Sea Urchin Developmental Biology Conference XIV

描述（由申请人提供）：第14届海胆细胞和发育生物学研究界以及研究尾脊索动物、半尾脊索动物和头脊索动物的研究人员会议将于2002年5月1日至5日在伍兹霍尔Mass举行。这次会议是对非脊椎动物后口动物的细胞、分子、发育和进化生物学感兴趣的研究人员最重要的聚会。第14次会议特别重要，因为正在进行三个基因组计划（两个关于被囊动物，一个关于海胆）。讲习班、讨论会和非正式讨论对于与这些项目有关的协调和合作将是极为重要的。对细胞生物学、发育和进化具有重要意义的已鉴定基因的爆炸式增长，促进了人们对这一领域兴趣的极大扩展。一个多世纪以前，海胆胚胎和被囊动物胚胎作为模式生物进行了研究。这些胚胎为实验操作提供了许多优势，并且仍然是理解细胞，发育和进化机制的重要工具。可用基因的爆炸给这些系统注入了巨大的新力量来决定功能。直到最近，包括文昌鱼和橡子虫（一种半足虫）在内的其他模型系统都是相当外围的，仅用于比较系统研究。最近的努力也为使这些生物适应实验方法提供了新的动力。因此，当后口动物进化和发育的机制被发现时，在社区中引起了极大的兴奋。会议汇集了实验学家，分享他们在分子、细胞和基因组水平上的发现。会议包括8个全体会议，共有44位发言人，加上6个并行会议和两个讲习班，共有46位发言人。海报会议和用餐时的讨论增加了高度互动的氛围。这次会议将有大约200人参加。受邀者将包括所有对海胆、被囊动物、半足动物和头脊索动物的细胞、发育和进化机制感兴趣的人。会议将涵盖受精、分子规范、轴向组织、原肠胚形成和形态发生、激活发育的细胞机制、基因组学和进化机制。同时举办的会议为研究生和博士后提供了宝贵的机会，让他们获得在国际会议上发言的经验，而研讨会则介绍了这些胚胎的新方法。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The 14th meeting of the Sea urchin cell and developmental biology research community and of researchers working on Urochordates, Hemichordates, and Cephalochordates will be held on May 1-5,2002 at Woods Hole Mass. This meeting is the most important gathering of researchers interested in the cell, molecular, developmental and evolutionary biology of non-vertebrate deuterostomes. The 14th meeting has special importance because of three genome projects being conducted (two on tunicates and one on sea urchins). Workshops, seminars, and informal discussions will be of immense importance for the coordination and collaborations associated with those projects. A vast expansion of interest in this field has been catalyzed by an explosion of identified genes of importance to cell biology, development and evolution. The sea urchin embryo and tunicate embryo were adapted for study as model organisms more than a century ago. These embryos offer many advantages for experimental manipulation and have remained as important tools for understanding cellular, developmental and evolutionary mechanisms. The explosion of available genes has infused these systems with enormous new power for determination of function. Until recently other model systems that include amphioxis and acorn worms (a hemichordate) have been quite peripheral and used only for comparative systematic studies. Recent efforts have given new impetus to adapt these organisms for experimental approaches as well. As a result there is great excitement in the community as mechanisms of deuterostome evolution and development are uncovered. The meeting brings together exiperimentalists to share their findings at the molecular, cellular, and genomic level. The meeting includes 8 plenary sessions with a total of 44 speakers, plus 6 concurrent sessions and two workshops with 46 speakers. Poster sessions and discussions over meals add to the highly interactive atmosphere. The meeting will include about 200 people. Invitees will include all those interested in cell, development, and evolutionary mechanism in sea urchins, tunicates, hemichordates and cephalochordates. Sessions will cover fertilization, molecular specification, axial organization, gastrulation and morphogenesis, cellular mechanisms that activate development, genomics, and evolutionary mechanisms that impact development. The concurrent sessions offer valuable opportunities for graduate students and postdocs to gain experience speaking at an international meeting, and the workshops introduce new approaches in these embryos.