Following the success of the 2022 Symposium in Brisbane, the Centre partnered with the University of Florida (UF) Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences and UF Horticultural Sciences Department to host the two-day hybrid Genotype x Environment x Management (GxExM) Symposium II in Gainesville, Florida and online.
Through his work with the Centre, Chief Investigator Mark Cooper led the creation of the Symposium in 2022 and, along with Chief Investigator Graeme Hammer and Associate Investigators Charlie (Carlos) Messina and Fred van Eeuwijk, provided thought leadership on the kinds of questions that should be asked in this space. In 2023 the event was led by Charlie and Mark with a focus on a range of GxExM topics, their interactions and importance for crop improvement.
428 people from across the globe registered to attend the Symposium with over 80 of those attending in person. These Symposia have created an opportunity for world leaders in the GxExM space to increase their collaborations and move towards a community of practice that will hopefully develop an entity that can become accessible to the public sector. The events have also increased the exposure of the Centre in this space and enabled new collaborations and partnerships.
In the lead-up to the Symposium, a Nature Commentary led by Merritt Khaipho-Burch at Cornell University was published featuring Centre members Mark Cooper, Detlef Weigel and Edward Butler, titled ‘Genetic modification can improve crop yields — but stop overselling it’. The commentary was motivated by the increasing number of articles published in high profile journals that make inferences of large yield increases without sufficient evidence. To pursue more impactful science, the authors urge researchers to work together more across a range of disciplines and to use well-established yield-testing approaches, including with appropriate germplasm (set of genetic resources that can be accessed and used within a plant breeding program) and field testing in relevant environments. These ideas were expanded on at GxExM Symposium II.
The Centre is continuing the momentum from these events by partnering with Wageningen University and Research Biometris via Fred van Eeuwijk to coordinate GxExM Symposium III in 2024.
Through our national and international partnerships, the Centre for Plant Success is helping to build a nexus within which to advance and deploy methods to accelerate the rates of crop improvement across crops and geographies.
