GRC Animal-Microbe Symbioses 2019, Vermont, June 16 - 21, 2019

在过去十年中，很明显，包括人类在内的所有动物的健康都依赖于与生活在动物宿主肠道、体表和身体其他部位的复杂微生物群落的相互作用。戈登动物-微生物共生研究会议为各个职业阶段的研究人员提供了一个独特的机会，让他们能够会面并讨论这一新兴科学学科的最新发展。本次会议的一个关键主题是微生物保护动物免受病原体侵害的机制（作为“第二免疫系统”的功能），提供营养，并通常维持其动物宿主的健康和活力。会议的第二个重要主题是一种动物的微生物居民如何影响宿主与其他动植物的相互作用，并有可能通过自然生态系统（例如海洋、森林）以及管理的农业景观产生级联效应。这些科学讨论将由会议参与者的广泛专业知识促进，包括国际知名的受邀演讲者和早期职业科学家，他们将在高度互动的会议上展示他们的研究。除了在科学部分提供交流信息和观点的机会外，本次会议还举办了关于专业发展的会议。特别值得一提的是，为期两天的针对早期职业科学家的戈登研究研讨会包括一个关于科学传播的小组活动，它是与杰出的科学记者合作举办的。因此，这次会议将塑造我们如何研究、理解和管理共生关系的未来。认识到所有高等生物都与微生物共生，为生物学开辟了一个新的视角。动物和人类现在都被认为是复杂的生态系统，每个生态系统都由宿主及其相关的微生物群组成，它们共同作为选择的功能单位。像俄罗斯娃娃一样，共生体的代谢过程被转化为有机体的功能，可以对生态系统规模产生深远的影响。会议讨论了一系列独特的宿主（从海绵到人类）和各种共生体（从细胞器、病毒、细菌到真菌）的最新技术和概念进展。本次会议采用的广泛的系统和方法将促进对形成不同关联的共同机制的新见解，并加强对共生平衡丧失（生态失调）的原因和后果的理解。与此相关的戈登研究研讨会将为研究生和博士后研究人员提供一个场所，在非正式的环境中展示他们的发现，并与科学传播会议一起讨论想法。戈登研究会议和动物-微生物共生研究研讨会将促进不同学科背景、所有职业阶段和种族的科学家充分参与，特别注意确保性别平衡和对代表性不足的少数民族的支持。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Over the last decade, it has become apparent that the health of all animals, including humans, are dependent on interactions with complex communities of microorganisms that live in the gut, on the surface, and at other locations in the body of the animal host. The Gordon Research Conference on Animal-Microbe Symbioses provides a unique opportunity for researchers at all career stages to meet and discuss the latest developments in this burgeoning scientific discipline. A key topic at this conference is the mechanisms by which microorganisms protect animals against pathogens (functioning as a "second immune system"), provide nutrients, and generally sustain the health and vigor of their animal host. A second important theme for the conference is how the microbial inhabitants of one animal influence the host's interactions with other animals and plants, with the potential for cascading effects through natural ecosystems (e.g., oceans, forests), as well as managed agricultural landscapes. These scientific discussions will be facilitated by the great breadth of expertise among the conference participants, including internationally-acclaimed invited speakers and also early-career scientists, who will present their research at highly-interactive sessions. In addition to providing the opportunity for the exchange of information and views in the science sections, this conference has sessions on professional development. In particular, the two-day Gordon Research Seminar for early-career researchers includes a panel event on Science Communication, in collaboration with distinguished science journalists. As such, the conference will shape the future of how we study, understand, and manage symbiotic associations. The recognition that all higher organisms live in symbiotic association with microorganisms has opened up a new perspective in biology. Animals and humans alike are now considered as complex ecosystems each consisting of the host and its associated microbiome, which together serve as functional units of selection. Like a Russian doll, the metabolic processes of the symbionts are translated into organism functions which can have profound effects on the ecosystem scale. The conference addresses recent technological and conceptual advances in a uniquely broad range of hosts (from sponges to humans) and with diverse symbionts (from organelles, viruses, bacteria to fungi). The broad sweep of systems and approaches adopted in this conference will facilitate new insights into common mechanisms shaping diverse associations, and enhance understanding of the causes and consequences of the loss of symbiotic equilibrium (dysbiosis). The linked Gordon Research Seminar will offer a venue for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers to present their findings and discuss ideas in an informal setting, in conjunction with sessions on Science Communication. Both the Gordon Research Conference and Research Seminar on Animal-Microbe Symbioses will promote the fullest participation of scientists of diverse disciplinary backgrounds, all career stages and ethnicities, with particular attention to ensuring gender balance and support for under-represented minorities.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.