Plant Genomics Moves into the Limelight: Figure 1.

It was clear from the first minutes of the colloquium that there were two simultaneous agendas. The organizers had intended to focus on the scientific issues involved in the value of crop genomics to agricultural science, and the details of how best to conduct such research, whereas many of the participants were intent on debating the practical matters of funding and organizing a program. The reason for these different emphases was that when the colloquium was conceived, there was no apparent way to fund a new, large federal program, but by the time the meeting took place, Senator Christopher S. Bond (R-MO) had requested both the National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academy of Sciences and the Interagency Working Group (IWG) to make recommendations on the value of and best approach to plant genome initia