PRESIDENT'S LETTER

Rob McClung

Turn! Turn! Turn!

Timing is everything (says the circadian biologist). Pete Seeger wrote the peace anthem (Turn! Turn! Turn!) that expresses this concept most poetically. The Byrds made it number 1 (1a) (1b), and Judy Collins rendered one of the most beautiful covers (2). One year ago, in my first letter as president, I spoke of transitions. As I write my final letter as president, my thoughts have returned to that theme. Pliny the Elder, Roman scholar and scientist (c. 23–79 AD), wrote, “From the end spring new beginnings.” ASPB now makes the transition to new leadership, with Sally Assmann assuming the presidency. I want to take this opportunity to thank Rick Amasino, who has provided energetic, thoughtful, and effective leadership in his three years in the presidency. I also welcome Tuan-hua David Ho, our president-elect. I look forward to working with him as well as continuing to work with Sally. I also want to acknowledge the folks who participate on our many committees. They do an excellent job, and it is a real privilege to work with them.

As I re-created my search for the perfect quotation about transitions, I was reminded of a second and perhaps more pertinent quote: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” (3). However, as I re-trod my path, I did come across a number of other quotations from Pliny the Elder that retain surprising relevance, given that 2,000 years have passed since he wrote. In my letters this past year, I have focused on the current issues I call the three Fs: food, fuel, and funding. Rick Amasino also emphasized education, and it turns out that Pliny the Elder had important things to say about each of these.

Driven by the need to provide food and (bio)fuel, one of our major goals as plant scientists is to increase plant productivity. The challenges of meeting this goal are exacerbated by the diversion of arable land from agriculture and also by the degradation of our environment and climate through human activities. I was surprised to see that Pliny the Elder had said, “With man, most of his misfortunes are occasioned by man” (4). Apparently some things never change.

As I write, a political campaign is playing out in the United States of America. Current and future energy supplies are at the forefront of this campaign, and Pliny the Elder addressed one of the more simplistic responses to sustaining energy supplies: “Everything is soothed by oil” (5). Of the windfall profits being enjoyed by the giant oil companies, he said, “The best plan is, as the common proverb has it, to profit by the folly of others” (6). I find it impossible to endorse this business plan, however profitable, and I was pleased to read that an earlier Roman writer, Publilius Syrus, cautioned, “Never find your delight in another’s misfortune” (7).

If the solution to energy supplies were as simple as those who spout slogans would have us believe, new policies would be implemented and we would move on. Any solution is complex and, although drilling for more oil may be part of the solution, drilling alone is insufficient. Moreover, we should all recall Publilius Syrus’s 301st maxim: “There are some remedies worse than the disease” (8). Burning fossil fuels and transferring CO2 into the atmosphere contributes significantly to another problem—global warming.

Many of those who profit from the status quo frequently resort to claims of uncertainty about global warming to justify deferring or avoiding altogether solutions that might be painful or might reduce short-term profits. Pliny the Elder, as a scientist, recognized that “The only certainty is that nothing is certain” (9). Indeed, scientists and other thoughtful individuals are frequently at a handicap in debating complex issues with zealots who profess certitude where none is justified. Education is critical to allow people to evaluate available evidence, to recognize when further evidence is required, and to understand that uncertainty is not an excuse for inaction. Where, as in the case of global warming, the preponderance of evidence indicates that change is occurring and that anthropogenic activities are contributing substantially, action is urgent as the risks are compounded by procrastination. The time to develop crops and agronomic practices better able to respond to global warming is now. Again, Pliny the Elder had an appropriate comment: “It is a maxim universally agreed upon in agriculture, that nothing must be done too late; and again, that everything must be done at its proper season; while there is a third precept which reminds us that opportunities lost can never be regained” (10). Now is the time to invest in basic and applied plant biology.

Persuading taxpayers to invest in plant biology requires that we educate both the taxpayers and their elected leaders to better understand both the challenges presented to and the opportunities afforded by plant science. One of the most critical goals is to persuade young people and their parents that a career in plant biology is challenging, relevant, and fulfilling. ASPB devotes considerable time, energy, and money to education goals through the Education Committee and the Education Foundation. Looking across the globe, there are many examples of obstructions to education, whether to the teaching of specific subjects, such as evolution, or to the teaching of specific populations, such as women. Publilius Syrus was fully in tune with ASPB’s educational goals when he wrote, “It is only the ignorant who despise education” (11).

Turning to my own attempts to educate, I compared publication rates in Arabidopsis and Drosophila in my previous letter, “A Model Citizen.” The analysis included data for maize taken from the Maize Genetics and Genomics Database (12). However, since that figure was published, I have learned that MaizeGDB stopped curating maize publications. Therefore, that figure seriously underestimates the maize literature. (See the letter from MaizeGDB and the Maize Genetics Executive Committee posted at http://www.aspb.org/newsletter/septoct08/maize.pdf.) Similarly, I have been advised that the rice data also provide an underestimate. A revised figure omitting the maize and rice data has been posted at http://www.aspb.org/newsletter/julaug08/01pljul08.cfm. Publilius Syrus recognized the need to revise: “It is a bad plan that admits of no modification” (13).

Most issues facing plant biology today are global in scope. ASPB has long recognized the importance of internationalism in science, but this year has marked a new stage in our commitment to international science. Our annual meeting, Plant Biology 2008, was held jointly with the Sociedad Mexicana de Bioquímica Rama: Bioquímica y Biología Molecular de Plantas in Mérida, Mexico. Mérida, like Honolulu, lies noticeably south of the Tropic of Cancer, making this our second annual meeting in the tropics (don’t forget our third, next year when we return to Honolulu). Travel to Mérida was an agricultural pilgrimage, as Mexico is the center of diversity for maize and peppers, and the Yucatan itself is the home of the habañero and also the likely site of the introduction of the tomato to Europeans. Of course, there were many more lessons and much excellent science. I would like to extend many, many thanks to Danny Schnell, our secretary, who, together with the Program Committee and with the notable help of our past secretary, Nick Carpita, and the invaluable contributions of our newly elected corresponding member, Federico Sánchez, put together an excellent program. The Mérida meeting was the first ASPB meeting held in Mexico; we have met in Canada before (1997 in Vancouver), and we will return to Canada with the 2010 meeting in Montréal, from July 30 to August 5. It is not too early to mark your calendars!

Plant Biology 2008 represented a new model for ASPB, as it was coupled with the Pan American Congress on Plants and BioEnergy. Nick Carpita and Steve Long put together a fascinating program for the BioEnergy meeting. The combination of policy discussions and scientific presentations was a really enjoyable mix. Many thanks to Nick and Steve for recognizing a real need and bringing the meeting to fruition. Of course, many, many thanks go to Jean Rosenberg, director of meetings, marketing, and membership, and “meeting diva” Wendy Sahli, ASPB’s manager of meetings, marketing, and web services, and to the rest of the ASPB and local staff who made both meetings flow so smoothly.

I want to take the opportunity afforded by this last letter to thank the ASPB staff. We could not ask for a better group of people. Their energy, creativity, and dedication make so much possible. Working closely with Crispin Taylor, the Society’s executive director, has always been a pleasure, and his collaboration made this year enjoyable and, I hope, productive. I particularly wish to single out Diane McCauley and thank her for her patience and understanding as I blew through deadline after deadline and for her talent and professionalism in making the newsletter happen.

In particular, I thank all of you, our members. The Society is strong because of its membership. I am especially gratified that so many of you volunteer to serve the Society on committees and in other capacities. It has been a tremendous honor to serve as president of ASPB. Of course, Pliny the Elder had it right, and this transition does not mark simply an end but also the beginning of a year as past president. I look forward to the coming year and to subsequent opportunities to contribute to ASPB. T

Rob McClung
c.robertson.mcclung@dartmouth.edu

Acknowledgments

I thank Sally Assmann (Penn State University) and Mary Lou Guerinot (Dartmouth College) for their comments and discussion. I also thank Mary (Polacco) Schaeffer, Patrick Schnable, Anne Sylvester, and Yukiko Yamazaki for pointing out the flaw in the maize and rice publication analysis.

References

1. Seeger, P. 1962. Turn! turn! turn! From The Bitter and the Sweet, Columbia Records; The Byrds, 1965. Turn! turn! turn! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUworKXBzdE&NR=1; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNopQq5lWqQ
2. Collins, J., and Seeger, P. 1966. Turn, turn, turn. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DejUPN4SksU
3. Santayana, G. 1905. The Life of Reason, or the phases of human progress (Vol. 1). London: Constable.
4. Pliny the Elder. 1919. Natural history, book vii, sect. 5, cited as #8727. In J. Bartlett (Ed.), Familiar quotations (10th ed.). New York: Halcyon House.
5. Pliny the Elder. 1919. Natural history, book ii, sect. 234, cited as #8722. In J. Bartlett (Ed.), Familiar quotations (10th ed.). New York: Halcyon House.
6. Pliny the Elder. 1919. Natural history, book xviii, sect. 31, cited as #8738. In J. Bartlett (Ed.), Familiar quotations (10th ed.). New York: Halcyon House.
7. Publilius Syrus. Sententiae, maxim 467, cited as #8640. In J. Bartlett (Ed.), Familiar quotations (10th ed.). New York: Halcyon House.
8. Publilius Syrus. Sententiae, cited as #8625. In J. Bartlett (Ed.), Familiar quotations (10th ed.). New York: Halcyon House.
9. Pliny the Elder. Natural history, book ii, sect. 7, cited as #44617. In J. Bartlett (Ed.), Familiar quotations (10th ed.). New York: Halcyon House.
10. Pliny the Elder. Natural history, book xviii, sect. 44, cited as #8740. In J. Bartlett (Ed.), Familiar quotations (10th ed.). New York: Halcyon House.
11. Publilius Syrus. Sententiae, maxim 571, cited as #8652. In J. Bartlett (Ed.), Familiar quotations (10th ed.). New York: Halcyon House.
12. Maize Genetics and Genomics Database, http://www.maizegdb.org
13. Publilius Syrus. Sententiae, maxim 469, cited as #8641. In J. Bartlett (Ed.), Familiar quotations (10th ed.). New York: Halcyon House.