ASM Conference on Viral Genome Replication

描述(申请人提供)：病毒感染是全球传染病死亡的主要原因。事实证明，病毒疫苗在控制许多疾病方面是有效的，并已导致全球根除天花。牛瘟将很快成为通过接种疫苗根除的第二种感染，随后有望出现麻疹和脊髓灰质炎病毒。尽管如此，仍有许多慢性病毒感染--艾滋病毒、丙型肝炎病毒和单纯疱疹病毒以及急性病毒感染--呼吸道合胞病毒、狂犬病，这些疾病要么没有疫苗，要么没有广泛分发。抗病毒干预改善了艾滋病毒和单纯疱疹病毒以及呼吸道合胞病毒的疾病结局。通过合理的设计开发有效的疫苗和抗病毒药物需要对病原体的复制周期以及这与疾病发病机制的关系有详细的分子和生物化学理解。这样的事业只能通过在政府、学术和工业环境中工作的多个学科的科学家的合作来实现。为2011年2月6日至9日在艾伯塔省班夫举行的美国微生物学会关于病毒基因组复制的新会议提供部分资金。这次会议将汇聚致力于从所有类别的病毒复制病毒基因组机制前沿的研究人员。分而治之一直是病毒学的传统，因此迫切需要一种不同的范式：统一和征服。病毒学将病毒学划分为DNA与RNA、正链RNA与负链RNA、疱疹与痘、微孔菌与肝病，这导致了一种病毒的词汇对于研究另一种病毒的研究人员几乎是难以理解的情况。因此，一种病毒可能适用于另一种病毒的智力和技术进步几乎都不会被注意到。这种情况在病毒基因组复制领域尤其有问题，例如，对病毒复制型DNA聚合酶获得的机械洞察力可以应用于病毒复制型RNA聚合酶，但由于DNA和RNA病毒学家之间存在的历史分歧，没有建立联系。(重新)建立一次会议，基于调查人员对病毒生命周期的某个步骤而不是病毒类型的共同兴趣，将他们聚集在一起，这将重振这个对我们治疗和预防病毒感染的能力至关重要的领域。我们还特别希望在单分子、结构和生化水平上研究复制策略的研究人员与致力于干预策略的化学家交叉授粉，这些策略反映了会议的三个主题：(I)病毒基因组复制策略；(Ii)元件、因子和酶：结构、功能和机制；(Iii)抗病毒药物：靶标、机制和抗性。 公共卫生相关性：病毒感染是全世界与传染病相关的发病率和死亡率的主要原因。从病毒基因组复制研究中获得的知识已经促进了针对其中一些病原体的有效疫苗和抗病毒疗法的开发。ASM主办的题为“病毒基因组复制”的会议致力于探索这一关键领域的最新技术。这次会议的目的是将来自学术界、政府和工业界的研究人员聚集在一起，探讨病毒基因组复制的机制，而不考虑病毒的类型，并营造一个思想和信息自由交流的环境。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Viral infections account for the majority of infectious disease deaths worldwide. Viral vaccines have proved effective in controlling many diseases and have resulted in the global eradication of smallpox. Rinderpest, will shortly be the second infection eradicated by vaccination and this will hopefully be followed by measles and poliovirus. Despite this, there are numerous chronic viral infections - HIV, HCV and HSV as well as acute viral infections - RSV, Rabies, for which vaccines either do not exist or are not widely distributed. Antiviral intervention has resulted in improvement of disease outcome for HIV and HSV, as well as for RSV. The development of effective vaccines and antiviral agents by rational design demands a detailed molecular and biochemical understanding of the replication cycle of the causative agents and how this is linked to pathogenesis of disease. Such an undertaking can only be accomplished through the cooperation of scientists from multiple disciplines working in government, academic and industrial settings. Funds are requested to provide partial support for a new American Society of Microbiology conference on Viral Genome Replication, which will be held from February 6-9, 2011 in Banff, Alberta. This conference will bring together researchers working at the forefront of the mechanism of viral genome replication from all classes of viruses. It has been the tradition in virology to divide and conquer and there is an acute need for a different paradigm: to unify and conquer. The division of virology into DNA vs. RNA, positive-strand RNA vs. negative-strand RNA, herpes vs. pox, picornas vs. hepaci has led to a circumstance in which the lexicon for one virus is virtually unintelligible to an investigator studying another virus. As a result, both intellectual and technical advances made with one virus that could apply to another can go virtually unnoticed. This circumstance is particularly problematic in the field of viral genome replication where, for example, mechanistic insight obtained for a viral replicative DNA polymerase could apply to a viral replicative RNA polymerase but connections are not made because of the historical divide that exists between DNA and RNA virologists. The (re)establishment of a meeting that will bring investigators together based on their common interest in a step of the viral lifecycle rather than the virus type will reinvigorate a field that is key to our ability to treat and prevent and viral infections. We also particularly desire to cross pollinate among researchers working on the strategies of replication at the single molecule, structural, and biochemical level with chemists working on strategies of intervention reflecting the three themes of the meeting: (i) Viral genome replication strategies; (ii) Elements, factors and enzymes: Structure, function and mechanism; (iii) Antivirals: Targets, mechanisms and resistance. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Viral infections account for the majority of morbidity and mortality associated with infectious disease worldwide. Knowledge gained from studies of viral genome replication has already facilitated the development of effective vaccines and antiviral therapies against some of these agents. The ASM sponsored conference entitled "Viral Genome Replication" is dedicated to exploring the state-of-the-art in this critical field. The aims of this conference are to bring together researchers from academia, government and industry probing the mechanisms of viral genome replication irrespective of the type of virus and foster an environment in which ideas and information are freely exchanged.