Mechanotransduction & Gravity Signaling in Biol Systems

描述（由申请人提供）：第八届和第九届两年一次的戈登研究会议“机械转导和重力信号在生物系统”将于2003年7月20日至25日和2005年7月22日至27日分别在康涅狄格大学举行。会议的主题是机械感知，一种古老的感知能力。预计约有100名与会者，包括25名发言者和13名讨论负责人。要求提供资金以支助20名初级参与者。这是一个令人兴奋的时间研究机械感觉。该领域正在迅速发展，特别是在机械转导的遗传方法领域。已经提出了一个非常好的支持模型来解释原核机械敏感通道的门控。包括蠕虫和果蝇在内的真核遗传模型系统已经确定了两类推定的机械感觉通道，DEG/EnaC和TRP通道，现在正在直接测试机械门控特性。随着对毛细胞和听觉功能重要的新蛋白质的鉴定，对斑马鱼、小鼠和人类听力缺陷突变体的分析正在加速。除了在专门的传感器上的工作之外，我们对非专门组织（骨骼，植物根和芽）中的机械传感的理解也有重大进展。2003年会议的重点将继续是机械感觉不同方面所需的蛋白质和细胞成分的分子和生理分析。2005年的会议将继续对单个机械传导组件的阐述，但也将朝着理解蛋白质复合物的方向发展，这些蛋白质复合物对于控制机械传感器张力的复杂机器尤其重要。拟议中的会议将汇集科学家，他们通常不见面，因为他们研究不同的生物体（微生物，植物或动物）或不同类型的机械反应（在专门的机械传感器中快速反应或对骨骼或植物中持续力的缓慢反应）或因为他们采用广泛不同的方法（遗传学与生理学）。此外，戈登会议的形式有利于非正式沟通和讨论有争议的问题。这些因素将促进跨学科的思想和方法的转移，并形成新的策略，为力学信号转导的研究。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The 8th and 9th biennial Gordon Research Conference on "Mechanotransduction and Gravity Signaling in Biological Systems" will be held July 20-25, 2003 and July 22-27, 2005, respectively, at Connecticut College. The theme of the meeting is mechanosensing, an ancient sensory capability. About 100 participants are expected, including 25 speakers and 13 discussion leaders. Funding is requested to support 20 junior-level participants. This is an exciting time for research on mechanosensation. The field is rapidly growing, especially in the area of genetic approaches to mechanotransduction. A strikingly well supported model has been proposed to explain the gating of a prokaryotic mechanosensitive channel. Eukaryotic genetic model systems including worm and fruitfly have identified two classes of putative mechanosensory channels, DEG/EnaC and TRP channels, that are now being directly tested for mechanical gating properties. Analysis of hearing defective mutants in zebrafish, mice, and humans is accelerating with the identification of new proteins important for hair cell and auditory function. In addition to work on specialized sensors, there are major advances in our understanding of mechanosensing in nonspecialized tissues (bone, plant roots and shoots). The focus for the 2003 meeting will continue to be the molecular and physiological analysis of protein and cellular components needed for different aspects of mechanosensation. The 2005 meeting will continue the exposition of individual mechanotransduction components but will also move toward understanding the complexes of proteins especially critical for the intricate machines that control the tension on mechanosensors. The proposed meetings will bring together scientists who don't normally meet because they study different organisms (microbes, plants, or animals) or different kinds of mechanical responses (rapid responses in specialized mechanosensors or slow responses to sustained forces in bone or plants) or because they employ widely different approaches (genetics vs physiology). Moreover, the Gordon Conference format facilitates informal communications and discussions of controversial issues. These factors will promote inter-disciplinary transfer of ideas and approaches and the forming of new strategies for the study of mechanotransduction.