3rd ASM Conference on Cell-Cell Communication in Bacteria

描述：美国医学学会关于细菌细胞-细胞通讯的会议，Clay Fuqua和Heidi B. Kaplan，共同组织者。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，往往与单细胞生物不同。单个细菌细胞对其直接的物理和化学环境作出反应，以适应不断变化的条件。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。过去十年的研究已经开始揭示，各种各样的细菌可以通过不同的机制进行交流。在大多数情况下，这些微生物对话是通过扩散信号的交换发生的，尽管也有细胞接触依赖通信的明显例子。许多细菌使用这些信号机制来监测和响应种群密度，这一过程通常被称为群体感应。然而，细菌间的交流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不同的能力范围内发挥作用。微生物之间的交流可以对人类健康产生深远的影响，因为病原体和共生体经常利用信号产生和感知来调节宿主相互作用的重要方面。靶功能包括但不限于毒力因子、粘附素、生物膜形成、水平基因转移和外泌酶的分泌。诸如调节金黄色葡萄球菌毒力的环寡肽信号和控制铜绿假单胞菌发病机制的酰基同丝氨酸内酯（AHLs）等已建立的系统现在被许多最近发现的信号系统所加入。这些系统的范围和多样性继续呈爆炸式增长。由于在这一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年主办了两次之前的细胞-细胞通信细菌（CCCB）会议。由于社区对第三次会议的大力支持，ASM承诺将于2007年在德克萨斯州奥斯汀举行本届会议。这次会议的目标是作为一个渠道，在美国和国际领先的科学家之间进行交流，综合和新的想法。过去的两次会议极大地刺激了细胞-细胞通信社区，导致了杰出的讨论和富有成效的新合作。参加本次会议的许多参与者都是由NIH资助的，NIGMS也慷慨地支持了前两次会议。因此，我们希望这一趋势在这次重要的微生物学会议上继续下去。公共卫生相关声明：细菌的细胞-细胞通讯过程在几个不同层面上对人类健康产生巨大影响。引起人类传染病的病原微生物是细菌信号传导的一些最深入研究的例子。定植因子、毒素和组织损伤酶的协同产生通常是通过细菌交流介导的，因此感染群体决定宿主损伤的时间、地点和强度，以最好地应对免疫反应。在了解微生物如何、为什么以及何时使用信号传导方面取得的进展，有很大的潜力提高我们对抗传染性病原体的能力。针对微生物通讯网络的新疗法有望增强和改善我们目前对抗生素的依赖，扩大我们治疗和预防疾病的能力，并为有益的目的操纵细菌的行为。“细菌细胞-细胞通讯2007”会议将聚集在这一领域工作的最优秀的美国和国际科学家，就针对和利用最近发现的微生物通讯机制交换新的信息、想法和策略。

DESCRIPTION: ASM Conference on Cell-Cell Communication in Bacteria, Clay Fuqua and Heidi B. Kaplan, Co-Organizers. Bacteria are the paradigm for unicellular life, yet they also exhibit elaborate coordinated behaviors that often defy unicellularity. Single bacterial cells respond to their immediate physical and chemical environment, adapting in response to changing conditions. 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, respectively. Research over the past decade has begun to reveal 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 can have profound impacts on human health, as pathogens and commensals often regulate important aspects of their host interactions using signal production and perception. Target functions include, but are not restricted to virulence factors, adhesins, biofilm formation, horizontal gene transfer and the secretion of exoenzymes. Well established systems such as the cyclic oligopeptide signals that regulate Staphylococcus aureus virulence and acyl homoserine lactones (AHLs) that control of pathogenesis in Pseudomonas aeruginosa 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 current conference, to be held in Austin, Texas 2007. The goal of this conference is to act as a conduit for the exchange and synthesis and new ideas among leading US and international scientists working on communication. The past two conferences greatly stimulated the cell- cell communication community, led to outstanding discourse and productive new collaborations. A large number of the participants that attend this conference are funded through NIH, and the NIGMS has been generously supportive of the two previous two meetings. We are therefore hopeful that this trend continues for this important microbiology conference. Public Health Relevance Statement: The process of cell-cell communication in bacteria has tremendous impact on human health at several different levels. Pathogenic microorganisms that cause infectious disease in humans represent some of the most intensively studied examples of bacterial signaling. Coordination in the production of colonization factors, toxins, and tissue-damaging enzymes is often mediated through bacterial communication, whereby the infectious populations dictate the time, location and intensity of host damage, to best cope with the immune response. Advances in the understanding of how, why and when microbes employ signaling has great potential to improve our ability to combat infectious agents. New therapies directed towards microbial communication networks promise to augment and improve our current reliance on antibiotics, expanding our ability to treat and prevent disease, and manipulate bacterial behavior for beneficial purposes. The Cell-Cell Communication in Bacteria 2007 conference will gather together the best US and international scientists working in this area to exchange new information, ideas and strategies for targeting and harnessing the recently discovered communication mechanisms of microorganisms.