IPB Symposium convinced with an excellent lecture program

Our 9th Leibniz Plant Biochemistry Symposium was an all-round successful event. Over 90 participants visited the Leopoldina on 13 and 14 May to listen to the excellent speakers and their exciting presentations on selected metabolites and signaling substances in the plant world. The keynote lecture by Salim Al Babili from the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Saudi Arabia) focused on plant apocarotenoids, while Hiroshi Maeda (University of Wisconsin) presented the evolution of phenylpropanoid biosynthesis in grasses. Aleksandra Skirycz from Michigan State University spoke about protein-metabolite interaction networks and their potential for elucidating metabolomes. Boas Pucker (TU Braunschweig) brought big data into play and gave an overview of how to use data to elucidate biosyntheses. The lecture by Teresa Fitzpatrick (University of Geneva) focused on plant vitamin B homeostasis and Ben Field from CEA Marseille presented ppGpp nucleotides as regulators of photosynthesis under stress conditions. Finally, Edwige Moyroud from the Sainsbury Laboratory delighted the audience with numerous colorful flower images and an excellent talk on the development of petal patterns. The program was outstanding and generated both lively discussions and very positive feedback. We want to thank all the speakers for this exciting excursion into the world of plant metabolites and all guests for their interest.