Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

The annual meeting of the W-1168 meeting was convened in Davis, CA on September 15 and 16, 2007. The goals of the meeting were two-fold, and as such, did not conform to the traditional presentations of state reports, but rather was geared to 1) participating in the success of the penultimate W-1168 goal of organizing an integrative seed science symposium, and 2) formally initiating the process that will lead to submission of a new project outline to over the period from October 2008 through 2013. Both goals were met.

Over the past three years, W-1168 members substantially contributed to the organization and presentation of the four-day symposium (September 17-20, 2007) "Translational Seed Biology: From Model Systems to Crop Improvement", hosted by the UC Davis Plant Sciences Department (see website for details: www.plantsciences.ucdavis.edu/ seedsymposium2007/).

The balance of the W-1168 meeting was devoted to discussion of future activities, including developing a revised project outline.

In summary, this meeting was very productive in terms of information gathered and disseminated. Scientifically, the symposium was second to none in providing current, detailed perspectives across the whole range of seed biology topics. Administratively, the meeting set the stage for the next five years by highlighting current broad research activities of the W-1168 membership and solidifying research linkages between many members.

We are using the latest technologies, and improving existing as well as developing new techniques to investigate the central questions of seed biology and seed delivery systems. To ensure that end users have an abundant supply of high quality seeds, this proposal has established three objectives: 1. Identify and characterize biophysical, biochemical, genetic and environmental factors regulating or influencing seed development, germination, vigor and dormancy. 2. Determine and model the biotic and abiotic factors affecting seed germination, seedling emergence and establishment of sustainable populations in natural and agro-ecological systems. 3. Develop, evaluate and transfer technologies to assess and improve seed and seedling quality, health, performance, utilization, and preservation. These objectives are necessarily broad and reflect the diversity of stakeholder needs, the gaps in current knowledge that can be addressed by new technologies such as genomics, and the promise that proven and new technologies can yield practical solutions to complex seed biology issues relating to seed dormancy and germination, seedling vigor, and establishing or re-establishing high plant stands for all species in their respective applications. In most cases, the technical feasibility of the research procedures is proven as standard practice in the case of field-oriented research, or as an extension of established genetic, biochemical, and physiological principles. Results from genomic and proteomic approaches will likely yield new insights for practical application; however, there will likely be a time lag between discovery and adoption beyond the scope of this proposal. Members from 11 states are working on projects that relate to Objective 1, five states activities address issues relating to Objective 2, and nine states have technology transfer projects with major focus on Objective 3 goals, with primary attention to more than 25 distinct species as their model systems. These objectives are not mutually exclusive, but represent the continuum between basic and applied research in meeting seed user needs for the future. We are one of the longest running multistate working groups in the USDA, with origins in the late 1970s. Our members are internationally recognized authorities on seed science, with many demonstrated accomplishments including two major seed-oriented symposia in the last five years, dozens of books and book chapters, hundreds of peer reviewed journal articles, and deployment of a series of on-line educational courses. Within the present group, at least 30 collaborations have yielded demonstrated results, and many additional projects are ongoing and planned. It is highly likely that the future feasibility of achieving successful results through multistate collaboration is assured, given the prominence and productivity of the members of W-1168 in the recent past, as well as over the history of this multistate activity.