GRAINES 2017 - 17-19 octobre 2017, Montpellier

The objectives of the "Graines 2017" conference are to take stock of the research carried out in French laboratories, to promote new multidisciplinary approaches and to respond to the emerging needs of society in the fields of biodiversity, production, food safety, seed use and new quality criteria. This conference is coordinated by the French Seed Biology Network, which brings together the French scientific community working on the biology of seeds, their development, their adaptation to the environment and their food and non-food uses. This network, created in 2006, federates the interactions between teams working on seeds in different disciplines at several sites in France. To keep the network alive and share information, a conference is organised every two years. Five colloquia have been organised since 2007 (Angers in 2007, Paris in 2009, Nantes in 2011, Dijon in 2013 and Clermont Ferrand in 2015), they have brought together the national scientific community working on seeds and attracted seed industry representatives (in total about 150 researchers and PhD students).

The 6th event of this conference will take place in Montpellier this year from 17 to 19 October. This year and given the positioning of the conference in Montpellier, the focus will be as much as possible on Mediterranean and tropical grains/seeds, as well as on their use for food or non-food purposes. We will also try to encourage researchers from the other side of the Mediterranean to attend. The symposium will provide an opportunity to present and support ongoing supported projects, such as the ARCAD platform.