ASM Conference on Beneficial Microbes: Host-Microbe Interactions in Health and Di

描述(申请人提供)：过去几年的研究进展提供了压倒性的证据，表明人类的健康，可能还有大多数其他动物的健康，取决于它们与持久的、共同进化的微生物群落的联系。这些有益的微生物不仅在日常生理动态平衡中起着关键作用，而且它们还与宿主的免疫系统合作，成功地抵抗病程。在一个新出现的传染病和复杂的生物武器发展的时代，后一种作用变得越来越重要。分子生物学、生物技术、计算生物学、代谢模拟和生物信息学等领域的最新技术进展使得对正常微生物区系及其与宿主的相互作用的研究成为可能，包括开发元基因组学方法来确定微生物群体的组成和潜在能力，以及遗传和基因组方法来确定它们对宿主生物学影响的深度。ASM有益微生物会议分别于2005年、2008年和现在的2010年举行，是国际性的会议，聚集了从分子遗传学到元基因组学到系统生物学和生态学等领域的生物学家，讨论这一前沿研究领域的发展。为参加即将于2010年10月25日至29日在佛罗里达州迈阿密举行的由美国微生物学会(ASM)主办的题为“2010年有益微生物会议--宿主-微生物在健康和疾病中的相互作用”的会议的美国和国际科学家申请资金支持。会议有六场会议，专门探讨该领域的现状并确定新的调查方向。第一堂课的重点是有益微生物如何在规划和指导宿主的正常发育方面发挥重要作用。接下来，我们进行第二组演讲，描述我们对宿主-微生物沟通和协调背后的遗传机制的理解进展。第三届会议突出了会议的一个新重点：应用计算方法来模拟复杂的动物微生物群体的生态和进化。由于免疫系统是动物对微生物存在做出反应的主要因素，第四节专门探讨微生物区系在正常免疫功能中的作用，以及允许宿主与其特定共生伙伴之间进行交流的识别信号。在第五次会议中，我们继续我们的新重点：特别是应用元基因组学和数学建模来预测维持有益关联的复杂相互作用。最后一次会议着眼于未来，以及有益的动物-微生物与宿主的相互作用如何在健康和疾病的接口上发挥至关重要的作用。 公共卫生相关性：最近的研究表明，为了健康，人类需要与数千种共同进化的微生物物种相互作用，这些微生物的活动可能深刻影响人类生理和免疫学的方方面面。对这一现象的认识正在彻底改变生物学家和生物医学科学家看待人体形态和功能的方式。“2010年有益微生物会议--健康和疾病中的宿主-微生物相互作用”是由美国微生物学会主办的一个致力于探索这一前沿的会议。这次会议的目的是提供一个讨论和交流意见的论坛，并为发展新的方法和概念综合提供一个论坛。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Research advances over the last several years have provided overwhelming evidence that the health of humans, and likely most other animals, is dependent upon their associations with persistent, coevolved communities of microorganisms. Not only do these consortia of beneficial microbes play a critical role in day-to-day physiological homeostasis, but also they partner with the host's immune system to successfully resist pathogenesis. This latter role has taken on an increasing significance in an age of emerging infectious diseases and sophisticated bioweapons development. Investigation of the normal microbiota and its interactions with the host has been enabled by recent technical advances in molecular biology, biotechnology, computational biology, metabolic modeling, and bioinformatics, including the development of metagenomics methods to identify the constituents and potential capabilities of microbial consortia, and genetic and genomic approaches to determine the depth of their influence on host biology. The ASM Beneficial Microbes Conferences, held in 2005, 2008, and now 2010, are internationally attended meetings that bring together biologists in areas ranging from molecular genetics to metagenomics to systems biology and ecology to discuss the development of this frontier field of research. Funding is requested for the support of United States and international scientists attending the upcoming meeting entitled 'Beneficial Microbes Conference 2010 - Host-Microbe Interactions in Health and Disease' sponsored by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM), to be held in Miami, Florida, October 25-29, 2010. The meeting has six sessions devoted to exploring the current state of the field and defining new directions of inquiry. The first session focuses on how beneficial microorganisms play an essential role in programming and directing normal development of the host. We follow with a second set of presentations describing advances in our understanding of the genetic mechanisms underlying host-microbe communication and coordination. The third session highlights a new focus of the Conference: the application of computational approaches to model the ecology and evolution of the complex microbial consortia of animals. Because the immune system is the major element in an animal's response to the presence of microbes, the fourth session is devoted to exploring the role of the microbiota in normal immune function, and the recognition signals that allow communication between a host and its specific symbiotic partners. In the fifth session, we continue our new focus: specifically, the application of metagenomics and mathematical modeling to predict the complex interactions that maintain beneficial associations. The last session looks to the future, and to how beneficial animal-microbe interactions with the host play a vital role at the interface of health and disease. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Recent research has demonstrated that humans require interactions with thousands of coevolved microbial species for health, and that the activity of these microbes is likely to profoundly affect all aspects of human physiology and immunology. The recognition of this phenomenon is revolutionizing the way biologists and biomedical scientists view the form and function of the human body. 'Beneficial Microbes Conference 2010 - Host-Microbe Interactions in Health and Disease' is an American Society for Microbiology-sponsored meeting devoted to exploring this frontier. The aim of this conference is to provide a forum for discussion and exchange of ideas, and for the development of new approaches and a conceptual synthesis.