Beltsville Symposia in Agricultural Research – serie

Topics for the Beltsville Symposia are selected to highlight specific areas of research and science policy that are of concern to scientists in the Beltsville Area as well as to the general scientific community. Each sympo­ sium in the series is structured to provide a realistic appraisal of current findings, research progress, and relevant policy issues within the constraints established by the organizing committee. Thus, the presentations and dis­ cussions that have marked these symposia have had a strong appeal to the broad community of scientists. Knowledge of the diversity of living organisms is still quite limited. Since the time of Linnaeus, about 1.7 million species have been described. The actual number has been estimated between 5-50 million. Many species, land races, and strains are vanishing. Clearly, the world's scientific institutions are inadequately equipped to attain sufficient knowledge of a significant fraction of the diverse living forms. Also, efforts in the collection and preservation of germplasm of plants and animals urgently need to be strengthened. These mattes are critically important to future generations. This symposium addresses vital concerns of biotic diversity and germ­ plasm preservation from diverse perspectives. Many of the parts provide concrete recommendations for action, and they call attention to areas of research that must be pursued with intensity.

Papers Presented at a Symposium held May 8--11, 1989, at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC), Beltsville, Maryland, U.S.A.

The Annual Beltsville Symposium provides a forum for interaction among scientists involved in research that has vital impact on agriculture and on the agricultural sciences. The 10th Symposium in the series, Biotechnology for Solving Agricultural Problems, focuses on the use of a revolutionary new set of tools, biotechnology, and attempts to define the set in terms of its applications in agriculture. Biotechnology has already contributed to the genetic improvement of agricultural products. Procedures that were impossible to test or to implement in the past because of technological limitations are now routinely used by many scientists. Four areas that have benefitted from advances in biotechnology are covered in the symposium proceedings. These areas include genetic manipulation, nutrition, health and disease, and natural resource management. The 31 invited speakers have identified programs of basic and applied research on plants, animals, and insects that fall within these broad areas. Their research strategies included such techniques as germline modification, gene mapping, monoclonal antibody production, and gene transposition. These strategies have tapped new well springs of information and technologies ranging from the regulation of gene expression (and with it, the regulation of development, growth, disease resistance, and nutrient metabolism) to degradation of pesticides and toxic wastes. The applications of biotechnology to agricultural research have opened virgin vistas with enormous potential. The new biotechnological techniques and those that will evolve with their use will contribute markedly to the capacity of the agricultural sciences to advance the well-being of the human race.

The Annual Beltsville Symposium serves as a forum for presenting recent developments in basic research that contribute solutions to agricultural problems. The eleventh in this series focuses on instrumentation tech­ niques which provide powerful new research tools. These tools will provide information that can lead to a better understanding of biological and physical processes critical to the solution of today's agricultural problems. The tools discussed include isotope technology, separation techniques, microscopy, electro-magnetic spectroscopy, resonance and mass spectrometry and microcomputers. This Symposium brought together scientists who are at the forefront of the development of many of these tools and those who are applying them to problems directly related to agricultural research. WALDEMAR KLASSEN, Director Beltsville Area VII CONTRIBUTORS AND THEIR AFFILIATIONS Norman G. Anderson Youhanna Fares Proteus Technologies, Inc. Phytokinetics Inc. Rockville, MD 20852 College Station, TX 77840 U.S.A. U.S.A. Cherie L. Fisk Edwin D. Becker Office of Research Services Office of Research Services NIH NIH Bethesda, MD 20892 Bethesda, MD 20892 U.S.A. U.S.A. Klaus Biemann John D. Goeschl Phytokinetics, Ltd. Department of Chemistry College Station, TX 77840 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA 02139 U.S.A. U.S.A. R.J. Griesbach Florist and Nursery Crops Laboratory B.A. Bolton Development Quality Laboratory Horticultural Science Institute Agricultural Research Service USDA Western Regional Research Center Beltsville, MD 20705 Agricultural Research Service USDA U.S.A. Albany, CA 94710 U.S.A.

Papers Presented at a Symposium held May 8--11, 1989, at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC), Beltsville, Maryland, U.S.A.

The Annual Beltsville Symposium provides a forum for interaction among scientists involved in research that is vitally important to agri­ culture and to the agricultural sciences. The Twelfth Symposium in this series focused on the unifying biochemical and physiological mechan­ isms controlling growth and development of biological systems - ani­ mals, plants insects. Unraveling the complex biochemical mechanisms associated with the sequencing of organism growth and development and identifying, locating, and manipulating key control mechanisms are essential in utilizing the full potential of biotechnology for improving the composition and quality of agricultural products and the profitability of agriculture. Accordingly, speakers directed their remarks to basic aspects of biological mechanisms in their area of specialization with considera­ tion given to current status, future direction, potential impact, and limitations to progress. The Symposium addressed fundamental questions in: -Tissue specific gene regulation: cell division and differentiation -Mechanisms for regulating hormone concentration -Hormonal regulation of growth and development -Non-hormonal regulation of growth and development -Nutritional regulation of growth and development Because the backgrounds of the symposium attendees covered a wide spectrum in the basic biological and physical sciences, each topic was introduced by a brief overview, but general reviews were avoided in favor of findings from on-going research projects. The symposium brought together a distinguished group of invited scientists from around the world who are leaders. Many attendees made poster presentations which increased the exchange of ideas and sti­ mulated informal discussion.

Topics for the Beltsville Symposia are selected to highlight specific areas of research and science policy that are of concern to scientists in the Beltsville Area as well as to the general scientific community. Each sympo­ sium in the series is structured to provide a realistic appraisal of current findings, research progress, and relevant policy issues within the constraints established by the organizing committee. Thus, the presentations and dis­ cussions that have marked these symposia have had a strong appeal to the broad community of scientists. Knowledge of the diversity of living organisms is still quite limited. Since the time of Linnaeus, about 1.7 million species have been described. The actual number has been estimated between 5-50 million. Many species, land races, and strains are vanishing. Clearly, the world's scientific institutions are inadequately equipped to attain sufficient knowledge of a significant fraction of the diverse living forms. Also, efforts in the collection and preservation of germplasm of plants and animals urgently need to be strengthened. These mattes are critically important to future generations. This symposium addresses vital concerns of biotic diversity and germ­ plasm preservation from diverse perspectives. Many of the parts provide concrete recommendations for action, and they call attention to areas of research that must be pursued with intensity.

The Annual Beltsville Symposium serves as a forum for presenting recent developments in basic research that contribute solutions to agricultural problems. The eleventh in this series focuses on instrumentation tech­ niques which provide powerful new research tools. These tools will provide information that can lead to a better understanding of biological and physical processes critical to the solution of today's agricultural problems. The tools discussed include isotope technology, separation techniques, microscopy, electro-magnetic spectroscopy, resonance and mass spectrometry and microcomputers. This Symposium brought together scientists who are at the forefront of the development of many of these tools and those who are applying them to problems directly related to agricultural research. WALDEMAR KLASSEN, Director Beltsville Area VII CONTRIBUTORS AND THEIR AFFILIATIONS Norman G. Anderson Youhanna Fares Proteus Technologies, Inc. Phytokinetics Inc. Rockville, MD 20852 College Station, TX 77840 U.S.A. U.S.A. Cherie L. Fisk Edwin D. Becker Office of Research Services Office of Research Services NIH NIH Bethesda, MD 20892 Bethesda, MD 20892 U.S.A. U.S.A. Klaus Biemann John D. Goeschl Phytokinetics, Ltd. Department of Chemistry College Station, TX 77840 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA 02139 U.S.A. U.S.A. R.J. Griesbach Florist and Nursery Crops Laboratory B.A. Bolton Development Quality Laboratory Horticultural Science Institute Agricultural Research Service USDA Western Regional Research Center Beltsville, MD 20705 Agricultural Research Service USDA U.S.A. Albany, CA 94710 U.S.A.