Bacterial Cell Surfaces

Gordon Research Conference

Building, Splitting, and Traversing the Cell Surface

June 22 - 27, 2014
Chairs and
Vice Chairs and

Conference Description

The 2014 Gordon Conference on Bacterial Cell Surfaces will present cutting-edge research on the molecular and cellular aspects of the structure and function of the bacterial cell envelope and surface. The Conference will focus on a wide range of topics pertinent to the bacterial cell envelope and surface including protein secretion, envelope biogenesis, peptidoglycan metabolism, surface polymers and their secretion, cell division & bacterial morphogenesis, motility and surface structures, transport across the cell envelope, cellular compartmentalization and protein localization, signal sensing and transduction in cell envelope stress responses, and newly arising special topics including emerging physical methods in the analysis of the cell surface.

Invited speakers represent a variety of scientific disciplines, including biochemistry, molecular genetics, structural biology, cell biology and imaging. The Conference will bring together a collection of investigators who are at the forefront of their field, and will provide opportunities for junior scientists and graduate students to present their work in poster format and exchange ideas with leaders in the field. Some poster presenters will be selected for short talks. The collegial atmosphere of this Conference, with programmed discussion sessions as well as opportunities for informal gatherings in the afternoons and evenings, provides an avenue for scientists from different disciplines to brainstorm and promotes cross-disciplinary collaborations in the various research areas represented.

Conference Program

SUNDAY
2:00 pm - 9:00 pmArrival and Check-in
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 7:40 pmWelcome / Introductory Comments by GRC Site Staff
7:40 pm - 9:30 pmCell Wall Biogenesis
7:40 pm - 7:45 pmDiscussion Leader: Kevin. D. Young (University of Arkansas)
"Discussion Leader's Remarks"
7:45 pm - 8:10 pmWaldemar Vollmer (University of Newcastle)
"Regulation of Peptidoglycan Growth"
8:10 pm - 8:20 pmDiscussion
8:20 pm - 8:45 pmAndrea Dessen (Institut de Biologie Structurale, Grenoble)
"Structural Insights into Cell Wall Protection and Remodeling"
8:45 pm - 8:55 pmDiscussion
8:55 pm - 9:20 pmAnthony Maurelli (Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences)
"All the Bricks in the Wall: How Chlamydia Synthesizes and Degrades Its Peptidoglycan"
9:20 pm - 9:30 pmDiscussion
MONDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pmSurface Polymers, Exopolysaccharides and Their Secretion
9:00 am - 9:10 amDiscussion Leader: Chris Whitfield (University of Guelph)
"Discussion Leader's Remarks"
9:10 am - 9:35 amNicola R. Stanley-Wall (University of Dundee)
"The Bacillus subtilis Biofilm Coat"
9:35 am - 9:45 amDiscussion
9:45 am - 10:10 amLynette Cegelski (Stanford University)
"Mapping Composition in Bacterial Cell Walls and Biofilms: Insights From Small Molecules and a Big Magnet"
10:10 am - 10:20 amDiscussion
10:20 amCoffee Break
10:45 am - 11:10 amStephen Trent (University of Texas at Austin)
"It's What's on the Outside That Counts: Remodeling the Gram-Negative Bacterial Surface"
11:10 am - 11:20 amDiscussion
11:20 am - 11:45 amP. Lynne Howell (University of Toronto)
"Structural Insights into Synthase-Dependent Exopolysaccharide Biosynthesis"
11:45 am - 11:55 amDiscussion
11:55 am - 12:10 pmMarilia de Assis Costa (University of Dundee)
"How Serratia marcescens Secretes Chitinases"
12:10 pm - 12:15 pmDiscussion
12:15 pm - 12:25 pmNatacha Ruiz (Ohio State University)
"MurJ Is the Flippase of Lipid-Linked Precursors for Peptidoglycan Biogenesis in E. coli"
12:25 pm - 12:30 pmDiscussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pmPoster Session
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pmCell Compartmentalization and Protein Localization
7:30 pm - 7:40 pmDiscussion Leader: Zemer Gitai (Princeton University)
"Discussion Leader's Remarks"
7:40 pm - 8:05 pmRut Carballido Lopez (INRA, Jouy-en-Josas)
"Dynamics of Membrane-Associated Proteins in Bacillus subtilis"
8:05 pm - 8:15 pmDiscussion
8:15 pm - 8:40 pmMartin Thanbichler (Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg)
"Cell Division and Peptidoglycan Biogenesis in Caulobacter crescentus"
8:40 pm - 8:50 pmDiscussion
8:50 pm - 9:15 pmKimberly Kline (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore)
"Mechanisms of Focal Membrane Protein Localization in Enterococcus faecalis"
9:15 pm - 9:25 pmDiscussion
9:25 pm - 9:30 pmGeneral Discussion
TUESDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
8:30 amGroup Photo
9:00 am - 12:30 pmMotility, Surface Structures and Contact-Dependent Intercellular Activities
9:00 am - 9:10 amDiscussion Leader: Ian Henderson (University of Birmingham)
"Discussion Leader's Remarks"
9:10 am - 9:35 amAlain Filloux (Imperial College London)
"The Pseudomonas aeruginosa Type VI Secretion System"
9:35 am - 9:45 amDiscussion
9:45 am - 10:10 amDan Kearns (Indiana University, Bloomington)
"Activation of Flagellar Type III Secretion in Bacillus subtilis"
10:10 am - 10:20 amDiscussion
10:20 amCoffee Break
10:45 am - 11:10 amLori Burrows (McMaster University)
"Fishing Rods and Whiskers: The Type IV Pilus System of Pseudomonas aeruginosa"
11:10 am - 11:20 amDiscussion
11:20 am - 11:45 amDavid Hendrixson (UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas)
"Polar Flagellar Biogenesis and FlhG Spatially Regulate Division in Campylobacter jejuni"
11:45 am - 11:55 amDiscussion
11:55 am - 12:10 pmGillian Fraser (Cambridge University)
"Building a Flagellum Outside the Bacterial Cell"
12:10 pm - 12:15 pmDiscussion
12:15 pm - 12:25 pmClay Fuqua (Indiana University)
"The Dual Diguanylate Cyclase-Phosphodiesterase (GGDEF/EAL) Protein DcpA of A. tumefaciens Controls Polar Attachment and Is Regulated by a Pterin-Dependent Activity Switch"
12:25 pm - 12:30 pmDiscussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pmPoster Session
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pmProtein Secretion
7:30 pm - 7:40 pmDiscussion Leader: Ross Dalbey (Ohio State University)
"Discussion Leader's Remarks"
7:40 pm - 8:05 pmOlivera Francetic (Institut Pasteur, Paris)
"The Type II Secretion Pseudopilus: Conformational Transitions and Implications for the Fiber Assembly Mechanism"
8:05 pm - 8:15 pmDiscussion
8:15 pm - 8:40 pmArnold Driessen (University of Groningen)
"Mechanism of Protein Translocation by the Sec Translocase"
8:40 pm - 8:50 pmDiscussion
8:50 pm - 9:15 pmBen Berks (Oxford University)
"Assembling the Tat Protein Translocation Site"
9:15 pm - 9:25 pmDiscussion
9:25 pm - 9:30 pmGeneral Discussion
WEDNESDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pmCell Division and Morphogenesis
9:00 am - 9:10 amDiscussion Leader: Mariana G. Pinho (Tecnologia Quimica E Biologica Institute, Lisbon)
"Introduction"
9:10 am - 9:35 amMartin Loose (Harvard Medical School)
"Self-Organization of the Bacterial Cell"
9:35 am - 9:45 amDiscussion
9:45 am - 10:10 amTanneke den Blaauwen (University of Amsterdam)
"Morphogenic Protein Complexes of E. coli in Time and Space"
10:10 am - 10:20 amDiscussion
10:20 amCoffee Break
10:45 am - 11:10 amJeff Errington (University of Newcastle)
"General Observations on Diverse Bacteria Induced to Grow in the Absence of a Cell Wall"
11:10 am - 11:20 amDiscussion
11:20 am - 11:45 amJie Xiao (Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine)
"Structure and Dynamics of the E. coli FtsZ-Ring in Superresolution"
11:45 am - 11:55 amDiscussion
11:55 am - 12:10 pmThomas Bernhardt (Harvard Medical School)
"How Beta-Lactam Antibiotics Derail Cell Wall Biogenesis"
12:10 pm - 12:15 pmDiscussion
12:15 pm - 12:25 pmGabriel Billings (Stanford University)
"De Novo Morphogenesis in L-Forms via Geometric Control of Cell Growth"
12:25 pm - 12:30 pmDiscussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pmPoster Session
6:00 pmDinner
7:00 pm - 7:30 pmBusiness Meeting
Nominations for the Next Vice Chair; Fill in Conference Evaluation Forms; Discuss Future Site and Scheduling Preferences; Election of the Next Vice Chair
7:30 pm - 9:30 pmEnvelope Stress Responses
7:30 pm - 7:40 pmDiscussion Leader: Tom Silhavy (Princeton)
"Discussion Leader's Remarks"
7:40 pm - 8:05 pmCarol Gross (University of California, San Francisco)
"A Paradigm for Monitoring and Maintaining the Outer Membrane of Gram Negative Bacteria"
8:05 pm - 8:15 pmDiscussion
8:15 pm - 8:40 pmKirsten Jung (University of Munich)
"IN and OUT, ON and OFF - An Efficient Concept of Stimulus Perception"
8:40 pm - 8:50 pmDiscussion
8:50 pm - 9:15 pmAngelika Gründling (Imperial College London)
"From the Staphylococcal Cell Wall to Nucleotide Signaling and Half Way Back"
9:15 pm - 9:25 pmDiscussion
9:25 pm - 9:30 pmGeneral Discussion
THURSDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pmInner and Outer Membrane Biogenesis
9:00 am - 9:10 amDiscussion Leader: Arnold Driessen (University of Groningen)
"Discussion Leader's Remarks"
9:10 am - 9:35 amIan Henderson (University of Birmingham)
"Phospholipid Homeostasis in the Outer Membrane"
9:35 am - 9:45 amDiscussion
9:45 am - 10:10 amSusan Buchanan (NIH)
"Structural Insight into the Biogenesis of Beta-Barrel Membrane Proteins"
10:10 am - 10:20 amDiscussion
10:20 amCoffee Break
10:45 am - 11:10 amRoss Dalbey (Ohio State University)
"Inserting and Folding Proteins into Bacterial Membranes by the YidC Insertase"
11:10 am - 11:20 amDiscussion
11:20 am - 11:45 amTom Silhavy (Princeton University)
"Interactions Between the Essential Proteins of the Bam Complex"
11:45 am - 11:55 amDiscussion
11:55 am - 12:10 pmKaren Fleming (Johns Hopkins University)
"Driving Forces for Sorting and Folding of Outer Membrane Proteins"
12:10 pm - 12:15 pmDiscussion
12:15 pm - 12:25 pmZachary Dalebroux (University of Washington)
"Salmonella Increases Outer-Membrane Cardiolipins Through an Essential Cardiolipin-Binding Protein"
12:25 pm - 12:30 pmDiscussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pmPoster Session
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pmTransport Across the Cell Envelope
7:30 pm - 7:40 pmDiscussion Leader: Susan Buchanan (NIH)
"Discussion Leader's Remarks"
7:40 pm - 8:05 pmColin Kleanthous (Oxford University)
"The E. coli Cell Envelope as Seen by a Translocating Colicin"
8:05 pm - 8:15 pmDiscussion
8:15 pm - 8:40 pmChris Whitfield (University of Guelph)
"OPX Proteins - Outer Membrane Translocons for Extracellular Polysaccharides"
8:40 pm - 8:50 pmDiscussion
8:50 pm - 9:15 pmBriana Burton (Harvard University)
"Mechanistic Insight into DNA Transport"
9:15 pm - 9:25 pmDiscussion
9:25 pm - 9:30 pmGeneral Discussion
FRIDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 amDeparture

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