Plant senescence is a highly regulated and complex process during which the plant reclaims as many mobilisable nutrients as possible from the senescing tissues. Genetic and molecular analyses suggest that the cell death associated with senescence is a form of programmed cell death (pcd). Situations of environmental abiotic and biotic stress can trigger senescence and/or other forms of pcd. Additionally, pcd is essential for certain aspects of plant development. This meeting will focus on how senescence and the various forms of plant pcd are regulated and executed.

Our goal is to bring together people using multi disciplinary approaches to the study of senescence and pcd. Gene isolation and molecular analysis have been the focus of much of the work in this area for the last decade but recent exponential advances in genomic analysis have revolutionised this approach. Additionally, the structure and dynamics of cellular and organismal function have begun to be analysed in the context of senescence and pcd. A new session on systems biology will investigate the use of these approaches. Knowledge of genes is only a beginning; we need to have a clear understanding of where and how those gene products act within the cell. The meeting will integrate genetic and molecular approaches with other disciplines such as cell biology, biochemistry and physiology. A systematic analysis of recycling processes and investigation of the role of organelles in senescence and cell death may well reveal exciting links between the different death processes.

From a practical viewpoint, expanding our knowledge of the processes of plant senescence has many potential economic benefits. The timing and efficiency of senescence has an important role in determining the yield and pre-harvest quality of many cereal, forage and horticultural crops. In addition, a significant proportion of all fresh plant products for food or feed are lost, or suffer from reduced quality, due to plant senescence. For example, environmental stress leading to premature senescence can result in loss of yield and reduced nutritional quality. Post harvest senescence and consequent loss of nutrients are important economic problems causing substantial losses to producers as well as loss of quality and nutritional value to the consumer. Therefore increased knowledge of the regulation and processes of senescence will provide information for plant breeders to generate crops with improved yield, stress-resistance and also post-harvest quality with benefits for growers, suppliers and consumers.