Conference: 3rd ASM Conference on Cell-Cell Communication in Bacteria to be held in Austin, Texas, October 7-10, 2007

第三届美国微生物学会（ASM）细菌细胞间通讯会议将于2007年10月7日至10日在德克萨斯州奥斯汀举行（CCCB-07）。会议的重点是细菌所采用的化学和物理信号机制以及这些过程所导致的通信网络。 细菌是单细胞生命的典范，但它们也表现出复杂的协调行为，往往违反单细胞性。在20世纪60年代和70年代，一些报告表明细菌可能通过化学信号相互交流，特别是在调节肺炎链球菌的遗传能力和控制费氏弧菌的生物发光方面。过去十年的研究表明，各种细菌可以通过不同的机制进行交流。在大多数情况下，这些微生物对话通过交换可扩散的信号发生，尽管也有细胞接触依赖性通信的明确例子。许多细菌使用这些信号机制来监测和响应种群密度，这一过程通常被描述为群体感应。 然而，细菌间的通信并不局限于群体感应机制，越来越多的证据表明，信号可以在一系列不同的能力。微生物之间的交流对宿主相互作用有着深远的影响，因为植物和动物病原体，共生体和寄生虫经常使用信号产生和感知来调节其宿主相互作用的重要方面。靶功能包括但不限于水平基因转移、毒力因子、粘附素、生物膜形成和胞外酶的分泌。已建立的系统，如环硫内酯信号和酰基高丝氨酸内酯（AHL），控制不同细菌的行为，现在加入了一些最近发现的信号系统。这些系统的范围和多样性继续爆炸性增长。由于在微生物学领域的快速发现和它所产生的兴奋，ASM在2001年和2004年举办了两次细菌细胞间通讯（CCCB）会议。社区对第三次会议的大力支持使ASM致力于CCCB-07会议。本次会议的目标是作为一个渠道，为美国和国际领先的科学家之间的细菌通信工作的新思想的交流和合成，并培养下一代科学家在这一领域的工作。过去的两次会议极大地刺激了细胞间通讯社区，导致了杰出的话语和富有成效的新合作。CCCB-07会议将促进针对和利用微生物通讯机制的新信息，想法和策略的交流。没有其他会议围绕微生物通讯的中心概念组织，CCCB-07提供了一个独特的场所，可以检查保守的模式，过程和模式，并探索这一过程的机制和系统发育多样性。该会议对微生物学的所有领域都有巨大的科学影响，包括微生物细胞生物学，基因调控和信号转导，微生物生态学和进化，宿主-微生物相互作用和应用微生物学。就更广泛的影响而言，预计CCCB-07将为研究生、博士后学员、初级科学家和代表性不足的少数群体提供一个学习和参与的场所。 该NSF奖项将专门提供旅行资金，以帮助支付八名博士后和/或初级教师科学家的费用。

The third American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Conference on Cell-Cell Communication in Bacteria will be held in Austin, TX, October 7-10, 2007 (CCCB-07). The conference focuses on chemical and physical signaling mechanisms employed by bacteria and the communication networks that lead from these processes. Bacteria are the paradigm for unicellular life, yet they also exhibit elaborate coordinated behaviors that often defy unicellularity. In the 1960s and 1970s several reports suggested that bacteria might communicate with each other via chemical signals, specifically in regulating genetic competence in Streptococcus pneumoniae and in controlling bioluminescence in Vibrio fischeri. Research over the past decade has revealed that a wide range of bacteria can communicate by diverse mechanisms. In most cases these microbial conversations occur through the exchange of diffusible signals, although there are also clear examples of cell contact-dependent communication. Many bacteria use these signaling mechanisms to monitor and respond to population density, a process often described as quorum sensing. Interbacterial communication is not however restricted to quorum sensing mechanisms, and there is mounting evidence that signaling can function in a range of different capacities. Communication between microorganisms has profound impacts on host interactions, as plant and animal pathogens, symbionts and commensals often regulate important aspects of their host interactions using signal production and perception. Target functions include, but are not restricted to, horizontal gene transfer, virulence factors, adhesins, biofilm formation and the secretion of exoenzymes. Well established systems such as the cyclic thiolactone signals and acyl homoserine lactones (AHLs) that control behavior in diverse bacteria are now joined by a number of more recently identified signaling systems. The range and diversity of these systems continues to grow explosively. Due to the rapid pace of discovery in this area of microbiology and the excitement it has generated, the ASM has hosted two previous Cell-Cell Communication in Bacteria (CCCB) conferences, in 2001 and in 2004. Strong community support for a third conference led the ASM to commit to the CCCB-07 conference. The goal of this conference is to act as a conduit for the exchange and synthesis of new ideas among leading US and international scientists working on bacterial communication, and to foster the next generation of scientists to work in this area. The past two conferences greatly stimulated the cell-cell communication community, leading to outstanding discourse and productive new collaborations.The CCCB-07 conference will promote the exchange of new information, ideas and strategies for targeting and harnessing the communication mechanisms of microorganisms. There are no other conferences that organize around the central concept of microbial communication, and the CCCB-07 provides a unique venue in which to examine conserved patterns, processes and modalities as well as to explore the mechanistic and phylogenetic diversity of this process. The conference has tremendous scientific impact on all areas of microbiology, including microbial cell biology, gene regulation and signal transduction, microbial ecology and evolution, host-microbe interactions, and applied microbiology. In terms of broader impacts, it is anticipated that CCCB-07 will provide a venue for learning and participation by graduate students, postdoctoral trainees, junior faculty scientists and underrepresented minorities. This NSF award specifically will provide travel funds to help defray the costs for eight postdoctoral and/or junior faculty scientists.