Smithsonian Botanical Symposium 2009

Smithsonian Botanical Symposium, Department of Botany:

'Genes, Genomics, and Genome Evolution in Plants'.
27-28 March 2009
Washington, DC
Presented by the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History Department of Botany in collaboration with the United States Botanic Garden with support from the National Science Foundation Plant Genome Program and the Cuatrecasas Family Foundation.

Ever since Darwin, biologists have sought to understand how species evolve. The complexity and flexibility of the plant genome, as first revealed by Mendelian genetic methods, likely render plants especially able to adapt to changing environments. The new tools of genomics, initially driven by studies of model organisms, are now being applied across the diversity of plant life. Comparative studies have addressed the role of variation in genes, gene families and genomes in such processes as speciation, domestication and floral development. This Symposium, hosted by the Department of Botany, will highlight results of current studies on plant genes and genomes, especially as they apply to fundamental questions in evolutionary biology, crop improvement and ecosystem sustenance in rapidly changing environments worldwide."

Invited Speakers

• Jeff Bennetzen, University of Georgia
• Rob DeSalle, American Museum of Natural History
• Bob Jansen, University of Texas
• Susan McCouch, Cornell University
• Jill Preston, University of Kansas
• Gerry Tuskan, Oak Ridge National Lababoratory
• Ken Wurdack, National Museum of Natural History

Information and registration at http://botany.si.edu/sbs/