The 14th International Symposium on Plant Lipids was held from 23-28 July 2000 in Cardiff, UK. This is a biennial gathering of international research groups working on the structure, metabolism and molecular biology of plant lipids. Nearly 300 delegates from 31 countries participated in the conference. At the conference,the delegates discussed the most recent advances of our knowledge about a wide range of research fields in plant lipids, including fatty acid and lipid biosynthesis and catabolism, lipid analysis, roles of lipids in membrane functions, cell signalling, and applications of modern molecular techniques in genetic engineering of oilseeds.