Harnessing Diversity to Understand Molecular Mechanisms, Pathogenicity, and Fungal Factories

June 17 - 22, 2018

Chairs

and

Vice Chairs

and

Holderness School

33 Chapel Lane

Holderness, New Hampshire, United States

Venue and Travel Information

Conference Description

The 2018 Gordon Research Conference on Cellular and Molecular Fungal Biology will focus on the incredible diversity of fungal form and lifestyle. Fungal diversity presents rich opportunities to discover and characterize divergent mechanistic solutions to evolutionary pressures and environmental challenges, advancing our understanding of biology as a whole. Exploitation of fungal diversity also harbors tremendous promise for therapeutic and commercial purposes. But fungal diversity also presents challenges, most notably in understanding the means by which evolutionarily diverse fungal pathogens infect, exploit, and kill human, animal, and plant hosts. The conference will bring together researchers across the globe and spanning career stages to present and discuss the latest exciting findings on fungal diversity, evolution, sex, development, growth and pathogenicity. We will explore environmental sensing, signaling, morphology and molecular motors, as well as the synthetic design and commercial exploitation of fungal systems. Morning and evening sessions will be interspersed with poster sessions and unstructured time to maximize informal interactions and the exchange of ideas. The Holderness School sits in a tranquil and intimate New England setting that fosters a highly interactive conference. Our highly interactive fungal community, combined with our (first ever!) Gordon Research Seminar, makes this a fantastic forum for young scientists to interact with established group leaders.

Related Meeting

This GRC will be held in conjunction with the "Cellular and Molecular Fungal Biology" Gordon Research Seminar (GRS). Those interested in attending both meetings must submit an application for the GRS in addition to an application for the GRC. Refer to the associated GRS program page for more information.

Conference Program

Sunday
2:00 pm - 9:00 pm	Arrival and Check-in
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Dinner
7:30 pm - 7:40 pm	Introductory Comments by GRC Site Staff / Welcome from the GRC Chair
7:40 pm - 9:30 pm	Dimensions of Fungal Diversity Discussion Leader:
7:40 pm - 7:50 pm	Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:50 pm - 8:05 pm	"Fungal Warfare: NOD-Like Receptor and Pyroptotic-Like Proteins in Allorecognition and Cell Death"
8:05 pm - 8:15 pm	Discussion
8:15 pm - 8:30 pm	"The Genomic Making of Yeast Biodiversity"
8:30 pm - 8:40 pm	Discussion
8:40 pm - 8:55 pm	"Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans: Interactions with the Amphibian Host"
8:55 pm - 9:05 pm	Discussion
9:05 pm - 9:20 pm	"Temporal, Spatial, and Functional Dimensions of Endophyte Diversity"
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm	Discussion
Monday
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
8:30 am - 9:00 am	Group Photo
9:00 am - 12:30 pm	Morphology, Movement and Motors Discussion Leader:
9:00 am - 9:10 am	Introduction by Discussion Leader
9:10 am - 9:25 am	"Bi-Directional Motility of Kinesin-5 Motors: Old Dogma, New Insights"
9:25 am - 9:35 am	Discussion
9:35 am - 9:50 am	"Cargo Hitchhiking: A New Paradigm in Intracellular Transport"
9:50 am - 10:00 am	Discussion
10:00 am - 10:15 am	"The Polarized Secretory Pathway Leading to Cell Wall Expansion in Neurospora crassa Hyphae"
10:15 am - 10:25 am	Discussion
10:25 am - 10:55 am	Coffee Break
10:55 am - 11:10 am	"Cell Polarity and Mechanics in Fission Yeast"
11:10 am - 11:20 am	Discussion
11:20 am - 11:35 am	"The Ascus Persists After Post-Germination Budding and Influences Bud-vs-Mate Decisions in S. cerevisiae"
11:35 am - 11:45 am	Discussion
11:45 am - 11:55 am	"The Cryptococcus neoformans Titan Cell Is an Inducible and Regulated Morphotype Underlying Pathogenesis"
11:55 am - 12:05 pm	Discussion
12:05 pm - 12:20 pm	"Interactions Between Nematodes and Nematode-Trapping Fungi"
12:20 pm - 12:30 pm	Discussion
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm	Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm	Free Time
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm	Power Hour The GRC Power Hour is an optional informal gathering open to all meeting participants. It is designed to help address the challenges women face in science and support the professional growth of women in our communities by providing an open forum for discussion and mentoring. Organizer:
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm	Poster Session
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm	Sex and Development Discussion Leader:
7:30 pm - 7:40 pm	Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:40 pm - 7:55 pm	"Evolution of Sexual Reproduction: A View from the Fungal Kingdom"
7:55 pm - 8:05 pm	Discussion
8:05 pm - 8:20 pm	"Is Sex Chromosome Structure Related to Sexes? Insights from Fungi"
8:20 pm - 8:30 pm	Discussion
8:30 pm - 8:45 pm	"Evolution of Morphological and Functional Diversity in Fungi"
8:45 pm - 8:55 pm	Discussion
8:55 pm - 9:10 pm	"Sex, Mutation and Differentiation in Candida albicans"
9:10 pm - 9:20 pm	Discussion
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm	General Discussion
Tuesday
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm	Sensing and Signalling in Dynamic Environments Discussion Leader:
9:00 am - 9:10 am	Introduction by Discussion Leader
9:10 am - 9:25 am	"MAPK-Dependent Cell-to-Cell Movement During Tissue Invasion by the Rice Blast Fungus"
9:25 am - 9:35 am	Discussion
9:35 am - 9:50 am	"The Role of Lipid Signaling in the Recruitment and Activation of the Nox Complex in the Filamentous Fungus Epichloë festucae"
9:50 am - 10:00 am	Discussion
10:00 am - 10:15 am	"The Aspergillus fumigatus CrzA and ZipD Transcription Factors Are Involved in Calcium Metabolism and the Caspofungin Paradoxical Effect"
10:15 am - 10:25 am	Discussion
10:25 am - 10:55 am	Coffee Break
10:55 am - 11:05 am	"Multimodal Sensorimotor System in Unicellular Zoospores of a Fungus"
11:05 am - 11:15 am	Discussion
11:15 am - 11:30 am	"Gene Expression Through Time and Space: The Memory of a Fungus"
11:30 am - 11:40 am	Discussion
11:40 am - 11:55 am	"Infection and Colonization of Plant Hosts by Verticillium"
11:55 am - 12:05 pm	Discussion
12:05 pm - 12:20 pm	"Systematic Analysis of Loss-of-Function Phenotypes in S. cerevisiae"
12:20 pm - 12:30 pm	Discussion
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm	Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm	Free Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm	Poster Session
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm	Designing and Exploiting Fungal Systems Discussion Leader:
7:30 pm - 7:40 pm	Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:40 pm - 7:55 pm	"Deciphering Behavior of the Anaerobic Gut Fungi (Neocallimastigales) for Biomass Conversion"
7:55 pm - 8:05 pm	Discussion
8:05 pm - 8:20 pm	"Challenges of Re-Engineering Yeast Central Carbon Metabolism for Industrial Chemical Production"
8:20 pm - 8:30 pm	Discussion
8:30 pm - 8:45 pm	"Aspergillus Genomes from Space"
8:45 pm - 8:55 pm	Discussion
8:55 pm - 9:10 pm	"Looking at the Past to Breed Yeasts for Tomorrow"
9:10 pm - 9:20 pm	Discussion
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm	General Discussion
Wednesday
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm	Fungal Evolution: Mode, Tempo and Impact Discussion Leader:
9:00 am - 9:10 am	Introduction by Discussion Leader
9:10 am - 9:25 am	"Rapid Adaptation and Evolution of Antifungal Drug Stresses"
9:25 am - 9:35 am	Discussion
9:35 am - 9:50 am	"Accessory Chromosomes in the Fungal Plant Pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici: Mechanisms of Loss and Retention"
9:50 am - 10:00 am	Discussion
10:00 am - 10:15 am	"Cryptococcus Transcriptome Complexity"
10:15 am - 10:25 am	Discussion
10:25 am - 10:55 am	Coffee Break
10:55 am - 11:05 am	"Diverse Lineages of Candida albicans Live on Old Oaks"
11:05 am - 11:15 am	Discussion
11:15 am - 11:30 am	"Deconstructing the Coevolutionary Complexity Between Rust Fungi (Pucciniales) and Their Plant Hosts"
11:30 am - 11:40 am	Discussion
11:40 am - 11:55 am	"Genetic Code Evolution in Budding Yeasts"
11:55 am - 12:05 pm	Discussion
12:05 pm - 12:20 pm	"Phenotypic and Metabolomic Trait Evolution of Penicillium in Fermented Foods"
12:20 pm - 12:30 pm	Discussion
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm	Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm	Free Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm	Poster Session
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Dinner
7:00 pm - 7:30 pm	Business 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 pm	Late-Breaking Topics Discussion Leaders: and
7:30 pm - 7:45 pm	"Mapping the Fungal Battlefield"
7:45 pm - 7:50 pm	Discussion
7:50 pm - 8:05 pm	"The Evolution of Diversity and Function in Fungal Catabolic Gene Clusters"
8:05 pm - 8:10 pm	Discussion
8:10 pm - 8:25 pm	"An Imported Fungal Micropeptide Signals by Controlling the Genomic Association of Two Regulators at Co-Occupied Promoters"
8:25 pm - 8:30 pm	Discussion
8:30 pm - 8:45 pm	"Organelle Tracking During Appressorium Development in Magnaporthe oryzae"
8:45 pm - 8:50 pm	Discussion
8:50 pm - 9:05 pm	"Global Analysis of Genetic Circuitry and Adaptive Mechanisms Enabling Resistance to the Azole Antifungal Drugs"
9:05 pm - 9:10 pm	Discussion
9:10 pm - 9:25 pm	"Comparative Population Genomics Analysis of the Mammalian Fungal Pathogen Pneumocystis"
9:25 pm - 9:30 pm	Discussion
Thursday
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm	Mechanistic Diversity Underlying Human Pathogenesis Discussion Leader:
9:00 am - 9:10 am	Introduction by Discussion Leader
9:10 am - 9:25 am	"Fungal Immune Recognition: How the Fungus Sees Us and We See the Fungus"
9:25 am - 9:35 am	Discussion
9:35 am - 9:50 am	"Immune Recognition and Response to Pneumocystis murina"
9:50 am - 10:00 am	Discussion
10:00 am - 10:15 am	"Disease Progression Factors - How 'Fun-Guys' Reduce In Vivo Stress"
10:15 am - 10:25 am	Discussion
10:25 am - 10:55 am	Coffee Break
10:55 am - 11:05 am	"A Secreted Fungal Polysaccharide Alters Fungal Cell Morphology and Facilitates Dissemination Within the Mammalian Host"
11:05 am - 11:15 am	Discussion
11:15 am - 11:30 am	"Sexual Reproduction and Cryptococcal Disease"
11:30 am - 11:40 am	Discussion
11:40 am - 11:55 am	"Nutritional Signaling in Expression of Virulence Factors of Candida albicans"
11:55 am - 12:05 pm	Discussion
12:05 pm - 12:20 pm	"Where Did Metarhizium Get the Genes to Be both an Insect Pathogen and a Plant Symbiont?"
12:20 pm - 12:30 pm	Discussion
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm	Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm	Free Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm	Poster Session
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm	Mechanistic Diversity Underlying Plant Pathogenesis Discussion Leader:
7:30 pm - 7:40 pm	Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:40 pm - 7:55 pm	"Dissecting Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Fusarium Wilt Diseases"
7:55 pm - 8:05 pm	Discussion
8:05 pm - 8:20 pm	"Elucidating Virulence Factors in a Biotrophic Fungus"
8:20 pm - 8:30 pm	Discussion
8:30 pm - 8:45 pm	"Adaptive Genome Evolution in the Vascular Wilt Pathogen Verticillium"
8:45 pm - 8:55 pm	Discussion
8:55 pm - 9:10 pm	"Biochemical, Structural, and Functional Insights into Fungal Core Effector Proteins"
9:10 pm - 9:20 pm	Discussion
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm	General Discussion
Friday
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
9:00 am	Departure