This document provides information about the 4th Plant Genomics and Gene Editing Asia Congress to be held on April 10-11, 2017 in Hong Kong. Over the past 5 years, plant research has been transformed by breakthroughs in sequencing technologies and data analysis. The conference will bring together over 200 experts working in plant science to discuss the latest NGS, omics, and gene editing technologies and their applications in plant research. Presentations will focus on regional crops and cover topics like genome editing, phenomics, disease resistance, and bioinformatics. The goal is to facilitate knowledge sharing and networking between researchers using these techniques and those looking to adopt new technologies and analysis approaches.

1. www.globalengage.co.uk/plantgenomicsasia.html #GEPGC17
10-11 April 2017
Hong Kong
PLANT GENOMICS
& GENE EDITING
ASIA CONGRESS
GLOBAL ENGAGE’S 4TH
Utilizing NGS, Omic and Gene Editing Technologies
To Progress Plant Research

2. WARM WELCOME
PLANT GENOMICS AND GENE EDITING 2017
Thank you for your interest in the 4TH
Global Engage 2017 Plant Genomics and Gene Editing
Asia Congress,
Global Engage are pleased to announce, as part of their Next Generation Sequencing series of events, the 4th Plant
Genomics and Gene Editing Asia Congress, which will be held on 10-11 April 2017 in Hong Kong. The successful event,
which was attended by over 200 people last year, is part of our highly respected Plant Genomics Series which includes
a European meeting each May and US meeting each September which attract another 500 delegates each year.
Attracting experts working in all areas of plant science, the event will examine the latest NGS platforms and omic
technologies being used for progressing plant based research in aspects such as genome editing, crop trait
development, epigenetics, phenotyping, plant microbiome, and disease resistance as well understanding tools to
overcome bottlenecks and enable successful data analysis and management.
Presentations concentrate on, but are not limited to, regional and model crops such as rice, wheat, maize, barley, soybean,
canola/rapeseed, arabidopsis, palm oil, etc in order to attract delegates across Asia Pacific region and beyond.
Plant research has transformed dramatically over the last 5 years as a result of the revolutionary breakthroughs and
reduction in cost in sequencing. Many plants have been successfully sequenced and a wide range of biological data
sets made available. Plant scientists are therefore making use of state of the art sequencing platforms to help explain
biological principals, advance research and therefore enable benefits such as crop improvement / breeding etc. by
harnessing the greater understanding of plant genomes.
Should you be either an expert already using NGS for plant analysis with a desire to extend your knowledge or
for researchers keen to invest in sequencing / omic technology and looking to learn which platform suits your
requirements - the conference will provide an interactive networking forum to answer your queries through a vibrant
exhibition room full of technology providers showcasing their technologies and other solutions, expert led case study
presentations, and interactive Q&A panel discussions examining topics through four separate tracks.
Flagship Director in Agriculture,
CSIRO, Australia
JOHN
MANNERS
1000 Talents Professor, Kunming
Institute of Botany, China and Giles
Professor, University of Georgia, USA
JEFF
BENNETZEN
Distinguished Research Fellow,
Academia Sinica, Taiwan
YUE-IE
HSING
Principal Investigator and Director of
the Enterprise Institute for Renewable
Energy, Donald Danforth Plant
Science Center, USA
TOM
BRUTNELL
EXPERT SPEAKERS Include:

3. CONFERENCE SYNOPSIS
DAY 1 STREAM 1
• NGS platform comparison / Best practice guidelines / New
technology / Future uses
• Genome editing – Application of TALENs and CRISPRs in plants
• Phenomics and high-throughput phenotyping technologies
• Genotyping by sequencing and genome / DNA assembly
• Transcriptomics
• Sample preparation technology
• High resolution scanning
• SNP discovery, QTL mapping, Alternative splicing & Marker-
assisted selection
• Panel Discussion: Challenges and Potential Solutions for Food
Security in Asia-Pacific
NGS, Omic and Gene Editing Technologies for Plant Research
DAY 1 STREAM 2
• Plant microbiome studies
• Plant-pathogen interactions
• Molecular marker development / Marker assisted selection
• Crop / trait improvement – e.g. stress resilience
• Plant breeding e.g. novel breeding techniques, breeding by design,
hybridization
• Biofuels research
Plant Genomics Case Studies
Applications of NGS in plant research / Using genomic technologies to enhance:
DAY 2 STREAM 1
• Genome Editing
• Epigenetics
• DNA methylation
• Crop / trait improvement – e.g. stress resilience
• Gene silencing
• Gene expression
• RNA, miRNA, and ncRNA analysis
Plant Genomics Case Studies – Cereal and Oil Crops
Case studies using:
DAY 2 STREAM 2
• Bioinformatics – analysis and challenges
• Gene network studies
• Identifying novel functional genes /networks / knowledge
from data
• NGS data analysis
• Application of bioinformatics software for DNA / RNA analysis
• Gene expression analysis
• Sequencing pipelines and assembly
• Improving error rates
• Cloud computing and storage solutions
A) Bioinformatics, Data Management & Analysis
• Metabolic Engineering
• Plant Metabolism / Pathway manipulation
• Quantitative and functional proteomics
• Systems biology analysis
B) Plant Genomics Case Studies – Metabolomics and Proteomics

4. CONFIRMED SPEAKERS
JOHN MANNERS
Director, CSIRO Agriculture and
Food, Australia
JEFF BENNETZEN
Professor, University of
Georgia, USA and Kunming
Institute of Botany, China
INEZ HORTENSE
SLAMET-LOEDIN
Head of Transformation, IRRI,
Philippines
HAIYANG WANG
Professor, Biotechnology
Research Center, Chinese
Academy of Agricultural
Sciences, China
PETER WATERHOUSE
Professor of Molecular
Genetics, Queensland
University of Technology,
Australia
ROBERT PARK
Professor and Chair in
Sustainable Agriculture,
University of Sydney,
Australia
RAJA KOTA
Genetic Analysis Team
Leader and NGS Platform
Manager, Syngenta, USA
MAURICE CHEUNG
Assistant Professor,
Yale-NUS College
PAUL TAYLOR
Professor and Director,
International Faculty of
Veterinary and Agricultural
Sciences, University of
Melbourne, Australia
YUE-IE HSING
Distinguished Research Fellow,
Academia Sinica, Taiwan
KAIJUN ZHAO
Professor, Institute of Crop
Science, Chinese Academy of
Agricultural Sciences, China
DAVE EDWARDS
Professor, University of
Western Australia
SHUICHI YANAGISAWA
Associate Professor,
Biotechnology Research Center,
University of Tokyo, Japan
YIJING ZHANG
Professor, Shanghai Institute
of Plant Physiology and
Ecology, Chinese Academy of
Sciences, China
XIA LI
Professor, Huazhong
Agricultural University, China
HONMING LAM
Professor and Director of
Molecular Biotechnology
and the Centre for Soybean
Research, Chinese University
of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
MINAMI MATSUI
Synthetic Genomics
Research Group Director,
RIKEN, Japan
ARINTHIP
THAMCHAIPENET
Associate Professor, Kasetsart
University, Thailand
RYOUNG SHIN
Leader of the Regulatory
Network Research Unit,
RIKEN, Japan
QIUDENG QUE
Group Leader and Principal
Researcher, Syngenta, USA
HARIKRISHNA
KULAVEERASINGAM
Head of R&D, Sime Darby
Research
NING LI
Professor, Hong Kong
University of Science and
Technology, Hong Kong
JIA-LONG YAO
Senior Scientist, New
Zealand Institute for Plant
and Food Research
(Stream Chair)
TOM BRUTNELL
Principal Investigator and
Director of the Enterprise
Institute for Renewable
Energy, Donald Danforth Plant
Science Center, USA
SHANE MURRAY
Agri-Genomics Project
Manager, Centre for Proteomic
and Genomic Research, South
Africa (Stream Chair)
SUBASH BOSE
Head of R&D, ASEAN
and Head of Biological
Assessment, Syngenta,
Singapore (Stream Chair).
LIANGHUI JI
Senior Principal Investigator,
Temasek Laboratories,
Singapore
CLIVE LO
Associate Professor,
University of Hong Kong
BYOUNG-CHEORL KANG
Professor, Department of Plant
Science, College of Agriculture
and Life Sciences, Seoul
National University, South Korea
FUMIHIKO SATO
Professor, Kyoto University,
Japan
NICKOLAI
ALEXANDROV
Senior Scientist, Bioinformatics,
International Rice Research
Institute (IRRI), The Philippines
MAURICE S. B. KU
Distinguished Professor,
Department of Bioagricultural
Sciences, National Chiayi
University, Taiwan and Emeritus
Professor, Washington State
University, USA
NEAL GUTTERSON
VP of R&D, DuPont Pioneer,
USA
JINGHUA YANG
Zhejiang University in China

5. 2016 EVENT SPONSORS
Gold Sponsors 2016
Sponsors 2016
I believe that the meeting is a huge success
for us compared to even larger conferences
such as PAG conference because I was able
to present our data to the main community.
There are too many concurrent sessions in
the big meetings and it is hard to get the
message to your intended audiences.
Cheng-Cang Wu Ph.D.,
Vice President, Genome Technology
Development & Custom Service Lucigen
Corporation
It’s clearly a great audience, assembled here...
I was really particulaly impressed by the level
of follow-up questions and the engagement
of the audience after each of the talks. I mean
after the break sessions, people would gather to
ask further, more probing questions. I would be
happy to participate again next year and I would
be happy to invite my colleagues and ask many
of our collaborators to contribute as well.
Isaac Meek,
Global Director of Genomics, Automation
and Microfluidics Life Science & Technology,
PerkinElmer
There is a good cross-section of attendees
from both academic and industrial customers.
It’s a really good opportunity to go out and
meet those kind of customers and engage
with them, understand what their needs are,
and then try to provide those solutions for
them. We had a lot of support from the people
at Global Engage.
Allen Nguyen,
Business Development Manager, Life
Technologies
“
“
“
“
“
“
Confirmed Sponsors & Supporters 2017
Gold & Series Sponsor 2017

6. CONGRESS SCHEDULE
PLANT GENOMICS AND GENE EDITING 2017
Registration & Coffee
9:00-09:40
KEYNOTE ADDRESS:
JOHN MANNERS
Director, CSIRO Agriculture and Food, Australia
Bringing science and market trends together via genome-enabled breeding
• Growing population size and increased wealth in Asia are creating challenges and opportunities respectively for crop breeding.
• Applications of molecular breeding have led to the generation of healthy plant-based food market-focused products that have
either been commercialised or are in the commercial pipeline. These include healthy & nutritious cereal grains, novel oils such as those enriched in
omega-3 long chain fatty acids.
• Mining genomes for disease resistance genes has led to strategies that now promise durable resistance to important pathogens such as rusts and
necrotrophs, optimising attainable yield.
• Technological innovations in gene editing, genomics and biologicals promise a broader range of opportunities for the future.
DAY 1 MONDAY 10TH
APRIL 2017
08:00-08:50
8:50-09:00
Global Engage Welcome Address
Stream Chairs Opening Remarks: Subash Bose, Head of R&D ASEAN and Head of Biological Assessment, Syngenta, Singapore
9:40-10:10
KEYNOTE ADDRESS:
JEFF BENNETZEN
Giles Professor, University of Georgia, USA and 1000 Talents Professor, Kunming Institute of Botany, China
The Genetics of Plant-Microbe Interactions
Morning Refreshments / Poster Presentation Sessions10:40-11:50
NGS, OMIC AND GENE EDITING TECHNOLOGIES FOR PLANT RESEARCH PLANT GENOMIC CASE STUDIES
Stream Chair: Subash Bose, Head of R&D ASEAN and Head of Biological
Assessment, Syngenta, Singapore
Stream Chair: Jia-Long Yao, Senior Scientist, New Zealand Institute for
Plant and Food Research
11:50-12:15
KAIJUN ZHAO
Professor in Molecular Biology of Rice Disease
Resistance, Institute of Crop Science, Chinese
Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China
Enhancing rice blast resistance via
CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing
Rice blast is one of the most destructive diseases affecting rice
worldwide. The adoption of host resistance has proven to be the
most economical and effective approach to control rice blast.
In recent years, sequence-specific nucleases (SSNs) have been
demonstrated to be powerful tools for genetic improvement of
crops via gene-specific genome editing. I will talk about our
efforts for improvement of rice blast resistance by engineering
SSNs targeting the OsERF922 gene in rice. Our results indicate
that genome editing via CRISPR/Cas9 is a useful approach for
enhancing blast resistance in rice.
11:50-12:15
ARINTHIP THAMCHAIPENET
Associate Professor, Department of Genetics,
Kasetsart University, Thailand
Effect of ACC-deaminase producing
endophytic Streptomyces sp. GMKU
336 towards salt stress in rice plants
• Endophytic actinomycetes improve plant health under salt stress
by the action of 1-aminocyclopropane-1- carboxylic acid (ACC)
deaminase which converses ACC, a precursor of ethylene in plant,
into ammonia and α-ketobutyrate.
• ACC-deaminase deficient Streptomyces sp. GMKU 336 was
constructed. Inoculation of wild type and mutant into Oryza sativa
L. cv. KDML105 revealed that strain GMKU 336 could promote rice
growth and salt tolerant, while the mutant could not.
• Transcription profiles of genes involved in salt stress of KDML 105
when inoculated with strain GMKU 336 under salt stress condition
presented less expression of genes involved in ethylene such
as ACO1 and EREBP1; while genes involved in Ca2+ signalling,
camodulin, Na+ transporter and osmotic balance were up-regulated
when compared with uninoculated and mutant inoculated plants.
12:40-13:10
SOLUTION PROVIDER:
Title and Speaker TBC

7. CONGRESS SCHEDULE
PLANT GENOMICS AND GENE EDITING 2017
14:10-14:35
FUMIHIKO SATO
Department of Plant Gene and Totipotency, Graduate
School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Japan
Synthetic biology of plant specialized
metabolism using NGS information of
non-model medicinal plants
Synthetic biology is powerful strategy to reconstruct biosynthetic
pathways when molecular tools are available. Here, we report
the potentials of this strategy as a case study in isoquinoline
alkaloid biosynthesis. So far, we have characterized biosynthetic
enzyme genes of specialized metabolism using a combination of
transcriptome and metabolome. However, when we had established
a microbial platform to synthesize specialized metabolites, such
as isoquinoline alkaloids, from simple substrate, and also obtained
deep RNA and draft genome sequences of medicinal plants using
NGS, we started to adapt a new synthetic biological approach. That
is, candidate biosynthetic enzymes such as O-methyltransferases
and P450s were expressed in microbial cells to characterize the
biosynthetic activity in an in-vitro pathway-reconstruction system.
Successful identification of several biosynthetic enzyme genes and
production of some metabolites will be discussed.
14:10-14:35
MAURICE S. B. KU
Distinguished Professor, Department of
Bioagricultural Sciences, National Chiayi
University, Taiwan and Emeritus Professor,
Washington State University, USA
Deciphering the molecular regulatory
mechanism of Kranz leaf anatomy in
maize for engineering C4 rice
DAY 1 MONDAY 10TH
APRIL 2017
14:35-15:00
DAVE EDWARDS
Professor, University of Western Australia
DNA Sequencing, does length matter?
Next generation DNA sequencing has
revolutionised biology. Draft genome assemblies
are being produced for a diverse range of species,
with many recent genome assemblies being produced using data
the common short read Illumina sequencing platform. While long
read sequencing has been around for a few years, the low accuracy
of these platforms has limited their practical application. Recent
advances have seen an increase in the use of long read sequencing
for genome assembly, competing with advanced algorithms for the
assembly of large insert short read data. With the rapid changes
in sequencing technology, researchers need to make decisions as
to which is the best tool to ask their biological questions. In this
presentation, I will outline the recent changes in DNA sequencing
and comment on approaches for the application of this data.
14:35-15:00
INEZ HORTENSE SLAMET-LOEDIN
Head of Transformation, IRRI, The Philippines
Biofortification in rice through random
and targeted transformation
12:15-12:40
LIANGHUI JI
Senior Principal Investigator, Genome Structural
Biology, Temasek Laboratories and National
University of Singapore, Singapore
GM and Non-GM approaches for improving
biomass and seed oil production in tree crops
Oil palm and Jatropha curcas are two of the most productive tree crops
for oil. The development of reliable genetic engineering (GM) methods
based on Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation of somatic
embryogenic calli will be presented for both plants. Jatropha curcas is an
emerging biofuel plant that can utilize marginal land. However, high male
to female flower ratio and relatively low seed productivity are amongst
the factors limiting its large-scale commercialization. We will present our
success in improving the production of female flowers and total seed
yield by the transgenic approach. In addition, we will present our success
and current problems in using endophytic nitrogen-fixing bacteria for
improving the production of biomass and seeds in various plants, including
oil palm, Jatropha and eucalyptus.
12:15-12:40
PETER WATERHOUSE
Professor of Molecular Genetics, Queensland
University of Technology, Australia
Exploring, assembling and editing the
genomes of benths and bananas
• Unusual genome of the model plant Nicotiana benthamiana
• Genome editing with CRISPR
• Examining the Cavendish banana genome
Lunch13:10-14:10
12:40-13:10 Solution Provider Presentation: For sponsorship opportunities
please contact Rita Jeswant at rita@global-engage.com
12:40-13:10
Solution Provider Presentation: For sponsorship opportunities
please contact Rita Jeswant at rita@global-engage.com

8. CONGRESS SCHEDULE
PLANT GENOMICS AND GENE EDITING 2017
DAY 1 MONDAY 10TH
APRIL 2017
16:45-17:00
SHUICHI YANAGISAWA
Associate Professor, Biotechnology Research
Centre, The University of Tokyo, Japan
Phenome analysis of natural genetic
variations with Arabidopsis ecotypes and
rice cultivars: Visualization of different
nutrient uptake ability
Uptake and utilization of plant nutrients are essential processes to
maintain vegetative growth and reproduction in plants, and thereby
efficiencies of uptake and utilization of nutrients severely influence
plant biomass and crop yields. I introduce our new phenome analysis in
which we visualize the nutrient uptake efficiency that are genetically and
differentially prescribed in distinct Arabidopsis ecotypes and rice cultivars.
I will also talk about the molecular mechanism controlling utilization of
nitrogen, one of the most important micronutrients of plants, and discuss
about connections between modulations in the mechanisms and different
efficiencies of nutrient uptake and utilization.
17:10-17:35
MINAMI MATSUI
Director of the Center for Sustainable Resource
Science Biomass Engineering Division, RIKEN, Japan
Rubber Genome and CAGE analysis of its
transcriptome
• Rubber tree or Hevea brasiliensis is indispensable
for production of high quality of natural rubber.
• We determined draft genome sequence with 1.55Gb.
• We found it has high genome synteny with Euphobiaceae, M. esculenta,
R. communis and Jatropha.
• The production of latex is mainly from laticifer cells localized in the bark
and latex is emulsion of rubber particle consists of rubber-related proteins
and polyisoprene.
• Genes for rubber-related proteins were making gene cluster with same
transcriptional direction in the genome.
• We carried on transcriptome analysis based on CAGE (Cap-analysis Gene
Expression) method to define exact transcription start sites (TSSs) to
understand transcriptional control of these genes.
17:35-18:10
PANEL DISCUSSION (Panelists to be announced)
Challenges and Solutions for Food Security in Asia-Pacific
Chairs Closing Remarks and End of Day 118:10
15:00-15:25
RAJA KOTA
Senior Scientist and Team Leader, Syngenta Crop
Protection, USA
Application of NGS technologies in Plant
Breeding: A Case Study
With the ever increasing demand for food and
biofuels, applied plant biology and agricultural biotechnology are starting
to play an important role in sustainable agriculture. Growers are constantly
under pressure to produce more while continuing to deal with the inherent
uncertainties of agriculture, including commodity prices, water availability,
insect pests, and soil quality. Syngenta is among the world’s leading
agribusiness companies focused on crop improvement and protection
through advanced breeding and biotechnology. Through focused internal
research & development and the integration of technology from external
partnerships, Syngenta develops novel agricultural innovations and
delivers their promise to the growers. This presentation will provide an
overview of the current landscape on the application of NGS technologies
in plant breeding with an appropriate case study.
15:00-15:25
CLIVE LO
Associate Professor, School of Biological Sciences,
The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Recruitment of cytochrome P450 enzymes
for flavone biosynthesis in rice
Flavones are flavonoids found extensively in land plants
with important physiological functions like UV protection, interactions with
other organisms, co-pigmentation in flowers, etc. They are increasingly
popular as dietary constituents or supplements due to their health-beneficial
properties. In grasses, flavones are predominantly accumulated as C- or
O-linked conjugates in vegetative tissues. The enzymology of flavone
biosynthesis remained largely elusive until recent years. Our recent work
demonstrated the involvement of distinct rice cytochrome P450 enzymes for
the biosynthesis pathways of flavone C- and O-linked conjugates. We further
revealed the modification of lignin compositions in our flavone mutants.
These novel P450 enzymes are highly conserved among grass genomes.
They represent good targets to engineer flavones in edible tissues and
modify lignin for enhanced biomass utilization.
Afternoon Refreshments / Poster Presentation Sessions15:55-16:45
16:45-17:00
HENRY NGUYEN
Director of the National Center for Soybean
Technology and Curators’ Professor of Plant
Sciences, University of Missouri, USA
Applying Genomic Technologies for
Soybean Improvement
17:10-17:35
HONMING LAM
Professor and Director of Molecular Biotechnology,
Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Using Genomic, Genetic, and Molecular
Approach to Explore Wild Soybean
Wild germplasms such as wild soybean are
important genetic resources for new genes and
alleles for crop improvement. We have employed a combination of
genomic, genetic, and molecular approach to explore wild soybean.
Some new QTLs and useful genes have been successfully obtained.
Reserved
15:25-15:55
Solution Provider Presentation: For sponsorship opportunities
please contact Rita Jeswant at rita@global-engage.com 15:25-15:55
Solution Provider Presentation: For sponsorship opportunities
please contact Rita Jeswant at rita@global-engage.com

9. CONGRESS SCHEDULE
PLANT GENOMICS AND GENE EDITING 2017
Coffee & Newtwork Meetings
08:55-09:35
KEYNOTE ADDRESS:
TOM BRUTNELL
Principal Investigator and Director of the Enterprise Institute of Renewable Fuels, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, USA
Setaria viridis: accelerating gene discovery in panicoid crops
Setaria viridis is an emerging model system for gene discovery in panicoid grasses. With a sequenced reference genome of 510 Mb,
a sequenced diversity panel of over 500 accessions and a large NMU-mutagenized population, we have established a core set of materials for genetic
analysis. We have also optimized transformation technologies and are utilizing the CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing system to precisely engineer the
genome. Here I will demonstrate the use of S. viridis as a model to accelerate gene discovery of inflorescence architecture traits in maize, dissect the C4
photosynthetic pathway and to define components of the Jasmonic Acid signaling. As the panicoid grasses include some of the world’s most important
food, feed and bioenergy grasses, S. viridis is well placed to enhance our fundamental understanding of several agronomically important traits.
DAY 2 TUESDAY 11TH
APRIL 2017
08:25-08:50
08:50-08:55
Stream Chair Welcome Address:
Shane Murray, Agri-Genomics Project Manager, Centre for Proteomics and Genomic Research, South Africa
11:40-12:05
QIUDENG QUE
Principal Research Scientist and Leader of the
Biology Technology Group, Syngenta, USA
Precise genome engineering for maize
crop improvement
Maize is an important food and feed crop in major
agricultural production regions. Maize has benefitted greatly from genetic
improvement through application of modern breeding technologies
including transgenic modifications. Several important traits such as insect
resistance and herbicide tolerance have been engineered through the use
of transgenes. In recent years there have been major breakthroughs in
the development of programmable nuclease technologies including zinc
finger nuclease (ZFN), engineered meganuclease (eMN), Transcriptional
Activator-like effector nuclease (TALEN) and RNA guided-CAS9 nuclease
(i.e. the CRISPR system). The availability of these new tools has made it
more direct to understand the molecular mechanism of various traits and
also makes genetic improvement of crop genomes more precise. We have
used maize plant as a model to develop platform technologies for trait
gene lead discovery and crop improvement. This presentation introduces
platform capabilities that we have established for maize genome editing
applications, including targeted gene knockout, allele replacement and
targeted insertion of transgene stacks.
11:40-12:05
YUE-IE HSING
Distinguished Research Fellow, Institute of Plant
and Microbial Biology, Academia Sinica, Taiwan
Genomics and transcriptomics analysis of
an oil-rice orphan cereal
Eccoilopus formosanus (Taiwan Oil Millet, TOM)
is an orphan cereal endemic to Taiwan. It is a
perennial C4 species, remarkable in that it secretes large quantities
of oil and/or liquid wax on the panicle and copious amounts of solid
wax on the leaf sheaths of a substantial vegetative biomass. We
analysed their oil/wax production using metabolimics approach. We
also studied the enzymes/pathways responsible for the high oil/wax
production by genomics and transcriptomics analysis.
Morning Refreshments / Poster Presentation Sessions10:40-11:40
PLANT GENOMIC CASE STUDIES: CEREAL CROPS BIOINFORMATICS, DATA MANAGEMENT & ANALYSIS
Stream Chair: Shane Murray, Agri-Genomics Project Manager,
Centre for Proteomics and Genomic Research, South Africa
10:05-10:40
KEYNOTE ADDRESS:
NEAL GUTTERSON
VP of R&D, DuPont Pioneer, USA
Stream Chair: Christine Shyu, Postdoctoral Fellow,
Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, USA
09:35-10:05
Solution Provider Presentation:
For sponsorship opportunities please contact Rita Jeswant at rita@global-engage.com

10. CONGRESS SCHEDULE
PLANT GENOMICS AND GENE EDITING 2017
DAY 2 TUESDAY 11TH
APRIL 2017
12:55-13:25
Solution Provider Presentation: For sponsorship opportunities
please contact Rita Jeswant at rita@global-engage.com
Lunch13:15-14:15
14:15-14:40
MAURICE CHEUNG
Assistant Professor of Science, Yale-NUS College
Genome-scale metabolic modelling: from
genomes to metabolic phenotypes
• The process and challenges in constructing genome-scale metabolic
models from plant genomes
• Predicting metabolic phenotypes from genome-scale metabolic models
• Future advances and possibilities in plant genome-scale
metabolic modelling
14:15-14:40
PARAMJIT KHURANA
Professor of Plant Molecular Biology, University of
Delhi, India
Wheat Biotechnology
12:30-12:55
12:30-12:55
NICKOLAI ALEXANDROV
Senior Scientist, Bioinformatics, International Rice
Research Institute (IRRI), The Philippines
Data Analysis in the 3000 genomes Project
HAIYANG WANG
Professor, Biotechnology Research Institute,
Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, China
Dissecting the molecular genetic basis of
shade avoidance response in Arabidopsis
and Maize
Increasing the planting densities has been used as an effective approach
for increasing crop yield per unit land area. However, plants compete with
neighboring vegetation for light when planting at high densities, triggering
a series of responses known collectively as shade avoidance syndrome
(SAS), which negatively impact on plant’s fitness, disease resistance, and
yield. Our preliminary studies suggested that phytochorme B (phyB)-
mediated light signaling pathway interacts the miR156/SPL pathway to
regulate different aspects of SAS in both Arabidopsis and maize. Current
undergoing work is to dissect the detailed molecular mechanisms by
which phyB regulates SAS through the PIF-miR156-SPL genetic pathway
in both Arabidopsis and maize. Our results may facilitate the breeding of
shade-tolerant maize by attenuation or refinement of SAS in maize.
12:05-12:30
ROBERT PARK
Professor, Judith & David Coffey Chair in
Sustainable Agriculture, and Director of Cereal Rust
Research, University of Sydney, Australia
Understanding the enemy in the ongoing
battle against plant rusts
The genetic improvement of cereals over the past 8,000 years or so
has guided the evolution of pathogens such as the rusts, leading to
devastating epidemics and huge yield losses. The rust pathogens are
obligate biotrophs, having evolved a very close relationship with their
hosts. Rust genomes sequenced to date have shown that they are
larger than most other fungi due to an expansion of repetitive elements
and genes involved in processes such as host wall modification,
transport and antioxidant defence. There is evidence of gene loss in
certain metabolic pathways such as sulphate assimilation, which could
explain why these fungi grow so poorly on artificial media. A significant
amount of research is being targeted at present to the identification of
small secreted effector proteins, which are believed to be recognized
by the host in the triggering of resistance.
12:05-12:30
YIJING ZHANG
Professor, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology
and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Arabidopsis circadian and light-dark
cycles orchestrate defense responses via
antagonistic transcription factors
Developmental adaptation to dynamic environment is vital for plant
survival. The endogenous circadian and external day-night cycles are major
components shaping plant responses to external stimuli. Thousands of
environmental response genes display oscillatory expression over periods
of approximately 24-hour, but how this large-scale rhythmic expression
is synchronized by the light and circadian signaling networks, and how
the rhythmic expression of stress response genes contribute to modulate
plant developmental responses to environments, are not well understood.
Here, by systematically integrating hundreds of multi-omics datasets, we
were able to generalize the basic principles underlying the synchronized
effects of the endogenous circadian and external day-night cycles on the
transcriptional control of the stress response genes on a global level.
12:55-13:25
Solution Provider Presentation: For sponsorship opportunities
please contact Rita Jeswant at rita@global-engage.com
Reserved

11. CONGRESS SCHEDULE
DAY 2 TUESDAY 11TH
APRIL 2017
Afternoon Refreshments / Poster Presentation Sessions15:55-16:25
15:30-15:55
NING LI
Professor, Hong Kong University of Science and
Technology, Hong Kong
Functional and quantitative
phosphoproteomic study of plant
hormone ethylene signaling
15:30-15:55
XIA LI
Professor, Huazhong Agricultural University, China
miR172c fine-tunes nodulation in soybean
Legume-rhizobia symbiotic nitrogen fixation is a
fundamental biological question and an important
agricultural trait in legumes. However, the molecular
mechanisms underlying nodulation including rhizobia-plant cell
interaction, nodule organogenesis and nitrogen fixation efficiency of
mature nodules in legumes remain largely unknown. Recently, we found
that miR172c, a small noncoding RNA, play a central role in fine tuning
nodule number through its target gene, an AP2/ERF transcription factor
NNC1 in soybean. miR172c-NNC1 module activates nodulation through
targeting GmENOD40 and controls ultimate nodule number by targeting
RIC1/2 that activate autoregulation. Thus, we identify a key molecular
module in soybean nodule number control that can be a potential target
for genetic improvement of nitrogen fixation efficiency and reveal the
miR172-based regulatory mechanism that is pivotal for legume nodulation.
BYOUNG-CHEORL KANG
Professor, Department of Plant Science, College
of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National
University, South Korea
Divergent evolution of multiple virus-
resistance genes from a progenitor in
Capsicum spp
• We cloned Pvr4 (a Potyvirus resistance gene in Capsicum annuum) and
Tsw (a Tomato spotted wilt virus resistance gene in C. chinense) by a
genome-based approach. The genes both encode typical NLRs and are
located at the same locus on pepper chromosome 10.
• Despite the fact that these two genes recognize completely different viral
effectors, the genomic structures and coding sequences of the two genes
are strikingly similar. Phylogenetic studies revealed that these two immune
receptors diverged from a progenitor gene of a common ancestor.
• Our results suggest that sequence variations caused by gene duplication
and neo-functionalization may underlie the evolution of the ability to
specifically recognize different effectors. These findings thereby provide
insight into the divergent evolution of plant immune receptors.
15:05-15:30
MEILINA ONG ABDULLAH
Principal Researcher, Breeding and Tissue Culture
Unit, Advanced Biotechnology and Breeding
Centre, Malaysian Palm Oil Board, Malaysia
Palm Oil Breeding Techniques
15:05-15:30
NORZULAANI BINTI KHALID
Professor and Group Head, Plant Molecular Biology
and Biotechnology, University of Malaya, Malaysia
Plant Metabolomics
Reserved
14:40-15:05
RYOUNG SHIN
Head of the Regulatory Network Research Unit,
RIKEN, Japan
Understanding the plant response to
cesium and potassium using metabolomics
profiling and chemical screening
Potassium is an essential macronutrient, but cesium has no nutritional
value for plants. However plants absorb and accumulate certain levels
of cesium. Cesium and potassium share similar chemical properties,
and it is known that cesium accumulation in plants through potassium
uptake system. However how plants respond to potassium and cesium
and regulate their movements remains unknown. Metabolic profiling was
performed for understanding plant responses to potassium and cesium.
The level of many amino acids including cysteine were increased by cesium
treatment. Cysteine and a chemical which was identified from the chemical
screening, a derivative of cysteine, play the positive roles for cesium
accumulation in plants. In this presentation, plant responses to cesium and
potassium will be discussed focusing on the alteration of metabolites.
14:40-15:05
HARIKRISHNA KULAVEERASINGAM
Head of R&D, Sime Darby Research
Exploiting novel genetic variation in oil
palm and its commercial use
We have completed a GWAS study of 7,000 palms
using a 200k SNP chip and identified QTL markers
for yield such as oil to dry mesocarp (ODM), fresh fruit bunch weight
(FFB) and bunch number (BNO). A modified Genomic Selection
approach using a 1k SNP panel optimized for oil yield identified high
yielding palms for commercial planting. Interestingly, a significant
number of these SNP’s did not correspond to key variants in yield
trait loci such as ODM, BNO or FFB. This implies that breeding
progress can be made through the selection of loci outside traditional
yield QTLs, associated with global changes in amino acids, energy
and sugar metabolites that are indicative of new key source-drivers
for genetic progress in these populations.
Reserved
PLANT GENOMICS AND GENE EDITING 2017
16:25-16:50
PAUL TAYLOR
Professor of Plant Pathology and Director of the
International Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural
Sciences, University of Melbourne, Australia
Cold tolerant Brassica napus expressing
Acyl-Co A-binding protein
Canola (Brassica napus) is important in winter crop rotation in
Australia. Frost is an abiotic stress that causes abortion of open flowers
or death of developing seeds resulting in poor pod fill or low oil yield.
An Arabidopsis Acyl-Co A-binding protein (ACBP6) encoding gene
has been identified as a source for frost tolerance. Agrobacterium-
mediated transformation was used to transfer the ACBP6 gene into
various B. napus genomes. Freezing bioassays at -4oC, showed that
T3 transgenic plants had low leaf electrolyte leakage and maintained
percent living tissue of the cotyledons of developing seeds.
PLANT GENOMICS CASE STUDIES: OIL CROPS METABOLOMICS AND PROTEOMICS CASE STUDIES
16:25-16:50

12. CONGRESS SCHEDULE
MAKING A POSTER PRESENTATION
Poster presentation sessions will take place in breaks and alongside the other breakout sessions of the conference. Your presentation will be
displayed in a dedicated area, with the other accepted posters from industry and academic presenters. We also issue a poster ebook to all
attendees with all abstracts in full.
Whether looking for funding, employment opportunities or simply wanting to share your work with a like-minded and focused group, these are an
excellent way to join the heart of this congress.
In order to present a poster at the forum you need to be registered as a delegate. Please note that there is limited space available and posters space is
assigned on a first come first served basis (subject to checks and successful registration).
For further information on submission, approval and the technical poster spec, please contact:
submit@globalengage.co.uk or go to www.globalengage.co.uk/pgcasia/delegates.html
POSTER PRESENTATIONS:
PLANT GENOMICS SERIES:
• 5th Plant Genomics Europe – March 16th
-17th
2017, Amsterdam www.globalengage.co.uk/plantgenomics.html
• 4th Plant Genomics Asia – April 10th
-11th
2017, Hong Kong www.globalengage.co.uk/plantgenomicsasia.html
• 5th Plant Genomics USA – September 12th
-13th
2017, East Coast, USA www.globalengage.co.uk/plantgenomicsusa.html
VENUE HONG KONG:
The conference is confirmed to take place in Hong Kong on the 10th-11th April 2017.
We are currently in talks with venues and will confirm as soon as we have the best deals for attendees.
Details will be updated here: www.globalengage.co.uk/pgcasia/venue.html
Chair’s Closing Remarks and Conference Close17:15
16:50-17:15
JINGHUA YANG
Professor, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, China
The genome of allopolyploid Brassica juncea uncovers homoeolog gene expression influencing selection
We assembled the genome of an allopolyploid, B. juncea var. tumida, by de novo assembly using shotgun reads, single-molecule
long reads (PacBio), genome mapping (BioNano) and genetic mapping, serving to resolve complicated allopolyploid genomes.
Genomic basis indicated a monophyletic origin and its evolution into vegetable- and oil-use subvarieties for A-subgenomes of B.
juncea. The vegetable-use (Root-type) accessions, widely distributed in China, were first diverged within B. juncea species, implying that China was
the primary center of origin and diversity.
Differential homoeolog gene expression between subgenomes of allopolyploid B. juncea has facilitated selection of glucosinolate and lipid
metabolism genes in vegetable- and oil-use sub-varieties. This observation implies that transcriptional dominance can predate trait selection.

13. SPONSORSHIP AND EXHIBITION OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE
Sponsorship and Exhibition opportunities available
For more details contact:
Rita Jeswant
rita@global-engage.com
Direct Tel: +60321175193 / Cell: +60172646212
DON’T DELAY, BOOK YOUR PLACE TODAY!
Places are limited and are based on a first come, first served basis so to avoid disappointment contact us today to
reserve your place at Global Engage’s 4th Plant Genomics & Gene Editing Congress on the 10th-11th April 2017.
PHONE BOOKING
Direct: +60321175193 / Cell: +60172646212
Our conference team will make all the necessary arrangements.
ONLINE BOOKING
www.globalengage.co.uk/pgcasia/register.html
To register your interest in the event, a member of our conference team will then be in
touch within 24 hours to answer any questions and book your place for the event.
THE CONGRESS PACKAGE INCLUDES:
All Conference Sessions
Lunches and Refreshments
Access to Exhibition Room
Networking Drinks Reception
Conference Workbook
E-Document Pack
HOTEL ACCOMMODATION
Hotel accommodation will be available at a group rate.
FREE NEWSLETTER
For updates on the Plant Genomics and Gene Editing Asia Congress, plus free resources and reports, as and
when our speakers authorize their release dates, register your interest by clicking the following link
www.globalengage.co.uk/pgcasia/newsletter.html
T: +44 (0) 1865 849841
E: info@globalengage.co.uk
www.globalengage.co.uk
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