2nd Sept (Sun) 15:50 - 15:40
Plenary Talk 5
Chairperson: Anne Bruneau
From gardening to phylogenomics via taxonomy: a 45-year legume retrospective
Gwilym Peter Lewis* (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew)
I will look back over the past 45 years and discuss, mainly from a personal perspective, some of the changes that have taken place in legume science and research since the mid-1970s. I`ll reflect on how things have moved on from alpha-taxonomic studies based largely on morphology to fully integrated legume monography incorporating many new techniques and technologies. In the second decade of the 21st century what has become easier to achieve in legume systematics and what more difficult? The international legume community has a long-standing reputation as a friendly and productive collaboration network. Bearing witness to this are the six International Legume Conferences (1978–2013) and their published proceedings volumes in the Advances in Legume Systematic series, and most recently the 95-authored 2017 new six subfamily classification of the legumes. How will the seventh ILC in Japan move legume science forward? My talk will be wide-ranging, from giving research tips for new students to reflecting on inter-disciplinary multi-national programmes asking big legume questions. Throughout my talk, examples will be drawn from my 45 years working with legumes and legume people. I`ll consider what and whom have influenced my career development. What choices have I made and why? I`ll conclude by highlighting some of the gaps in our legume knowledge, and consider what needs urgent attention, especially if we are to achieve the goal of a species level phylogeny of the whole legume family.
Gwilym Peter Lewis* (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew)
I will look back over the past 45 years and discuss, mainly from a personal perspective, some of the changes that have taken place in legume science and research since the mid-1970s. I`ll reflect on how things have moved on from alpha-taxonomic studies based largely on morphology to fully integrated legume monography incorporating many new techniques and technologies. In the second decade of the 21st century what has become easier to achieve in legume systematics and what more difficult? The international legume community has a long-standing reputation as a friendly and productive collaboration network. Bearing witness to this are the six International Legume Conferences (1978–2013) and their published proceedings volumes in the Advances in Legume Systematic series, and most recently the 95-authored 2017 new six subfamily classification of the legumes. How will the seventh ILC in Japan move legume science forward? My talk will be wide-ranging, from giving research tips for new students to reflecting on inter-disciplinary multi-national programmes asking big legume questions. Throughout my talk, examples will be drawn from my 45 years working with legumes and legume people. I`ll consider what and whom have influenced my career development. What choices have I made and why? I`ll conclude by highlighting some of the gaps in our legume knowledge, and consider what needs urgent attention, especially if we are to achieve the goal of a species level phylogeny of the whole legume family.