PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP DAY | TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2025

8:00 am Registration & Morning Coffee

9:00 am – 12:00 pm Workshop A

Enhancing Crop Flavor & Appeal Through Gene Editing: Maximizing Consumer Satisfaction

Synopsis

Enhancing crop flavor and appeal through gene editing not only increases consumer satisfaction but also aligns agricultural innovation with evolving market demands, driving the future of sustainable food production. By improving taste, texture, and specialty traits, gene editing can create crops that are both more enjoyable and more functional, ultimately strengthening the connection between scientific advancements and everyday consumer

preferences while fostering greater acceptance of gene-edited foods.

Attend this workshop to experience:

  • Optimizing Flavor & Texture: How gene editing modifies specific flavor and texture-related genes to enhance the sensory appeal of consumer crops
  • Specialty Traits & Functionality: The focus on targeted traits that directly improve crop performance while enhancing consumer satisfaction
  • Consumer Preferences & Market Alignment: Ensuring gene-edited crops meet market demands for better-tasting, higher-quality produce
  • End-Use Connection: Strategies for connecting genetic improvements all the way through to the final product, delivering real consumer benefits
  • Building Consumer Acceptance: How to effectively communicate the genuine benefits of gene-edited crops to foster trust and market adoption

12:00 pm Lunch

1:00 pm – 4:00 pm Workshop B

Revolutionizing Plant Gene Delivery with Next-Generation Biolistic Methods

  • Shan Jiang Associate Professor, University of Iowa

Synopsis

Effective gene delivery is a key challenge in plant biotechnology, with methods like the Gene Gun often being inefficient and inconsistent. This workshop explores innovative advancements in gene delivery systems that aim to greatly improve the efficiency, consistency, and precision of plant transformations, essential for advancing CRISPR in agriculture.

Attend this workshop to experience:

Optimizing Gene Delivery for Plant Transformations

  • Understanding the fundamental mechanics behind delivery systems like the Gene Gun
  • Investigating why current methods are inefficient and inconsistent

Next-Generation Biolistic Devices for Higher Efficiency

  • Reviewing innovations in Gene Gun technology that increase transformation efficiency
  • Demonstrating how new devices and delivery agents can drastically reduce the time and cost of creating transgenic plants

Consistency in Gene Delivery: Solving Long-Standing Challenges

  • Identifying factors affecting delivery performance and strategies to improve consistency
  • Case studies on how next-gen biolistic systems solve problems in gene transformation
  • Best practices for standardizing delivery methods across different plant species
EVENT GUIDE
DAY ONE