Conference: International Conference on Tetrapyrroles of Photosynthetic Organisms to be held at Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island on July 25-30, 2001

光合作用生物四元作用国际会议将于2001年7月25-30日在美国罗德岛州布朗大学校园举行。这次会议将汇集一个国际科学家小组，介绍、讨论和评估生物化学和相关学科领域中涉及光合作用生物体中四吡咯的结构、生物合成和功能的新数据和概念。该系列的前几次会议于1991年在加利福尼亚州的戴维斯举行，并于1995年、1997年和1999年在欧洲举行。选择2001年会议的日期和地点是为了方便参加将在普罗维登斯举行的美国植物生理学家协会2001年年会的个人。奖励的资金将用于支持美国参与者，特别是初级独立调查人员、博士后研究人员和研究生。光合作用是直接或间接支持地球上所有生命的生化过程。光合作用本身依赖于对太阳光能量的捕获和利用。太阳光的捕获及其能量转化为可同化形式的新陈代谢能量都依赖于一组统称为四吡咯的化合物。这类化合物包括叶绿素、亚铁血红素和胆红素。除了在光合作用中的中心作用外，四吡咯在光合作用的其他几个重要过程中也是必需的，包括呼吸作用(呼吸细胞色素)、氧介导的生物合成和分解代谢反应(细胞色素P450、过氧化氢酶、过氧化物酶)，以及发育反应的光感知(光敏色素发色团)。这是唯一一次专门关注光合作用机制、四吡咯色素生物合成、植物光感受器、光保护、功能和生物合成蛋白质结构分析以及四吡咯代谢等科学学科的系列会议。

The International Conference on Tetrapyrroles of Photosynthetic Organisms is to be held July 25-30, 2001, on the campus of Brown University in Rhode Island, USA. The conference will bring together an international group of scientists to present, discuss, and evaluate new data and concepts in the areas of biochemistry and related disciplines that involve the structure, biosynthesis, and function of tetrapyrroles in photosynthetic organisms. Previous conferences in this series were held in Davis, California, in 1991, and in Europe in 1995, 1997, and 1999. The dates and location of the 2001 conference were selected to facilitate attendance by individuals who will also be attending the 2001 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Plant Physiologists, which will be held in Providence. Awarded funds will be used to support American participants, particularly beginning independent investigators, postdoctoral researchers, and graduate students. Photosynthesis is the biochemical process that, directly or indirectly, supports all life on Earth. Photosynthesis itself depends on the capture and use of energy from sunlight. Both the capture of sunlight and the conversion of its energy into assimilable forms of metabolic energy depend on a group of chemical compounds collectively named tetrapyrroles. This family of compounds includes chlorophylls, hemes, and bilins. In addition to their central roles in photosynthesis, tetrapyrroles are required for several other important processes in photosynthetic organisms, including respiration (respiratory cytochromes), oxygen-mediated biosynthetic and catabolic reactions (cytochrome P450, catalase, peroxidases), and light perception for developmental responses (phytochrome chromophores). This is the only conference series that is specifically focused on the group of scientific disciplines that encompass photosynthetic mechanisms, tetrapyrrole pigment biosynthesis, plant photoreceptors, photoprotection, functional and biosynthetic protein structural analysis, and tetrapyrrole metabolism.