11TH PLANT GENOMICS &GENE EDITING CONGRESS: USA

8TH PARTNERSHIPS IN BIOCONTROL, BIOSTIMULANTS& MICROBIOME CONGRESS: USA
VERTICAL & INDOOR FARMING CONGRESS: USA
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA, USA

October 21-22 2024

#PlantGenomicsGE
www.global-engage.com

WARM WELCOME

Global Engage is pleased to announce the 11th Plant Genomics and Gene Editing Congress,
co-located with the 8th Partnership in Biocontrol, Biostimulants & Microbiome Congress
and the Vertical & Indoor Farming Congress which is confirmed to be held on 21-22 October
2024 in Raleigh, USA.
Plant Genomics and Gene Editing
This year’s Congress will focus on innovative strategies and advancements in plant genomics and gene editing.
Academic and industry experts will share genome editing case studies in key crops including wheat, maize,
rice and soybean, highlighting the latest applications for enhancing traits such as disease resistance and stress
tolerance. Utilising computational approaches through plant phenotyping is a rapidly developing area of the field
as well as the integration of bioinformatics, and the potential of artificial intelligence in this field. Moreover, an
expert panel discussion will explore the most recent updates in genome editing policy and regulation.

Biocontrol, Biostimulants & Microbiome
The co-located 8th Partnerships in Biocontrol, Biostimulants, and Microbiome Congress will examine case studies,
focusing on new research into identifying and developing agricultural biopesticides and biostimulants on day 1. Novel
platforms for developing biological products will be discussed as well as updates in biocontrol and biostimulant
policies and regulation during an interactive panel discussion. Day 2 of this congress will focus on the plantmicrobiome where the symbiotic relationships between microbes and plants will be reviewed through case studies inplant and soil microbiomes as well as bacterial-fungal interactions. Academic and industry leaders will present new
findings on the rhizosphere, phyllosphere, and endosphere and the application of plant and soil microbiome research
in improving stress resistance, nutrient acquisition, crop yield, and tolerance to abiotic and biotic stress.

Vertical & Indoor Farming
Vertical & Indoor Farming is a new co-located congress for 2024, exploring the latest developments in controlledenvironmental agriculture. Leading vertical farming companies will demonstrate their case studies in indoor
farming. There will also be a panel discussion exploring the future of vertical farming including the current
challenges and how these can be overcome.

11th Plant Genomics &Gene Editing Congress

8th Partnership in Biocontrol,
Biostimulants & Microbiome Congress

Vertical & Indoor Farming
Congress

Day 1

Plant genomics & gene editing

Plant biostimulants & biocontrol

Vertical & indoor farming

Day 2

Plant bioinformatics, computational
tools, & data analysis

Plant microbiome

Vertical & indoor farming

11TH PLANT GENOMICS, GENE EDITING / 8TH PARTNERSHIPS IN BIOCONTROL, BIOSTIMULANTS & MICROBIOME / VERTICAL & INDOOR FARMING CONGRESS USA 24

CONFERENCE SYNOPSIS

PLANT GENOMICS & GENE EDITING
•
•
•
•
•
•

Genome editing case studies in wheat, rice, maize, barley and soybean
Development and application of gene editing technologies, including CRISPR/Cas9
Plant phenotyping
Using genome editing to improve disease resistance and stress tolerance
Crop trait development
Current plant gene editing regulatory guidance

PLANT BIOINFORMATICS, COMPUTATIONAL TOOLS, & DATA ANALYSIS••••

Application, analysis, and challenges of bioinformatics
Computational tools for data modelling and visualisation
Machine Learning and AI
Fine Phenotyping

PLANT BIOSTIMULANTS & BIOCONTROL••••

Fulvic and humic acids
Plant and fungal extracts
Developing sustainable biostimulants and biopesticides
Regulatory updates and business considerations

PLANT MICROBIOME
•
•
•
•
•

Host-pathogen interactions
Rhizosphere, phyllosphere and endosphere biology
Identifying microbes to enhance crop productivity & disease resistanceMicrobiome research technologies
Plant and soil microbiome case studies

VERTICAL & INDOOR FARMING
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Vertical & indoor farming current design and improvements
Hydroponic and aeroponic systems
Vertical farming case studies
Controlled Environmental Agriculture for the future
Hearing from start-up companies
Advantages and limitations of vertical farming
Utilising robotics in vertical farming

PANEL DISCUSSION TOPICS•••

Plant genomics and gene editing regulatory and policy updates
Biostimulants and biocontrol regulatory and policy updates
Current developments and the future of vertical farming

PROPOSED ROUNDTABLE TOPICS••••

Refining gene editing methods and applications
Plant genomics challenges beyond technology
The future of agriculture: Challenges and how to overcome these.
Biostimulants and biocontrol regulatory and policy updates

11TH PLANT GENOMICS, GENE EDITING / 8TH PARTNERSHIPS IN BIOCONTROL, BIOSTIMULANTS & MICROBIOME / VERTICAL & INDOOR FARMING CONGRESS USA 24

OPEN LETTER˝

The technologies involved
are shockingly powerful androbust, so the only serious
constraint to our productivity
is a shortage of creativity

˝

I am excited to speak at the upcoming Plant Genomics & Gene Editing Congress, held concurrent
and colocal with the Partnerships in Biocontrol, Biostimulants and Microbiome Congress. Meetings
such as these provide unique opportunities to share the latest advances in our understanding ofplant genetics and the development of innovative agricultural solutions.
As a scientist deeply involved in studying genome components, especially their interactions, I am continually inspired by
the power of modern genomic technologies. The technologies involved are shockingly powerful and robust, so the only
serious constraint to our productivity is a shortage of creativity. My lab focuses on plant genome structure and evolution,and the intricate relationships between genome components and interactive gene function.
Our research encompasses a wide range of specific projects, including genetic diversity in under-utilized crops,
the rapid evolution of complex disease resistance loci in plants, genome rearrangement, biomass improvement forbioenergy, and the coevolution of plant/microbe interactions. All topics we can explore together at these meetings.
During my presentation, I will share discoveries from a novel strategy we call Microbial Partner (MiPner) analysis, whichuses cultured microbes as bait to identify and sequence microbial binding partners from natural environments. Our pilot
experiments on soil bacteria indicate that each bait microbe selects a unique subset of soil microbes, some of which
require co-growth with the bait microbe for proliferation on plates.
These meetings provide invaluable opportunities to share knowledge, foster collaborations, and explore newtechnologies that will drive the future of agriculture. I encourage everyone attending the meetings to ask challenging
questions and be a part of all discussions.

Sincerely,
Jeff Bennetzen
Giles Professor, Department of Genetics, University of Georgia

11TH PLANT GENOMICS, GENE EDITING / 8TH PARTNERSHIPS IN BIOCONTROL, BIOSTIMULANTS & MICROBIOME / VERTICAL & INDOOR FARMING CONGRESS USA 24

2024 EVENT SPONSORS
Silver Sponsors

Exhibitor & Content Sponsors

Media Partner

SPONSORSHIP & EXHIBITION OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE
For more details contact Gavin Hambrook: gavin@globalengage.co.uk

VENUE INFORMATIONTHE STATEVIEW HOTEL
2451 Alumni Drive | Raleigh, NC 27606
www.stateviewhotel.com

Located on the Centennial Campus of North
Carolina State University, the StateView Hoteloffers a serene setting, modern design, and upscaleservice. Perfectly situated on the picturesque Lake
Raleigh there are also plenty of things to do. The
meeting rooms and accommodations have beenthoughtfully curated with a modern design toliberate creativity and collaboration.

11TH PLANT GENOMICS, GENE EDITING / 8TH PARTNERSHIPS IN BIOCONTROL, BIOSTIMULANTS & MICROBIOME / VERTICAL & INDOOR FARMING CONGRESS USA 24

CONFIRMED SPEAKERSWOLFGANG BUSCH

Professor and Executive Director,
Harnessing Plants Initiative, Salk
Institute for Biological Sciences

ALEXANDER BUCKSCHAssociate Professor, School of Plant
Sciences, University of Arizona

ANDREW BENT

Professor, Department of Plant
Pathology, University of WisconsinMadison

CHRISTINE SHYU

Regulatory Science Genome Editing
Enablement Lead, Bayer Crop Science

DEEPIKA CHAUHAN

Associate Director, Transformation,
PairwiseHENRY SQUIREPhD Candidate in Chemical &Biomolecular Engineering, University ofCalifornia, Berkeley

IAN JEPSON

Global Technology Lead, Seeds Research& RTP Site Business Head, Syngenta

KEITH MATTHEWS

Principal, Matthews Law LLC

JAMIE SAXONSUBRAY HEGDEKIRAN MYSORE

TRUPTI JOSHILISA ZANNONI

WUSHENG LIUMARC LIBAULTAKIRA ENDO

Head of Sustainability, Inari Agriculture

Distinguished Professor, Oklahoma State
University

Principal, Zannoni & Associates USA

Professor, Division of Plant Scienceand Technology, Interdisciplinary Plant
Group, University of Missouri-Columbia

MARY GRANTHAM

Technical Applications Scientist, Azenta
Life Sciences

Director, Biotechnology Risk Analysis
Programs, APHIS USDA

Associate Professor, University ofMissouri-Colombia

Associate Professor, Department of
Horticultural Science, North Carolina
State University
Senior Manager, Agri-Bio section, New
Business Development Unit, Kaneka
Americas Holding, Inc.

ADRIAN PERCY

Executive Director, NC Plant Sciences
Initiative, North Carolina State University

NOEL SAUER

Senior Vice President of Research, Cibus

PETER SELBYBrAPI Project Coordinator, Cornell
University

RAO UPPALAPATIProgram Leader Disease Resistance
Traits, Corteva Agrisciences

11TH PLANT GENOMICS, GENE EDITING / 8TH PARTNERSHIPS IN BIOCONTROL, BIOSTIMULANTS & MICROBIOME / VERTICAL & INDOOR FARMING CONGRESS USA 24

CONFIRMED BIOCONTROL & MICROBIOME SPEAKERS
JEFF BENNETZENMICHAEL DILEGGE

AMANDA PIERCEMORGAN CARTERCHRIS WOOLEYPATRICK DOYLEHARSH BAISTAMARA MERAGELMAN

JANE FIFEWIEBKE STRIEGELJIARUI LI

XINNIAN DONG

Giles Professor, Department of
Genetics, University of Georgia

Senior Advisor, Emerging Technologies
Branch, Biopesticides Division,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Portfolio Manager- Specialty Actives,
Wilbur-Ellis Agribusiness

Professor of Plant and Soil Interface,
University of Delaware

Chief Technical Officer, 3BarBiologics

Chief Executive Officer, Innatrix Inc

Director of Microbiology, Impello
Biosciences

YURI MIZUNO

Chief Scientist, Manda Fermentation
Co. Ltd

Assistant Professor, Department of
Biological Sciences and CIPHER,
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Vice President of Product Development
and Regulatory, Plant Health Care Inc

Senior Director of Research, Sound
Agriculture

Senior Scientist, Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA)

HHMI investigator/Arts & Sciences
Professor of Biology, Duke University

CONFIRMED & RESERVED VERTICAL FARMING SPEAKERSAZLAN ZAHID

Assistant Professor - Automation & AI
for CEA, Department of Biological &Agricultural Engineering, Texas A&M
University

CASEY SCHWICHTENBERG

Senior Mechanical Engineer, AeroFarms

DAVID HARRIS

Director of Crop Research andDevelopment, Freight Farms

GUNDULA PROKSCH

Professor, University of Washington

HENRY SZTUL

Chief Science Officer, Bowery Farming

TANYA CARROLL

Vice President of Growing and R&D,
Little Leaf Farms

UTTARA SAMARAKOONAssociate Professor, Ohio State
Agricultural Technical Institute,
The Ohio State University

YONG ZHU

Andrew A. Adams Distinguished
Professor, North Carolina State
University

SENIOR REPRESENTATIVE
Soli Organic

EMILY ZHOU

Assistant Professor, University of Central
Missouri

JOHN PAUL BOUKISHead of Innovation,
Square Roots Indoor Farms

11TH PLANT GENOMICS, GENE EDITING / 8TH PARTNERSHIPS IN BIOCONTROL, BIOSTIMULANTS & MICROBIOME / VERTICAL & INDOOR FARMING CONGRESS USA 24

CONGRESS SCHEDULE

8:00-8:50

Registration & Morning Refreshments

8:50-9:00

Global Engage Welcome Address

DAY 1 MONDAY OCTOBER 21 2024

KEYNOTE PRESENTATION:WOLFGANG BUSCH

9:00-9:35

Professor and Executive Director, Harnessing Plants Initiative, Salk Institute for Biological Sciences
Engineering Root Traits for Climate Change Mitigation
Climate change will soon profoundly affect human civilization. Technical solutions to address the high levels of CO2 in the atmosphere at scale are absent. However, plants are central agents in the earth’s carbon
cycle and plant derived carbon depositions have built up three times more carbon in the soil than is contained in the atmosphere. Specific root traits are important contributors to the accumulation and permanence of carbon
in the soil. These include root depth, root biomass and the levels of refractory carbon compounds in root tissues. I will present our efforts to identify genetic and molecular mechanisms that regulate these traits and to leverage
genetic engineering and gene editing for enabling agriculture to contribute to massive CO2 removal and climate change mitigation.
11TH PLANT GENOMICS & GENE EDITING CONGRESS

8TH PARTNERSHIPS IN BIOCONTROL & BIOSTIMULANTS& MICROBIOME CONGRESSPLANT GENOMICS & GENE EDITING

PLANT BIOCONTROL & BIOSTIMULANTS

KEYNOTE PRESENTATION:CHRISTINE SHYUVERTICAL & INDOOR FARMING

KEYNOTE PRESENTATION:
PATRICK DOYLE

Vice President of Product Development and Regulatory,
Plant Health Care Inc
Gazing into the crystal ball: 10 trends that will shape
Biostimulant / Biocontrol markets
The future of biostimulants and biocontrol products lies in theircontinued development,
understanding their mechanisms, and their integration into modern
agricultural practices. These eco-friendly solutions are essential for
addressing global challenges and ensuring food security.
• Aligned definitions within the marketplace will drive greater adoption.
• Optimized cost of goods, clarity of mode of action, & fit with current
agronomic practices will become critcally important as products
move from high value markets to row crops.
• Regulatory pressures & bottlenecks will (eventually) ease when
agencies move from Policy based review to Science based review.

KEYNOTE PRESENTATION:
CASEY SCHWICHTENBERG

9:35-10:00

9:35-10:00

9:35-10:00

Regulatory Science Genome Editing Enablement,
Lead, Bayer Crop Science
Towards a Future-Proof Global Regulatory
Environment for Genome Edited Products• Genome editing as a tool to create variation• Current global regulatory environment and the importance of
future-proof policies to enable edited product development• A proposed fit-for-purpose approach for risk assessment of edited
products

VERTICAL & INDOOR FARMING CONGRESS

Senior Mechanical Engineer, AeroFarms
Aeroponic Grow Systems and Optimizing Water
Consumption and Recapture
The indoor vertical farming industry has had many changes over
the years, but a core principle that remains the same is a want
to utilize the pioneering technology to decrease the usage ofnatural resources and offer an innovative way to grow greens. I
will explore how AeroFarms’ proprietary growing technology andAeroponicAdvantage™ decreases water use through aeroponics.
AeroFarms’ water recapture system uses up to 90 percent less water
than field farming and just a fraction of the arable land in comparison
to field farming. In this session, we will explore aeroponics and water
consumption and recapture.

10:00-10:30

30-Minute Solution Provider Presentation
For sponsorship opportunities contact Gavin Hambrookgavin@globalengage.co.uk
10:30-11:20

Morning Refreshments / Poster Presentations / One-to-One Meetings
PLANT GENOMICS AND GENE EDITING

PLANT BIOCONTROL & BIOSTIMULANTS

ANDREW BENT

AMANDA PIERCE

Senior Advisor, Emerging Technologies Branch,
Biopesticides Division, Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA)
EPA’s regulatory framework and policy
considerations for biocontrol• Explaining the regulatory landscape for biocontrol products in the
United States• Outlining the status of policy and regulatory initiatives for creating
regulatory efficiencies in the path to commercialization• Exploring EPA’s future goals and vision for the regulation of
biocontrol

DAVID HARRIS

11:20-11:45

11:20-11:45

11:20-11:45

Professor, Department of Plant Pathology, University of
Wisconsin-Madison
CRISPR and Cisgenic Strategies for Soybean
Improvement Using Efficient WCIC Meristem-BasedTransformation
The UW-Madison Wisconsin Crop Innovation Center has developed
an efficient, genotype-flexible meristem-based transformation system
for soybean that generates a high percentage of quality events usingbulk-isolated/storable meristem-containing explants. CRISPR geneedits were not initially forthcoming with this transformation system.
We have now obtained sgRNA-directed mutations at high frequency
using this system. Cisgenic strategies for improvement of soybean
cyst nematode resistance are also being tested and initial successes
will be reported.

VERTICAL & INDOOR FARMING
Director of Crop Research and Development,
Freight Farms
The Optimization Game - Vertical Farming Researchin Today's market
Operating a vertical farm requires a careful balance of several
competing goals in order to achieve profitability. Farmers are
simultaneously attempting to maximize yield, quality and flavor while
minimizing labor and inputs. Modular farming relies on dynamic
models that allow for flux to match the market and research in thesemodels is crucial to achieving profitability quickly and creating
conditions that allow for scale.

11TH PLANT GENOMICS, GENE EDITING / 8TH PARTNERSHIPS IN BIOCONTROL, BIOSTIMULANTS & MICROBIOME / VERTICAL & INDOOR FARMING CONGRESS USA 24

CONGRESS SCHEDULE

DAY 1 MONDAY OCTOBER 21 2024

KIRAN MYSOREJIARUI LI

Chief Executive Officer, Innatrix Inc
Biopesticide Platform for Sustainable Crop Protection
The Innatrix team has built a proprietary and uniqueplatform to rapidly develop eco-friendly biologicalproducts to control critical crop pathogens and pests. This platform
strategy identifies molecular targets in pests and pathogens thatare essential for the ability of the pest or pathogen to harm crops,
and then rationally designs ways of interfering with the function of
those molecular targets to protect crops. The target molecules may
be genes that may be silenced using double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)or may be proteins that may be rendered inactive with the use of
rationally designed peptides that bind to them.

UTTARA SAMARAKOON

11:45-12:10

11:45-12:10

11:45-12:10

Distinguished Professor, Oklahoma State University
Improving Plant Transformation and Gene Editing
Using an Engineered Agrobacterium Strain
Agrobacterium-mediated plant transformation (AMT) isthe basis of modern-day plant biotechnology. One major drawbackof this technology is the recalcitrance of many plant species/varieties
to Agrobacterium infection. Two main reasons for recalcitrance to
AMT are a strong plant defense response against Agrobacterium
and the inability of the plant tissue to regenerate. We developed astrategy to increase AMT by engineering Agrobacterium to express atype III secretion system (T3SS) and deliver the P. syringae effectors
to suppress host defense responses. Efforts are under way to deliver
plant morphogenic regulators through the engineered Agrobacteriumwith T3SS to enhance plant regeneration. Efforts are also under way
to deliver CRISPR-Cas9 reagents through the T3SS of engineered
Agrobacterium to overcome some of the current drawbacks of plant
genome engineering.

Associate Professor, Ohio State Agricultural TechnicalInstitute, The Ohio State University
Nutrient optimization in hydroponic production
For Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) foodcrop production, cultural techniques that result in greater yield aredesirable. Irrespective of the atmospheric environment, nutrient
management is a key determinant of a successful hydroponic
crop production. While the nutrient optimization targets for
greater yield, quality parameters can often be ovelooked. This
presentation will explore the impact on nutrient solution on visual,nutritional, and phytochemical quality of leafy greens and provide
strategies for optimization.

MARY GRANTHAM

12:10-12:25

12:10-12:25

15-Minute Solution Provider Presentation
For sponsorship opportunities contact Gavin Hambrookgavin@globalengage.co.uk

12:10-12:40

Technical Applications Scientist,
Azenta Life Sciences
Advancing plant genomics through next generation
sequencing
Maximizing the amount of information gained from a single
sample is key in understanding plant systems and plays animportant role in crop genetics. Advancements in next generation
sequencing technologies has increased accessibility of sequencing
to researchers, with multiomics playing a larger role in plant
breeding. However, within and among multiomics approaches,
each methodology and application has distinct advantages anddisadvantages. These can include, but are not limited to, genomics,
epigenomics, and transcriptomics. Choosing the best analysis
approach is dependent on overall project goals, sample types,
sample quantity, resources, and time. This presentation will review
multiple-omics approaches, with considerations for experimental
design as standalone and integrated approaches.

DEEPIKA CHAUHAN

12:40-1:40

12:25-12:40

12:25-12:40

Associate Director, Transformation,
Pairwise
Enabling novel trait phenotypes throughrobust gene editing platform in Rubus
Pairwise is pioneering the application of CRISPR technology infood and agriculture with a focus on food nutrition and quality,
environmental adaptability, and sustainability. We are developing
commercially viable products using novel technologies and our
proprietary gene editing tools, like SHARC™ and REDRAW™. To drive
innovation from proof of concept to product, we have developed
robust rapid assays platforms for testing of gene editing tools andscalable transformation pipelines to enable large scale gene edited
plant production in blackberry genotype of commercial interest. In
this presentation, insights on product development pipelines, ourinnovative gene editing platform- the FulcrumTM Platform and recent
advances in blackberry trait phenotypes will be shared.

30-Minute Solution Provider Presentation
For sponsorship opportunities contact Gavin Hambrookgavin@globalengage.co.uk

15-Minute Solution Provider Presentation
For sponsorship opportunities contact Gavin Hambrookgavin@globalengage.co.uk

Lunch / Poster Presentations / One-to-One Meetings

11TH PLANT GENOMICS, GENE EDITING / 8TH PARTNERSHIPS IN BIOCONTROL, BIOSTIMULANTS & MICROBIOME / VERTICAL & INDOOR FARMING CONGRESS USA 24

CONGRESS SCHEDULE

DAY 1 MONDAY OCTOBER 21 2024

PLANT GENOMICS AND GENE EDITING

PLANT BIOCONTROL & BIOSTIMULANTS

VERTICAL & INDOOR FARMING

50-MINUTE PANEL DISCUSSION:JOHN PAUL BOUKIS

Plant genomics and gene editing regulatory and policy updates

KEITH MATTHEWS (Moderator)
Principal, Matthews Law LLC
1:40-2:05

AMANDA PIERCE

Senior Advisor, Emerging Technologies Branch,
Biopesticides Division, Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA)
Principal, Zannoni & Associates USA

1:40-2:30

1:40-2:30

LISA ZANNONIPOSTER FLASHPRESENTATIONS SESSION 1:

Poster presenters and start-ups will be provided with theopportunity to give a flash 3-minute overview of their work.

GUNDULA PROKSCH

Professor, University of Washington
Aquaponics and agricultural systems

CHRISTINE SHYU

2:05-2:30

Regulatory Science Genome Editing Enablement Lead,
Bayer Crop Science

SUBRAY HEGDE

Director, Biotechnology Risk Analysis Programs, APHISUSDAJAMIE SAXONCHRIS WOOLEYTANYA CARROLL (Reserved)
Vice President of Growing and R&D, Little Leaf Farms
Hydroponic Indoor Farming Case Study

Portfolio Manager- Specialty Actives, Wilbur-Ellis
Agribusiness

PATRICK DOYLE

Vice President of Product Development and Regulatory,
Plant Health Care Inc
Distribution of emerging Biocontrol / Biostimulant
markets

2:30-2:55

2:30-2:55

2:30-2:55

Head of Sustainability, Inari Agriculture
Improving food system sustainability using
SEEDesign

Head of Innovation, Square Roots Indoor Farms
Using an indoor farming platform to accelerate
agricultural research for food and beyond
Indoor farms often find themselves in a niche,
competing against the wider world of agriculture, fighting forincremental shelf space in supermarkets. But there's a different
model, where indoor farms can partner with field farmers, alongsidescience-focused organizations and foundations, leveraging its
sophisticated technology platform to help tackle some of thebiggest challenges in agriculture. This talk will highlight a numberof such partnerships, from developing new crops for "food is
medicine" programs reaching millions of American seniors, to"growing plants in the dark" as a food security strategy in low andmiddle income countries.

2:55-3:10

YURI MIZUNO

15-Minute Solution Provider Presentation
For sponsorship opportunities contact Gavin Hambrookgavin@globalengage.co.uk

2:55-3:25

2:55-3:25

3:10-3:25

15-Minute Solution Provider Presentation
For sponsorship opportunities contact Gavin Hambrookgavin@globalengage.co.uk

Chief Scientist, Manda Fermentation Co. Ltd
Effects of Manda Fermented Botanical
Product (MFBP) on plant and soil microbiome
In Japan, there is an increasing recognition of thepotential of biostimulant materials to enhance the intrinsic potentialof crops, whilst also providing a means of mitigating the effects ofenvironmental stress. Manda Fermented Botanical Product (MFBP)
is a fermented product made by fermenting and aging 41 plant
species at ambient condition for more than 3 years. Although FBP
is not expected to have a generalized fertilizing effect due to thelimited levels of N-P-K compositions, improvements in crop yield
have been reported in foreign fields, which have been attributed to abiostimulant effects and category. This presentation will update thelatest research data on the unique effects and mode of actions of
FBP on plants and soil microorganisms.

30-Minute Solution Provider Presentation
For sponsorship opportunities contact Gavin Hambrookgavin@globalengage.co.uk

11TH PLANT GENOMICS, GENE EDITING / 8TH PARTNERSHIPS IN BIOCONTROL, BIOSTIMULANTS & MICROBIOME / VERTICAL & INDOOR FARMING CONGRESS USA 24

CONGRESS SCHEDULE

3:25-4:35

DAY 1 MONDAY OCTOBER 21 2024

Afternoon Refreshments / Poster Presentations / One-to-One Meetings
PLANT GENOMICS AND GENE EDITING

PLANT BIOCONTROL & BIOSTIMULANTS
Chief Technical Officer, 3BarBiologics
Making an Old Microbe New Again The Story of AzoRoot• Azospirillum brasilense is a well-known plant
biostimulant that promotes root development of grasses and otherplant species.
• Challenges with Azospirillum products on the market have been
low viability, short shelf-life, and limits on concentrations andapplication rates.
• A previous Azospirillum product used in turf during the 1990s
called Recharge was shipped as a frozen paste and had to be
used upon arrival, presenting challenges in handling, logistics, andapplication.
• The same Azospirillum strain used in Recharge was reimaginedin a new product AzoRoot using the LiveMicrobe fermentation
technology, a new packaging innovation where fresh microbes aregrown on-site in the packaging.

AZLAN ZAHID

Assistant Professor, Automation & AI for CEA,
Department of Biological & Agricultural Engineering,Texas A&M University
Transforming CEA with AI-Driven Sensing andAutomation
CEA production remains expensive due to high operation costs.
Nurturing crops with data could reduce production costs; however,the data is highly diverse, and growers lack the expertise to analyze
this data to derive actionable insights for informed decision-making.
The integration of sensing and automation technologies has emerged
as a transformative toolset that can collect real-time plant data athigh spatial and temporal resolutions, pivotal in optimizing resource
management and maximizing production. This presentation will
showcase cutting-edge sensing and automation applications within
CEA, focusing on various applications including phenotyping, yield
estimation, disease monitoring, spacing optimization, and harvesting.
Overall, this presentation will provide insights into the transformative
potential of sensing and automation in CEA, offering a glimpse into
the future of data-driven and sustainable CEA production.

5:00-5:30

JANE FIFE

4:35-5:00

4:35-5:00

Global Technology Lead, Seeds Research & RTP Site
Business Head, Syngenta
Genome editing in crop plants
Genome editing is a powerful set of tools to discovery
and optimize genes in crop plants. The technology holds thepotential to improve a range of traits including drought tolerance,
disease resistance, enhanced quality, improved breeding, and seedproductions systems. In recent years the Cas12a toolbox has been
optimized both in terms and efficiency and flexibility which has
allowed researchers to gain a better understanding of the molecularmechanism of important traits. In this presentation improvements in
Cas12a genome engineering tools will be shared in both dicot andmonocots crops. Examples from our research group of recent technicalbreakthroughs in corn and soybeans covering a range of traits andbreeding and seed productions technologies will be shared.

4:35-5:00

IAN JEPSONVERTICAL & INDOOR FARMING

30-Minute Solution Provider Presentation
For sponsorship opportunities contact Gavin Hambrookgavin@globalengage.co.uk

ADRIAN PERCY
5:00-5:15

Executive Director, NC Plant Sciences Initiative, North Carolina State
University
Topic: North Carolina Plant Sciences Initiative new genome editing
centreAKIRA ENDO

5:00-5:30

5:15-5:30

Senior Manager, Agri-Bio section, New
Business Development Unit, Kaneka
Americas Holding, Inc.
Effective Generation of Gene Edited Crops using inplanta Particle Bombardment Method
Crop breeding using gene editing technology becomes general means
in nowadays. Most of gene edited crops are produced through theconventional transformation process and it takes long time to recoverisogenic mutant lines for target genes. In addition, the degree ofdifficulty of transformation largely depends on variety of each crop. To
overcome these disadvantages, our company have developed newtechnology that called in planta particle bombardment (iPB). iPB is themethod delivering substances directly into the shoot apical meristem30-Minute Solution Provider Presentation
For sponsorship opportunities contact Gavin Hambrookgavin@globalengage.co.uk

11TH PLANT GENOMICS, GENE EDITING / 8TH PARTNERSHIPS IN BIOCONTROL, BIOSTIMULANTS & MICROBIOME / VERTICAL & INDOOR FARMING CONGRESS USA 24

CONGRESS SCHEDULE

DAY 1 MONDAY OCTOBER 21 2024
PANEL DISCUSSION:RAO UPPALAPATI

Biostimulants and biocontrol regulatory and policy updates

5:30-5:55

Program Leader Disease Resistance Traits,
Corteva Agrisciences
Enabling Corteva’s Next Generation Technologies
and CRISPR-Enabled Discrete Traits• Corteva’s CRISPR Technology and proprietary novel nucleases.
• Next generation Leaf Transformation technologies for genome
editing.
• CRISPR-enabled disease super locus for managing multiple
diseases.

KEITH MATTHEWS (Moderator)
Principal, Matthews Law LLC

PANEL DISCUSSION:

Current developments and the future of vertical farming
Discussion points:• Current developments in vertical farming- advantages, recent
advancements• Challenges in Vertical Farming- design complexity, high energy costs• The outlook / future of Vertical Farming

JANE FIFEEMILY ZHOU (Chair)Chief Technical Officer, 3BarBiologics

Assistant Professor, University of Central Missouri

NOEL SAUER

•

•

6:20

WIEBKE STRIEGEL

Senior Scientist, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

5:30-6:20

5:55-6:20•

5:30-6:20•

Senior Vice President of Research, Cibus
Rapid Trait Development System™ (RTDS®) advances
plant breeding techniques through an end-to-end
semi-automated gene editing platform.
RTDS® is a suite of technologies that enables multiplexed gene
editing within single cells. These edited cells are regenerated into
shoots with new trait(s) such as higher yield, disease resistance orgeneration of sustainable ingredients.
RTDS® has been developed in a multitude of commercially relevant
crops such as canola, rice, wheat, potato, among others.
Since all crops can be reduced to single cells, a semi-automatedend-to-end gene editing production process has been deployedcalled the Trait Machine™. This allows for testing new trait
phenotypes in customer elite germplasm in field trials within 2-3
years from project ideation.
RTDS® has been used to develop traits such as healthier oils andhigher yields in canola.

JOHN PAUL BOUKISHead of Innovation, Square Roots Indoor Farms

UTTARA SAMARAKOONAssociate Professor, Ohio State Agricultural TechnicalInstitute, The Ohio State University

HENRY SZTUL

Chief Science Officer, Bowery Farming

End of Day One / Networking Drinks Reception

11TH PLANT GENOMICS, GENE EDITING / 8TH PARTNERSHIPS IN BIOCONTROL, BIOSTIMULANTS & MICROBIOME / VERTICAL & INDOOR FARMING CONGRESS USA 24

CONGRESS SCHEDULE

8:00-8:50

Morning Refreshments

8:50-9:00

Global Engage Welcome Address

DAY 2 TUESDAY OCTOBER 22 2024

KEYNOTE PRESENTATION:
JEFF BENNETZEN

9:30-10:00

Giles Professor, Department of Genetics, University of Georgia
Microbial Partner (MiPner) Analysis
Little is known about the interactions between microbes in the soil. Microbial Partner (MiPner) analysis uses one cultured soil microbe as a bait to pull out other microbes from a natural environment that binds to
it. The bait-bound microbes are shotgun sequenced directly or after growth on a plate. Bait sequences are removed computationally, and the binding microbes are identified in the remainder of the sequences. Our pilot MiPner
experiments show that only a small subset of total soil microbes are selected through the process, and that this binding set is unique for each bait microbe utilized. In a few cases, co-growth with the bait microbe seems to berequired for plate proliferation of particular binding microbes.

KEYNOTE PRESENTATION:SUBRAY HEGDE

10:00-10:30

Director, Biotechnology Risk Analysis Programs, APHIS USDA
USDA’s Revised Biotechnology Regulations and Their Impacts on the Products Derived from Gene Editing Technologies• USDA responses to Regulatory Status Review requests have doubled in Fiscal Year 2024.
• USDA has proposed additional exemptions for certain modified plants.
• USDA has been working with EPA and FDA to address ambiguities, gaps, inefficiencies, and uncertainties in the Coordinated Framework as part of the Executive Order (EO 14081) on “Advancing Biomanufacturing
and Biotechnology Innovation for a Sustainable, Safe, and Secure Bieconomy”
10:30-11:20

Morning Refreshments / Poster Presentations / One-to-One Meetings

11TH PLANT GENOMICS & GENE EDITING CONGRESS

8TH PARTNERSHIPS IN BIOCONTROL & BIOSTIMULANTS& MICROBIOME CONGRESSVERTICAL & INDOOR FARMING CONGRESSPLANT BIOINFORMATICS, COMPUTATIONALMODELLING, & DATA ANALYSIS

PLANT MICROBIOME

VERTICAL & INDOOR FARMING

MORGAN CARTER

11:20-11:45

30-Minute Solution Provider Presentation
For sponsorship opportunities contact Gavin Hambrookgavin@globalengage.co.uk

11:45-12:15

11:45-12:15

30-Minute Solution Provider Presentation
For sponsorship opportunities contact Gavin Hambrookgavin@globalengage.co.uk

SENIOR REPRESENTATIVE (Reserved)
Soli Organic
Topic: The importance of crop breeding and genetics for indoor
farms

Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences
and CIPHER, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Towards using endofungal bacteria to investigate
and control plant pathogens
As we further catalog plant microbiomes, a greater understanding of
the interactions present within those spaces is critical. Microbiomes
within microbes themselves introduce both a complication anda valuable resource. Fungi can harbor endosymbiotic bacteriathat alter their ability to reproduce, their primary and secondary
metabolism, and ultimately their interaction with a plant host. Thoughendofungal bacteria are likely a common phenomenon, little is known
about how, when, where, and why they occur. We are screening
plant pathogenic fungi for endofungal bacteria and assessing theirimpact on plant health. In parallel we are focusing on representative
partnerships to interrogate the mechanisms underlying thesechanges and selectivity. In sum, we aim to use endofungal bacteria toboth investigate and control important fungal pathogens.

11:45-12:15

Professor, Division of Plant Science and Technology,
Interdisciplinary Plant Group, University of MissouriColumbia
Towards a system-level understanding of soybeanrhizobia symbiosis at the single cell level
Each plant cell is characterized by its specific function,
developmental stage, and interaction with its environment. In
this presentation, focusing on the symbiotic interaction between
soybean plants and Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens, nitrogen-fixing
symbiotic bacteria we will present the use of single-cell omics andhigh-resolution spatial transcriptomics to 1) characterize the cellularcomplexity of the infection zone of the soybean nodule and reveal
a similar cellular composition but different organization between
different type of nodules, and 2) depict the role of the sub-cellularcompartmentalization of plant transcripts as a regulatory mechanismof protein translation.

11:20-11:45

11:20-11:45

MARC LIBAULT

30-Minute Solution Provider Presentation
For sponsorship opportunities contact Gavin Hambrookgavin@globalengage.co.uk

11TH PLANT GENOMICS, GENE EDITING / 8TH PARTNERSHIPS IN BIOCONTROL, BIOSTIMULANTS & MICROBIOME / VERTICAL & INDOOR FARMING CONGRESS USA 24

CONGRESS SCHEDULE

DAY 2 TUESDAY OCTOBER 22 2024

ALEXANDER BUCKSCHCROSS-EVENT ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS:

Table 1: Challenges for biopesticide product commercialization• How to ensure low COGs for biological product manufacturing?
• Global registration of biopesticide• How do startups work with big biotech firms and distributors?

12:15-12:40

Associate Professor, School of Plant Sciences,
University of Arizona
Root phenotyping reveals new functional and genetic
insights from the population to the cell level
A plant's history can often be inferred from its shape phenotype.
This is especially evident in roots, which demonstrate significant
plastic responses to changing environmental conditions during
development. Computational techniques to organize the complex
shape signals detected by sensors enable the identification of simple
and understandable rules governing the formation root phenotypes.
Coming from a mathematical shape perspective we will delve into thefunction of natural variation in root architectures and explore shapediversity and function of epidermal appendages in roots.

1:05-2:05

Proposed roundtable topics:• Refining gene editing methods and applications• Plant genomics challenges beyond technology• The future of agriculture: Challenges and how to overcome these.
• Biostimulant and biocontrol regulation
12:15-1:05

12:40-1:05

PhD Candidate in Chemical & BiomolecularEngineering, University of California, Berkeley
Plant derived cell-penetrating peptides deliver
protein cargoes for plant bioengineering
Direct delivery of proteins could enable novel DNA-free approaches
to plant bioengineering. However, a protein delivery tool capableof delivering cargoes with high efficiency to a breadth of plant
species is missing from the plant biotechnology tool kit. Cellpenetrating peptides (CPPs) are a class of delivery tool capable ofdelivering cargoes to mammalian cells for therapeutic applications.
While CPPs are well studied in animal systems, investigation of
CPPs in plants are scant. Utilizing a recently reported screening
methodology termed delivered complementation in planta, we
present a new class of CPPs derived from plant homeodomain
proteins with over 30% internalization efficiency to plant cells. We
probe the mechanism of internalization, computationally explore
the homeodomain CPP design space, and demonstrate delivery ofrecombinant transcription factors and recombinases.

Chief Executive Officer, Innatrix Inc

12:15-1:05

EARLY CAREER RESEARCHER PRESENTATION:HENRY SQUIREJIARUI LI

POSTER FLASHPRESENTATIONS SESSION 2:

Poster presenters and start-ups will be provided with theopportunity to give a flash 3-minute overview of their work.

Lunch / One-to-One Meetings

PLANT BIOINFORMATICS, COMPUTATIONALMODELLING, & DATA ANALYSIS

PLANT MICROBIOME

TRUPTI JOSHITAMARA MERAGELMAN

Senior Director of Research, Sound AgricultureSound Agriculture: Sustainability Powered by Science
At Sound Agriculture, we established a biochemistry
platform to design and develop molecules capable ofcontrolling complex systems of interconnected biological networks.
One successful example of the implementation of our platform is ourflagship product, SOURCE. This product was designed to enhanceplant nutrient use efficiency through selective signaling with specificbeneficial soil microbes, including nitrogen fixers, phosphorus
solubilizers, and AMF. The foliar application of this product in thefield provides a unique tool to growers, reducing up to 25 lbs/acreof synthetic fertilizers, mitigating the environmental impact whiledriving a resilient agriculture system.

EMILY ZHOU

Assistant Professor, University of Central Missouri
Advantage and limitations of vertical farming• Advantages of vertical farming• Limitations and challenges of vertical farming• The future of vertical farming

2:05-2:30

2:05-2:30

2:05-2:30

Associate Professor, University of Missouri-Colombia
Translational Bioinformatics Resources and AI
Solutions for Multiomics Research
Next generation sequencing and multiomics data (bulkand single-cell) capturing molecular changes from genomics all theway to phenomics, have become an integral part of research in all
domains including biomedical sciences, plants sciences, and others.
This rapid revolution in the multiomics has posed a growing need fortranslational tools that can handle large amounts of data, are easily
expandable, provide interpretable results and can be readily applied toany species. To address such translational needs, we have developed
Soybean Knowledge Base (SoyKB) and Knowledge Base Commons(KBCommons) web-based frameworks, both fully equipped to handle
the entire multiomics landscape for all organisms. Our developed tools
such as Allele Catalog, GenVarX, AccuTool, and MaDis, are specificallydesigned to provide the plant community with efficient data driven
solutions for better breeding strategies. Additionally, our G2PDeep,
deep learning method, provides a comprehensive web-based resourcefor phenotype predictions using multiomics data for all organisms.

VERTICAL & INDOOR FARMING

11TH PLANT GENOMICS, GENE EDITING / 8TH PARTNERSHIPS IN BIOCONTROL, BIOSTIMULANTS & MICROBIOME / VERTICAL & INDOOR FARMING CONGRESS USA 24

CONGRESS SCHEDULE

DAY 2 TUESDAY OCTOBER 22 2024
MICHAEL DILEGGEPETER SELBYWUSHENG LIU

HHMI investigator/Arts & Sciences Professor of Biology,
Duke University
Engineering broad-spectrum disease resistance inplantsIn plants, a local infection can trigger long-lasting systemic acquired
resistance (SAR) against a broad spectrum of pathogens. During my
lecture, I will present our recent advancements in understanding thestructure and function of NPR1, a key regulator of SAR, as well as
our discoveries of highly conserved translation regulatory modules
for reprogramming the defense proteome. I will demonstrate how
this new knowledge may lead to new strategies for controlling crop
diseases in agriculture.

SENIOR REPRESENTATIVE
Invitation Out

SENIOR REPRESENTATIVEHARSH BAIS

Invitation Out

Invitation Out

3:20-3:45

3:20-3:45

3:20-3:45

Professor of Plant and Soil Interface, University of Delaware
Plant microbiome case study
Our knowledge of plant beneficial bacteria in therhizosphere is rapidly expanding due to the intenseinterest in utilizing these types of microbes in agriculture. The lab tofield component associated with the understanding the functionalrole of root microbiome is slowly progressing. We know more
about the synthetic community of microbes that help plants toabate various stress responses. Our understanding about how root
microbiome and the network of microbes that exist in the microbiome
imparts beneficial traits in plants is still at it infancy. In addition, themicrobe-derived products in the rhizosphere also have a fundamental
significance in how plants associate with specific microbes andplants response to various abiotic and biotic stressors. This oralpresentation will discuss the role of few single isolates from the rootmicrobiome in plants response against pathogen (biotic), drought(abiotic), fungal association (networking) and impact on humanpathogen intervention (foot safety). A greater depth of understandingof how these root-associated plant growth promoting rhizobacteriainteract with plants will allow more effective development ofrhizobacterial applications in the field.

Andrew A. Adams Distinguished Professor, North
Carolina State University
Plant wearable sensors for detecting biotic andabiotic stresses
We report a multimodal wearable sensor for continuous monitoringof plant physiology by tracking both biochemical and biophysicalsignals of the plant and its microenvironment. Sensors for detecting
volatile organic compounds (VOCs), temperature, and humidity areintegrated into a single platform.

2:55-3:20

SENIOR REPRESENTATIVE

3:45

YONG ZHUXINNIAN DONG

2:55-3:20

2:55-3:20

Associate Professor, Department of Horticultural
Science, North Carolina State University
Identification of Plant Constitutive Promoter Motifs
via De Novo Promoter Motif Discovery
Limited constitutive promoter motifs of plant origin are available
for use in driving constitutive transgene expression in plants. We
recently identified a set of constitutive promoter motifs from soybean,
which were 19 ~ 60 bp in length and drove strong GUS reporter gene
expression in agroinfiltrated tobacco leaves and strong constitutive
GUS expression in stable transgenic Arabidopsis seedlings. These
promoter motifs are of plant origin, novel, short in length, and can drive
constitutive gene expression in dicot species.

Director of Microbiology, Impello Biosciences
Co-culturing fermentation: A ContinuμM of Microbial
Ecology insights• Describe the historical movement toward
monoculturing microbial species, examples of microbial
monocultures readily used/available in a few industries.
• Introduce the co-culture concept, microbe-microbe interaction
importance, effects toward the plant / host.
• Synergy in bringing these products to the agricultural industry andfuture insights.

2:30-2:55

2:30-2:55

2:30-2:55

BrAPI Project Coordinator, Cornell University
Applications and impacts of the BrAPI project on
breeding and genetic resources
Modern genomic breeding methods rely heavily onlarge, complex, phenotypic and genotypic data sets, often stored on
multiple systems, sometimes separated by organization and country.
As the common analyses methods increasingly require aggregationof datasets from diverse sources, data exchange between disparate
systems becomes a challenge. The Breeding API (BrAPI) Project
began in 2014 when a small group of breeding and technology experts
came together to try to standardize their data. Since then, BrAPI has
become internationally accepted as one of the primary data exchange
standards in the breeding domain. This talk will give an overview ofwhat BrAPI is, how it works, what it is capable of, and the impact the
project has had so far on the community.

Closing Remarks / End of Conference

11TH PLANT GENOMICS, GENE EDITING / 8TH PARTNERSHIPS IN BIOCONTROL, BIOSTIMULANTS & MICROBIOME / VERTICAL & INDOOR FARMING CONGRESS USA 24

POSTER PRESENTATIONSFREE POSTER PRESENTATIONS AND FLASH TALKS
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 islimited space available and poster space is assigned on a first-come-first-served basis (subject to checks and successful registration).
Poster presentations are actively encouraged at this event and as such registered academic and industry delegates are invited to present
1 poster each for free.
• Posters are displayed for the full two days of the event.
• We have reserved 2 x 50 minute sessions for non-vendor authors to present a flash presentation of their poster in order to showcase their work.
• We also issue a poster eBook to all attendees containing your full abstract, and you can share your poster as a PDF after the meeting if you desire(optional).
MAKING A POSTER PRESENTATION
We will require the form Downloadable Here to be submitted by 4th October 2024.

SUSTAINABILITY GOALSSUSTAINABILITY
Venues with Sustainability Goals
We are committed to selecting venues with more sustainable practices. These will cover energy supply, food & waste, water use, recycling
and plastics.

Catering
You will have some great food choices while you are with us. We have worked with the caterer to increase the proportion of plant-based
items. We have also built a plan with the venue to avoid waste through how they serve meals and how any leftovers are processed. Our aim
is that you have some great meals, whilst with us, but with less environmental impact by the time you leave.

TravelAn international meeting does involve travel but where it is practical, please consider more sustainable alternatives to flying. The app will
also have a discussion space to arrange ride shares.