaluations late in the course. I was gratified 41 colleges in 11 states. At the institute at the lar undergraduate courses. that the students overall gave very generous University of California, Riverside, students Before one of the lectures, a student asked evaluations. Still, the experience was not all pay $150 per quarter to enroll in up to three me if I had heard of artemisinin. He showed rosy. Some students did not read the lecture courses. Each course has an average enroll- me a major article in that day’s Wall Street outlines in advance and came to class as if ment of 30 students. The students come from Journal about this new plant drug that could they were attending a social gathering. In the all walks of life and presumably represent kill quinine-resistant malaria-causing organ- future, for each lecture I will assign one stu- better educated or more affluent senior citi- isms. I replied that we coincidentally would dent as a discussion leader, who in turn will zens. Many of the instructors are university talk about it in today’s lecture and politely allocate individual subtopics to several stu- non-tenure lecturers and junior college teach- mentioned that I had described the drug in dents for preparation. ers. The institute provides funds for teaching the lecture outline distributed the week ASPB members interested in educating materials and pays the lecturers $50 per hour. before. The student was impressed that the senior citizens could find a local academic Some instructors, such as myself, donate the outline was up-to-date and a bit embarrassed institution housing the Osher Institute honoraria to other campus causes. that he had not read it in advance. (http://www.osherlli.org) or get involved in In my course, students were not expected Three students became so interested in the numerous local senior citizen groups. You to have a science background. They included biology that they bought used general- don’t have to wait for retirement to begin retired professionals and a few homemakers. biology textbooks. When they proudly teaching, and you don’t need to give up active Although I have volunteer-taught at the showed me their new acquisitions, I bit my research. The reward is great personal satisfac- K–12 level, I had to tailor-make the lectures tongue not to show disrespect for those tion. Promotion of plant science is a bonus. black-and-white, 20- to 30-year-old books. for senior citizens. The course had 16 lec- Anthony Huang tures, each with an academic title and an Imagine how thrilled these students were University of California, Riverside

ASPB News, Vol. 31, No. 4 • 21 Obituary

Harry Beevers Harry was intrigued by the metabolism of Plant physiology has lost a guiding light. germinating oil seeds in which acetate, Harry Beevers, an outstanding plant physiol- derived from storage lipids, serves as a source ogist, a beloved classroom teacher, a mentor of carbohydrates rather than entering the of students and postdocs, and an excellent TCA cycle. During a sabbatical with Sir Hans leader in administration, passed away at the Krebs in Oxford in 1956–1957, Harry and age of 80 on April 14, 2004, at his home in Hans Kornberg demonstrated the operation Carmel, California, after a brief illness. of the glyoxylate cycle in extracts from the Harry was a member of the National castor bean endosperm. Succinate produced Academy of Sciences and the American from acetate in the cycle served as the precur- Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was presi- sor for glucose by a reversal of glycolysis; this dent of the American Society of Plant represents the theme of gluconeogenesis. The Physiologists and a recipient of the Stephen outcomes of these early investigations into Hales Prize and the Charles Reid Barnes Life respiratory metabolism and gluconeogenesis Membership Award from the Society. He was were published in 1961 in Harry’s book awarded honorary degrees from Purdue Respiratory Metabolism in Plants (Harper & University, the University of Nagoya, and the Row, publ.) In studies of the utilization of acetate, University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. investigators in Harry’s lab between 1960 and Born in County Durham, England, in 1966 demonstrated the presence of separate 1924, Harry’s early secondary education was pools of metabolites later shown to be associ- directed toward a career as an arts and crafts Capitalizing on the ready availability of ated with different subcellular organelles. As teacher. However, shortage of supplies during Arum spadices in the woodlands around exciting as identifying the gluconeogenic World War II eliminated that curriculum, Oxford, Harry was able to investigate pathway was, the investigations were eclipsed and thus somewhat fortuitously, Harry in 1966 by the discovery that the enzymes of embarked late in his secondary education on cyanide-resistant respiration, which has led the glyoxylate cycle were confined to a newly his scientific training. He earned his B.Sc. to contemporary investigations into alterna- identified organelle, the glyoxysome. This and Ph.D. degrees in botany from King’s tive electron transport pathways and ther- discovery was followed by the demonstration College at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, then part of mogenesis in plants. that other similar organelles, peroxisomes, the University of Durham. As part of his In 1950, Harry moved to Purdue and gerontisomes belonged to a family of Ph.D. research under the mentorship of University, where he started his own labora- microbodies. In 1969, Harry moved his tory and during his 19-year stay established Meirion Thomas, Harry demonstrated car- research group to the University of California, West Lafayette, Indiana, as a center of excel- bon dioxide fixation in the dark in leaves of Santa Cruz, then a new campus in the lence for studies of respiratory metabolism in the succulent Bryophyllum. This contribu- University of California system. Harry’s lab plants. Early inhibitor studies delineated the tion paved the way for future researchers to rapidly expanded the study of the biogenesis operation of the glycolytic pathway and TCA identify Crassulacean Acid Metabolism of the components of the glyoxysomes. The cycle in plants. The availability of ultra cen- (CAM) as an alternative pathway for carbon castor bean endosperm served as an excel- trifuges, chromatography, and 14C-labeled assimilation. lent source of intercellular membranes. Following completion of his Ph.D., Harry compounds led to the extension of these Investigations extended the study of anabolic joined the Medicinal Plant Research group at studies and the isolation of mitochondria. activity of the endoplasmic reticulum. Oxford under the directorship of W. O. Summers spent at Brookhaven National Protein bodies, vacuoles, functional ribo- James, an authority on plant respiration. Laboratory with Martin Gibbs introduced somes, lipid bodies, and a multitude of During his four years at Oxford, Harry stud- Harry to the use of isotopes in his studies of enzymes were characterized. These findings ied phenol oxidases and other enzymes of respiratory metabolism and enabled him to have led to a comprehensive picture of the alkaloid metabolism. He also collaborated demonstrate the operation of the pentose major metabolic reactions of castor bean with Eric Simon in demonstrating that the phosphate pathway in plants. These studies endosperm, their location in the cell, and the influence of various herbicides was deter- were paralleled by identification and charac- sites of synthesis of the organelles. mined by pH, which, in turn, influenced the terization of the appropriate enzymes by a The outstanding research on the gly- dissociation of the weak acid herbicides. cadre of graduate students and postdocs. oxysome represents an unusual accomplish-

22 • ASPB News, Vol. 31, No. 4 Obituary ment in biological sciences, in that the stud- decide that breaking into a song, with the Harry, Jean obtained a B.Sc. degree from ies of the organelle in plants preceded inves- appropriate scientific content, was the only King’s College, University of Durham at tigations of similar metabolic compart- way to get his point across. His courses nat- Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The two were married ments in mammals, protozoa, and yeast. urally received rave reviews from students. in 1949 and emigrated to the United States in Details of Harry’s research can be found His outstanding teaching earned him a place 1950. Their son Michael was born in West in his prefatory chapter in the Annual Review in the “Book of Great Teachers,” a perma- Lafayette, Indiana, in 1951. Throughout the of Plant Physiology and Plant Molecular nent wall display in the Purdue University years, Jean has been a constant source of help Biology (44:1–12, 1993) and Tom ap Rees’s Memorial Union. and support to Harry. She has provided article “Harry Beevers,” in Molecular Harry was famous for being an outstand- warm welcome and hospitality and has estab- Approaches to Compartmentation and Meta- ing speaker. Few who attended one of his lished lasting friendships with many of the bolic Regulation, A.H.C. Huang and L. Taiz, talks would have forgotten it, ever. He was researchers associated with Harry’s laborato- editors, pp. 22–29, 1991 (ASPP, publ.). humorous and highly gifted in attracting the ry. She also wholeheartedly met the com- Harry established such an excellent repu- attention of the audience, be they scientists pelling demands of Harry’s diabetes and the tation in research and mentoring appren- or nonscientists. Singing songs with scientif- consequences of the side effects that come tices that he attracted budding scientists to ic content and even dancing were not from prolonged treatments. She was always join his lab from the four corners of the uncommon entertainment tools. Over the there for her husband in this and every other world. To have the privilege of joining him years, Harry accumulated a broad repertoire regard. as a student or postdoc was to serve a scien- of these songs, many with lyrics he had com- Harry is survived by Jean, of Carmel, tific apprenticeship as rewarding as anyone posed. His rendition of theses songs and California; his son Michael, his daughter-in- might wish. Harry was a brilliant and inno- quick wit made him the life and soul of many law Susan, and granddaughter Angela, of vative experimental scientist with a gift for parties and in high demand as an after- Fresno, California; sisters Win Allinson, leading by example and instilling confidence dinner speaker. His Stephen Hales speech at Ripon; Edna Emerson, Wearhead; Elsie where it was needed. But more than this, he the ASPP annual meeting held at Asilomar, Chapman, Portsmouth; and Vera West, showed apprentices that science could be California, during which he was able to con- Canterbury, England; and brothers Alec fun. His warmth, unfailing patience, and jure up a severe summertime storm with Beevers, Stourbridge, England, and Leonard good humor permeated all of his interac- constant thunder and lightning intermingled Beevers, Norman, Oklahoma (a prominent tions with his students and postdocs. There with seconds of total darkness, is surely plant physiologist in his own right and a for- was no scientific mountain too large to be remembered by everyone there and serves as mer president of ASPP). climbed, no possibility of failure too over- the model of excellence for award acceptance A memorial service will be held whelming to be contemplated. During the speeches. September 25, 2004, at the Arboretum at second half of his career he put in even During his early days at Purdue, Harry the University of California, Santa Cruz more effort, at great personal sacrifice, to was involved in the formation of the (write to Daniel Harder, Arboretum help apprentices establish their own careers. Midwestern Section of ASPP. In 1961–1962, director, [email protected] Soon after apprentices had left Harry’s lab he was ASPP president. One of the most sig- for information). they would send him manuscripts from nificant decisions he made as president was their research that he would carefully edit, to appoint Martin Gibbs as editor-in-chief of This tribute to Harry Beevers was con- and it was not unusual for him to cross out the journal Plant Physiology. Martin held the tributed by many of Harry’s former students, his name as co-author. post for 29 years and made the journal the postdocs, and colleagues. A serious teacher, Harry was always in premier publication in the field of plant command of his subject, the class, and the physiology. At the national level, Harry blackboard. His classes were intense, but the served as a member of review and advisory students were never bored. Passing informa- panels to the National Institutes of Health tion from teacher to student was not a prod- and the National Science Foundation. He was uct of passive osmosis but rather the result recognized by his peers for his dedication and of Harry’s dynamic, challenging, and engag- service to both Purdue University and the ing style of teaching, and not a day went by University of California, Santa Cruz. that students did not laugh out loud during Harry met his wife, Jean, while they were class. Every student who took one of his both students at Wolsingham Grammar courses remembers when Harry would School, Wolsingham, County Durham. Like

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