Sixth International Wolbachia Conference: An interactive, interdisciplinary conference addressing the frontiers of bacterial symbiosis in invertebrates,Monterey,CA June 9-14,2010

智力上的优点。沃尔巴克氏菌是生活在无脊椎动物细胞内的细菌，由母亲传播给后代，并与节肢动物和线虫宿主分享各种关系。作为一种“生殖操纵者”，沃尔巴克氏杆菌通过增强其传播的方式干扰宿主的生殖。其他沃尔巴克氏菌是互惠共生或病原体，是控制昆虫传播的人类疾病的目标。这些共生体从根本上改变了寄主的生态和进化轨迹。在这里，研究人员将使用项目资金支持学生和博士后参加第六届国际沃尔巴克氏菌会议，该会议将于2010年6月9日至14日在加利福尼亚州蒙特利的Asilomar会议中心举行。这次会议的规模适中(75-125人)，具有国际性和多学科的特点，包括基因学家、细胞生物学家、生态学家、进化生物学家和系统学家。在Wolbchia会议上，交流思想，启动或保持合作，学生找到博士后机会，博士后伙伴建立他们获得永久职位所需的专业网络。更广泛的影响。虽然两年一度的会议已经举行了五次，但没有一次是在美国大陆举行的。这次会议将吸引美国学生和博士后助理，他们之前的会议一直无法进入。学生和博士后伙伴，包括妇女和任职人数不足的群体，将被招募通过会议传单、名单服务和口口相传参加会议。此外，会议将包括传播研究成果和科学界以外的教育影响。参加本科生少数族裔访问计划(MARC)的暑期学生将参加为期一天的讲座，并与会议参与者互动。此外，利用该项目提供的旅费，一位有实施以沃尔巴克氏菌为特色的高中科学课程模块的经验的教师将被邀请发言并参加会议。将通过在开放获取的在线期刊上发表发言摘要来加强向其他科学家传播会议成果。

Intellectual merit. Wolbachia are bacteria that live within cells of invertebrates, are transmitted from mother to offspring, and share a variety of relationships with their arthropod and nematode hosts. As a "reproductive manipulator," Wolbachia interferes with host reproduction by methods that enhance its transmission. Other Wolbachia are mutualists or pathogens that are targets for the control of insect-vectored human disease. These symbionts fundamentally change the ecology and evolutionary trajectory of their hosts. Here the investigator will use project funds to support the travel and participation of students and postdoctoral associates at the Sixth International Wolbachia Conference, to be held at Asilomar Conference Center, Monterey, CA, June 9-14, 2010. The conference is moderate in size (75-125), international, and multidisciplinary, including genomicists, cell biologists, ecologists, evolutionary biologists and systematists. At Wolbachia conferences, ideas are exchanged, collaborations are initiated or maintained, students find postdoctoral opportunities, and postdoctoral associates establish the professional network they need to attain a permanent position. Broader impacts. Although the biennial conference has been held five times already, none have been held within the continental United States. This conference will attract American students and postdoctoral associates for whom previous meetings have been inaccessible. Students and postdoctoral associates, including women and underrepresented groups, will be recruited to attend the meeting via flyers at meetings, listservs and word of mouth. Further, the conference will include dissemination of research results and educational impacts beyond the scientific community. Summer students in a minority access program for undergraduates (MARC) will attend a day of talks, and interact with conference participants. Further, with the travel funds provided by this project, a teacher with experience implementing a high school science curriculum module featuring Wolbachia will be invited to speak and participate in the meeting. Dissemination of the meeting results to other scientists will be enhanced by the publication of presentation abstracts in an open-access online journal.