Student travel awards due this Fri, new summit and job post and May GPC e-bulletin

If you have news you would like us to share on our website, please contact lisa@globalplantcouncil.org 

From New Phytologist: The 37th New Phytologist Symposium: Plant developmental evolution
Sarah Lennon, New Phytologist’s Managing Editor, provides an overview of this recent plant ‘evo-devo’ symposium, held in Beijing, China, 15–19th May 2016.

In Nature Plants: Mechanism discovered for plants to regulate their flowering in a warming world
Researchers from Australia’s Monash University have discovered a new mechanism that enables plants to regulate their flowering in response to raised temperatures.

From Journal of Experimental Botany: Latest thinking on photorespiration for crop improvement
The Journal of Experimental Botany delves deep into “the photorespiration problem” with a new Special Issue featuring in depth reviews, opinion pieces and original research. 

From the GPC Community…
Strengthening the cooperation between Argentinian and German plant science for phenotyping and bioeconomy
Roland Pieruschka provides an update on links between the Latin-American Plant Phenotyping Network and its European counterparts.

If you have a conference, meeting, workshop, training course or other event coming up, we can include it in our Events calendar! Please email lisa@globalplantcouncil.org

EPSO/FESPB Plant Biology Europe 2016
26–30 June 2016. Prague, Czech Republic. 

International Conference on Arabidopsis Research 2016
29 June–3 July 2016. Gyeongju, Korea. 

Society for Experimental Biology Annual Main Meeting
4–7 July 2016. Brighton, UK. 

ASPB Plant Biology 2016
9–13 July 2016. Austin, Texas, USA

Lots of new reports, and an archive of useful documents from the last few years, are available on our website. Head to the Resources page and click ‘Reports’.

Growing Food for Growing Cities: Transforming Food Systems in an Urbanizing World
This report by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs highlights the problems of feeding a growing – and increasingly urbanized – human population, and makes recommendations for strategies that could help. 
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The State of the World’s Plants
The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew (London, UK) has released the first ever global assessment of current knowledge on the diversity of plants on earth, the threats these plants face, and the effectiveness of policies to deal with these threats.
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Genetically Engineered Crops: Experiences and Prospects
A detailed and extensive study carried out by the US National Academy of Sciences reports that GM crops are safe to eat, and that new technologies in genetic engineering and conventional plant breeding are blurring the once clear distinctions between these two crop improvement approaches.
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Spotted a funding opportunity we’ve missed? Please tell us about it by emailing lisa@globalplantcouncil.org

Read this article to find out more about the Innovation Challenge for Cassava.
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There is no monetary prize for this one, but the FAO’s World Food Day Poster and Video Contest looks like a fantastic opportunity to engage children and young people on the subjects of climate change and sustainable agriculture and food production!

Finally, congratulations to the 15 recipients of an ASPB Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) to support them during a 10-week plant science summer project – a fantastic opportunity for the next generation of plant scientists!

Would you like to contribute an article to the GPC’s blog? Please get in touch! Email lisa@globalplantcouncil.org

Underutilized crops and insects replace fishmeal in aquaculture feed
In a guest post from scientists with the FishPLUS project, Crops for the Future discuss efforts to improve the sustainability of fish farming using fishmeal made from insect larvae that are fed on underutilized crops. 
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Round-up of Fascination of Plants Day 2016
May 22nd was International Fascination of Plants Day – Sarah Jose provides a social media-round-up in case you missed it! 
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The flower breeders who sold X-ray lilies and atomic marigolds
This repost from The Conversation magazine discusses the science behind some of the more unusual flowers you might find on display at this year’s Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show. 
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Click here for details of the GPC Member Societies and Affiliates and their representatives. 

Please contact Ruth Bastow (ruth@globalplantcouncil.org) to find out how your organization can join the Global Plant Council.