Workshop on: Evolutionary Immunobiology: New Approaches, New Paradigms to be held on February 21-22, 2002 in Charleston, South Carolina

比较免疫学的中心问题是免疫机制是如何进化的。它们如何改变和适应在动物占据的众多不同环境中存在的各种微生物挑战？动物生命的巨大多样性本身就对这类研究提出了巨大的挑战。尽管研究所有动物的免疫系统显然是不可能的(实际上适得其反)，但我们通过研究相对较少的物种来严重限制我们的知识吗？我们是否遗漏了在动物身上如此有效地发挥作用的各种免疫系统的重要方面？这次研讨会将讨论进化免疫生物学的现状和未来的潜在发展，同时处理以下两个问题。首先，有没有模式物种，在提供实验操作的简便性和/或潜在的经济重要性的同时，占据着关键的系统发育地位？其次，选择的模式物种能否被用来建立范例(相当于罗塞塔石碑)，通过这些范例可以解释其他物种的进化和免疫过程？此外，拟议讲习班的最后一届会议将讨论如何应用进化免疫生物学的概念来理解和管理影响和改变生态系统的传染病问题。生物学正在经历一场革命，这场革命源于全基因组方法的应用来理解有机体。已经完成或即将完成的这些项目(包括人类、小鼠、果蝇、线虫、河豚、斑马鱼)的结果表明，基因组学在解决遗传学和分子细胞生物学问题方面具有非凡的力量。基因组学方法产生关于物种的详细信息，回答问题并以惊人的速度产生新的假说。然而，从基因组方法中获得的进展可能远远超出对任何给定物种中存在的基因的简单分析，以及对这些基因表达控制的理解。例如，我们现在有机会通过比较完整基因组来研究进化过程。此外，随着组织模式在整个基因组水平上变得明显，我们将能够有效和有效地从受青睐的关键物种的发现中推断，对其他研究较少的物种做出新颖和可验证的预测。本次研讨会的主要主题是基因组学对进化免疫生物学领域的实际和潜在影响。

The central question of Comparative Immunology is how immune mechanisms have evolved. How do they change and adapt in response to the diverse microbial challenges present in the many and different environments that are occupied by animals? The tremendous diversity of animal life poses, in itself, a great challenge to such studies. Although it is clearly impossible (indeed counterproductive) to investigate the immune system of all animals, are we seriously restricting our knowledge by studying relatively few species? Are we missing important aspects of the diverse immune systems that function so effectively in animals? This workshop will discuss the current status and potential future developments of evolutionary immunobiology while coming to grips with the following two issues. First, are there model species that, while offering ease of experimental manipulation and/or potential economic importance, occupy key phylogenetic positions? Second, can the chosen model species be used to establish paradigms (the equivalent of the Rosetta Stone) through which evolutionary and immunological processes in other species can be interpreted? In addition, the final session of the proposed Workshop will deal with the application of concepts from evolutionary immunobiology to understanding and managing problems of infectious diseases that affect and alter ecosystems. Biology is going through a revolution resulting from the application of genome-wide approaches to understanding organisms. Results from those projects which have been, or are about to be, accomplished (including human, mouse, Drosophila, C. elegans, pufferfish, zebrafish) have demonstrated the extraordinary power of genomics to contribute to the solution of problems in genetics, and molecular cell biology. Genomic approaches yield detailed information about a species, answering questions and generating new hypotheses at a remarkable rate. Yet the advances to be gained from genomic approaches can go far beyond simple analyses of the genes present in any given species, and an understanding of the control of expression of those genes. For example, we now have opportunities to study evolutionary processes through comparisons between complete genomes. In addition, as patterns of organization become apparent at the level of the whole genome, we will be able to extrapolate efficiently and effectively from the findings in favored key species, to make novel and testable predictions about other species that have been studied less intensively. This workshop has, as a major theme, the actual and potential impact of genomics on the field of evolutionary immunobiology.