Conference: International Conference on Tetrapyrroles of Photosynthetic Organisms to be held at Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island on July 25-30, 2001

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The International Conference on Tetrapyrroles of Photosynthetic Organisms is to be held July 25-30, 2001, on the campus of Brown University in Rhode Island, USA. The conference will bring together an international group of scientists to present, discuss, and evaluate new data and concepts in the areas of biochemistry and related disciplines that involve the structure, biosynthesis, and function of tetrapyrroles in photosynthetic organisms. Previous conferences in this series were held in Davis, California, in 1991, and in Europe in 1995, 1997, and 1999. The dates and location of the 2001 conference were selected to facilitate attendance by individuals who will also be attending the 2001 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Plant Physiologists, which will be held in Providence. Awarded funds will be used to support American participants, particularly beginning independent investigators, postdoctoral researchers, and graduate students. Photosynthesis is the biochemical process that, directly or indirectly, supports all life on Earth. Photosynthesis itself depends on the capture and use of energy from sunlight. Both the capture of sunlight and the conversion of its energy into assimilable forms of metabolic energy depend on a group of chemical compounds collectively named tetrapyrroles. This family of compounds includes chlorophylls, hemes, and bilins. In addition to their central roles in photosynthesis, tetrapyrroles are required for several other important processes in photosynthetic organisms, including respiration (respiratory cytochromes), oxygen-mediated biosynthetic and catabolic reactions (cytochrome P450, catalase, peroxidases), and light perception for developmental responses (phytochrome chromophores). This is the only conference series that is specifically focused on the group of scientific disciplines that encompass photosynthetic mechanisms, tetrapyrrole pigment biosynthesis, plant photoreceptors, photoprotection, functional and biosynthetic protein structural analysis, and tetrapyrrole metabolism.