Plant biotechnologists from ACGT partner institutions, including affiliates the University of Limpopo, once again gathered for a day to share their research on plant biotechnology.
Even the rainy weather could not deter participants. The event kicked off with a hearty welcome by Prof Dubery (UJ Biochemistry) on behalf of the hosts, the University of Johannesburg. Dr Alexander Valentine (SUN-guest speaker), Dr Maretha O’Kennedy (CSIR) and Ms Lerato Matsaunyane (ARC) enlightened the audience on plant stress tolerance in response to phosphorous deficient soils, drought tolerance in sorghum and the unintended effects of plant transformation.
The afternoon session focused on plant metabolomics. Prof Dubery (UJ) provided an extensive overview of the application of mass spectrometry-based metabolomics. He also highlighted the latest MS instrument acquisitions at UJ and their respective capabilities. Mr Heino Heyman (UP) informed the audience about the applications of plant-based metabolomics and its application to drug discovery.
The event also included two interactive poster sessions. These sessions allowed aspiring young researchers the opportunity to present their research in the form of brief oral presentations to the audience.
The event was graciously sponsored by Shimadzu. The next plant forum will be held in March or April 2012 at the University of Pretoria.
To view presentations, click on the respective links below:
To view more pictures of the event visit the ACGT Facebook page.