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Sensory Transduction in Microorganisms

Gordon Research Conference

January 13 - 18, 2008
Chair Ann M. Stock
Vice Chair Ann H. West
Ventura Beach Marriott
2055 Harbor Boulevard
Ventura, California, United States
 Venue and Travel Information

Conference Description

Research into the mechanisms involved in the sensing and responses of microorganisms to changes in their environments is currently very active in a large number of laboratories worldwide. An increasingly wide range of prokaryotic and eukaryotic species are being studied with regard to their sensing of diverse chemical and physical stimuli, including nutrients, toxins, intercellular signaling molecules, redox indicators, light, pressure, magnetic fields, and surface contact, leading to adaptive responses affecting motile behavior, gene expression and/or development.

The ease of manipulation of microorganisms has facilitated application of a broad range of techniques that have provided comprehensive descriptions of cellular behavior and its underlying molecular mechanisms. Systems and their molecular components have been probed at levels ranging from the whole organism down to atomic resolution using behavioral analyses; electro-physiology; genetics; molecular biology; biochemical and biophysical characterization; structural biology; single molecule, fluorescence and cryo-electron microscopy; computational modeling; bioinformatics and genomic analyses. Several model systems such as bacterial chemotaxis and motility, fruiting body formation in Myxococcus xanthus, and motility and development in Dictyostelium discoideum have traditionally been a focus of this meeting. By providing a basis for assessment of similarities and differences in mechanisms, understanding of these pathways has advanced the study of many other microbial sensing systems.

This conference aims to bring together researchers investigating different prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbial systems using diverse approaches to compare data, share methodologies and ideas, and seek to understand the fundamental principles underlying sensory responses. Topic areas include:

  • Receptor Sensing and Signaling
  • Intracellular Signaling (two-component, c-di-GMP, c-AMP, etc.)
  • Intracellular Localization and the Cytoskeleton
  • Motors and Motility
  • Differentiation and Development
  • Host/Pathogen and Host/Symbiont Interactions
  • Intercellular Communication
  • Microbes and the Environment
  • Modeling Signaling Pathways

Conference Program

SUNDAY
4:00 pm - 9:00 pmArrival and Check-in
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm Welcome Reception
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 7:40 pmWelcome / Introductory Comments by GRC Site Staff
and Conference Chair Ann Stock
7:40 pm - 9:30 pm RECEPTOR AMPLIFICATION AND ADAPTATION
Discussion Leader: Philip Matsumura (University of Illinois, Chicago, USA)
7:40 pm - 7:50 pmPhilip Matsumura (University of Illinois, Chicago, USA)
"Overview of bacterial chemotaxis"
7:50 pm - 8:10 pmSriram Subramaniam (National Cancer Institute, NIH, USA)
"Molecular structure of the chemotaxis machinery in intact bacterial cells"
8:10 pm - 8:15 pm Discussion
8:15 pm - 8:35 pmBrian Crane (Cornell University, USA)
"Molecular mechanisms of signal transduction in bacterial chemotaxis"
8:35 pm - 8:40 pm Discussion
8:40 pm - 9:00 pmGeorge Ordal (University of Illinois, Urbana, USA)
"The three adaptation systems of Bacillus subtilis chemotaxis"
9:00 pm - 9:05 pm Discussion
9:05 pm - 9:25 pmJeffry Stock (Princeton University, USA)
"Protein carboxyl methylation in signal transduction and disease"
9:25 pm - 9:30 pm Discussion
MONDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm BACTERIAL CHEMOTAXIS: MECHANISMS AND MODELS
Discussion Leader: Michael Eisenbach (Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel)
9:00 am - 9:20 amVictor Sourjik (ZMBH, University of Heidelberg, Germany)
"Formation and positioning of chemosensory clusters in E. coli"
9:20 am - 9:25 am Discussion
9:25 am - 9:45 amNed Wingreen (Princeton University, USA)
"Modeling chemosensing in E. coli: ‘Assistance neighborhoods’ and precise adaptation"
9:45 am - 9:50 am Discussion
9:50 am - 10:10 amHoward Berg (Harvard University, USA)
"Using fluorescence anisotropy to probe chemoreceptor function"
10:10 am - 10:15 am Discussion
10:15 am - 10:35 amFrederick Dahlquist (University of California, Santa Barbara, USA)
"Protein-protein interactions during motor switching"
10:35 am - 10:40 am Discussion
10:40 am - 11:10 am Coffee Break
11:10 am Group Photo
11:25 am - 11:45 amYuhai Tu (IBM T. J. Watson Research Center, USA)
"From molecules to behavior: Understanding responses of E. coli to complex signals"
11:45 am - 11:50 am Discussion
11:50 am - 12:10 pmIgor Zhulin (University of Tennessee - Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA)
"Of land and sea: Metagenomics offers insights into microbial signal transduction"
12:10 pm - 12:15 pm Discussion
12:15 pm - 12:25 pm Minitalk: Barry Wanner (Purdue University, USA)
"Mobility of individual newly expressed chemoreceptor proteins in E. coli"
12:25 pm - 12:30 pm Discussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pmPoster Session 1
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm RECEPTOR SENSING AND SIGNALING
Discussion Leader: Gerald Hazelbauer (University of Missouri, Columbia, USA)
7:30 pm - 7:50 pmBarry Taylor (Loma Linda University, USA)
"Structure-function relationships in aerotaxis signaling by Aer"
7:50 pm - 7:55 pm Discussion
7:55 pm - 8:15 pmJoseph Falke (University of Colorado, USA)
"The receptor-kinase signaling complex: Recent advances"
8:15 pm - 8:20 pm Discussion
8:20 pm - 8:40 pmJohn S. Parkinson (University of Utah, USA)
"Mutational analysis of the Tsr HAMP domain: A role for the membrane in transmembrane signaling?"
8:40 pm - 8:45 pm Discussion
8:45 pm - 9:05 pmJohn Spudich (University of Texas Medical School at Houston, USA)
"Rhodopsins: Converting a proton pump into a phototaxis receptor"
9:05 pm - 9:15 pm Discussion
9:15 pm - 9:25 pm Minitalk: Gerald Hazelbauer (University of Missouri, Columbia, USA)
"Correlating chemoreceptor activities with potential receptor-receptor interactions using nanodiscs"
9:25 pm - 9:30 pm Discussion
TUESDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF DIRECTED MOVEMENT
Discussion Leader: Alan Kimmel (National Institutes of Health, USA)
9:00 am - 9:20 amZhaomin Yang (Virginia Tech, USA)
"Chemotaxis in Myxococcus xanthus: NarX-FrzCD chimeras and lack of adaptation to negative stimuli"
9:20 am - 9:25 am Discussion
9:25 am - 9:45 amJohn Kirby (University of Iowa, USA)
"The chemosensory response to envelope stress via the CrdB lipoprotein"
9:45 am - 9:50 am Discussion
9:50 am - 10:10 amRick Firtel (University of California, San Diego, USA)
"Spatial temporal control of directional movement"
10:10 am - 10:15 am Discussion
10:15 am - 10:25 am Minitalk: Vaness McMains (National Institutes of Health, USA)
"Specificity of the presenilin/gamma-secretase complex in control of Dictyostelium development"
10:25 am - 10:30 am Discussion
10:30 am - 11:00 am Coffee Break
11:00 am - 11:20 amJudith Armitage (University of Oxford, UK)
"Structure/function comparison of the multiple CheYs and phosphatases from R. sphaeroides"
11:20 am - 11:25 am Discussion
11:25 am - 11:45 amIkuro Kawagishi (Hosei University, Japan)
"Chemotaxis and related signaling systems in Vibrio cholerae"
11:45 am - 11:50 am Discussion
11:50 am - 12:10 pmLiz Sockett (University of Nottingham, UK)
"The predatory bite of Bdellovibrio"
12:10 pm - 12:15 pm Discussion
12:15 pm - 12:25 pm Minitalk: Masahiro Ito (Toyo University)
"Single stator complex of bacterial flagellar motor can use both H+ and Na+ for stator force generator in alkaliphilic Bacillus"
12:25 pm - 12:30 pm Discussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pmPoster Session 1
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm INTRACELLULAR SIGNALING
Discussion Leader: Alan Wolfe (Loyola University Chicago, USA)
7:30 pm - 7:40 pmAlan Wolfe (Loyola University Chicago, USA)
"What do onions, ogres, and signal transduction have in common?"
7:40 pm - 8:00 pmPeter Satir (Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, USA)
"Sensory pathways in Tetrahymena cilia"
8:00 pm - 8:05 pm Discussion
8:05 pm - 8:25 pmWilliam Loomis (University of California, San Diego, USA)
"Signal transduction through histidine kinases and GPCRs leads to sporulation in Dictyostelium"
8:25 pm - 8:30 pm Discussion
8:30 pm - 8:50 pmCaroline Harwood (University of Washington, USA)
"The Wsp chemosensory system controls exopolysaccharide synthesis via c-di-GMP"
8:50 pm - 9:00 pm Discussion
9:00 pm - 9:10 pmMinitalk: Jeremiah Marden (Indiana University, USA)
"Rhodospirillum centenum utilizes cGMP as a signaling molecule to control cyst formation"
9:10 pm - 9:15 pm Discussion
9:15 pm - 9:25 pm Minitalk: Joachim Schultz (University of Tübingen, Germany)
"The HAMP domain as a signal relay and a tool: from chemotaxis signaling to adenylyl cyclases"
9:25 pm - 9:30 pm Discussion
WEDNESDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm HIS-ASP PHOSPHORELAY SIGNALING
Discussion Leader: Marion Hulett (University of Illinois, Chicago, USA)
9:00 am - 9:20 amKaz Shiozaki (University of California, Davis, USA)
"Multistep phosphorelay linked to the stress MAP kinase cascade in fission yeast"
9:20 am - 9:25 am Discussion
9:25 am - 9:45 amJan Fassler (University of Iowa, USA)
"Effect of fungal wall composition on activity of the Sln1 sensor-kinase"
9:45 am - 9:50 am Discussion
9:50 am - 10:10 amRichard Calderone (Georgetown University Medical Center, USA)
"Triazole hypersensitivity and lethality associated with deletion of the Candida albicans SSK1 response regulator"
10:10 am - 10:15 am Discussion
10:15 am - 10:25 am Minitalk: Roberto Bogomolni (University of California, Santa Cruz, USA)
"The LOV-histidine kinases: a new family of two-component blue-light sensors in bacteria"
10:25 am - 10:30 am Discussion
10:30 am - 11:00 am Coffee Break
11:00 am - 11:20 amKathleen Ryan (University of California, Berkeley, USA)
"Non-kinase functions of DivL in Caulobacter cell cycle regulation"
11:20 am - 11:25 am Discussion
11:25 am - 11:45 amMichael Laub (MIT, USA)
"Redesigning and rewiring the specificity of two-component signaling proteins"
11:45 am - 11:50 am Discussion
11:50 am - 12:10 pmJames Hoch (Scripps Research Institute, USA)
"Coordinating cell division and cell wall architecture with the YycFG two-component system"
12:10 pm - 12:15 pm Discussion
12:15 pm - 12:25 pm Minitalk: Tarek Msadek (Institut Pasteur, France)
"A matter of life and death: cell wall homeostasis and the WalKR regulon"
12:25 pm - 12:30 pm Discussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pmPoster Session 2
6:00 pmDinner
7:00 pm - 7:30 pmBusiness Meeting
(Nominations for the next Vice Chair; Fill out Conference Evaluation Forms; Discuss future Site & Scheduling preferences; Election of the next Vice Chair)
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm MOTILITY AND LOCALIZATION
Discussion Leader: Wenyuan Shi (UCLA School of Medicine and Dentistry, USA)
7:30 pm - 7:50 pmGuenther Gerisch (Max-Planck-Institut für Biochemie, Germany)
"Control of actin dynamics in chemotaxis and phagocytosis"
7:50 pm - 7:55 pm Discussion
7:55 pm - 8:15 pmTam Mignot (Laboratoire de Chimie Bactérienne-Institut de Biologie Structurale et Microbiologie, France)
"Spatial regulation of Myxococcus xanthus directional motility"
8:15 pm - 8:20 pm Discussion
8:20 pm - 8:40 pmLotte Søgaard-Andersen (Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Germany)
"Intercellular signaling and dynamic protein localization in Myxococcus xanthus"
8:40 pm - 8:45 pm Discussion
8:45 pm - 9:05 pmDavid Zusman (University of California, Berkeley, USA)
"Dynamic localization of the FrzCD receptor in Myxococcus xanthus"
9:05 pm - 9:15 pm Discussion
9:15 pm - 9:25 pmMinitallk: Wenyuan Shi (UCLA School of Medicine and Dentistry, USA)
"Coordination of two motility systems in Myxococcus xanthus"
9:25 pm - 9:30 pm Discussion
THURSDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm MOTILITY AND STRUCTURAL BASIS OF MOVEMENT
Discussion Leader: Rüdiger Schmitt (University of Regensburg, Germany)
9:00 am - 9:20 amShin-Ichi Aizawa (Prefectural University of Hiroshima, Japan)
"Three families in the flagellar world"
9:20 am - 9:25 am Discussion
9:25 am - 9:45 amKelly Hughes (University of Utah, USA)
"Of corks, rods & rulers: how to construct the bacterial flagellum"
9:45 am - 9:50 am Discussion
9:50 am - 10:10 amKeiichi Namba (Osaka University, Japan)
"Protein export and ordered self-assembly for the formation of the bacterial flagellum"
10:10 am - 10:15 am Discussion
10:15 am - 10:25 am Minitalk: Tohru Minamino (Osaka University, Japan)
"Intracellular pH measurement of Salmonella with a pH-sensitive GFP, pHluorin, and a newly developed pH imaging system"
10:25 am - 10:30 am Discussion
10:30 am - 11:00 am Coffee Break
11:00 am - 11:20 amNyles Charon (West Virginia University, USA)
"Unique aspects of Borrelia burgdorferi motility and chemotaxis"
11:20 am - 11:25 am Discussion
11:25 am - 11:45 amMichio Homma (Nagoya University, Japan)
"Bacterial flagellar motor assembly in membrane"
11:45 am - 11:50 am Discussion
11:50 am - 12:10 pm Arash Komeili (University of California, Berkeley, USA)
"Molecular mechanisms of magnetosome formation"
12:10 pm - 12:15 pm Discussion
12:15 pm - 12:25 pm Minitalk: Robert Belas (University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, USA)
"Digital holographic microscopy reveals prey-induced changes in swimming behavior of predatory dinoflagellates"
12:25 pm - 12:30 pm Discussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pmPoster Session 2
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm PATHOGENESIS AND VIRULENCE MECHANISMS
Discussion Leader: Linda Kenney (University of Illinois, Chicago, USA)
7:30 pm - 7:50 pmLinda Kenney (University of Illinois, Chicago, USA)
"Global regulators and the evolution of cis-regulatory sequences in pathogenesis"
7:50 pm - 7:55 pm Discussion
7:55 pm - 8:15 pmFitnat Yildiz (University of California, Santa Cruz, USA)
"Biofilm formation in Vibrio cholerae"
8:15 pm - 8:20 pm Discussion
8:20 pm - 8:40 pmKaren Ottemann (University of California, Santa Cruz, USA)
"The ulcer-causing pathogen Helicobacter pylori uses chemotaxis to find iron in the stomach"
8:40 pm - 8:45 pm Discussion
8:45 pm - 9:05 pmFred Hughson (Princeton University, USA)
"Transmembrane signal transduction in quorum sensing"
9:05 pm - 9:10 pm Discussion
9:10 pm - 9:20 pm Minitalk: Holger Sondermann (Cornell University, USA)
"Regulation of the diguanylate cyclase response regulator WspR"
9:20 pm - 9:25 pm Discussion
9:25 pm - 9:30 pm Closing Announcements
FRIDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 amDeparture

Contributors

EMBO Young Investigator Program
ASM Press
Qiagen, Inc.
New Brunswick Scientific Co., Inc.
Carl Storm International Diversity Fellowship
Gordon Research Conferences

Conference Links

Conference History
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