Hydroidfest: A Workshop on Hydroid Biology, September 23-25, 2016, Bodega Bay, CA

“Hydroidfest 2016”将于2016年9月23日至25日在加州博德加湾的博德加湾海洋实验室举行。 本次会议将集中在水螅，一组水生动物与未开发，但令人兴奋的潜力，发育生物学和神经生物学研究。 使用模型实验室动物（例如小鼠或果蝇）来理解将适用于许多或所有动物的基本概念取得了重大突破。 传统上，由于非模型动物实验技术的限制，研究人员只使用少量的模型动物;这可能导致偏见和知识差距。 最近的技术突破使得动物模型的数量大大增加，这将大大增加对基本生物过程的了解。 其中一组有趣的，但研究不足的动物是水螅。 少数但越来越多的科学家利用水螅体进行了基础性的发现，并利用新开发的技术取得了重大突破。 这个蓬勃发展的Hydroid社区将在“Hydroidfest 2016”上聚会，讨论新想法，学习新技术，形成新的合作，促进社区发展。 会议将特别侧重于鼓励有经验的科学家和新学员之间的互动，重点是增加多样性。 这次会议将对水螅研究界产生非常积极的影响，并将定为两年一次的活动。 水螅体是令人兴奋的实验室模型，在生物学的许多领域，包括发育和神经生物学中取得了基础性的发现：1）它们有一个简单而易于理解的身体计划，这是理解Wnt信号传导等发育概念的关键; 2）它们有一个信息丰富的系统发育位置：它们在分支中是两侧对称的姐妹，因此发现往往反映了高度保守的真核生物过程; 3）水螅是透明的，这极大地方便了实时成像，特别是用于记录神经系统的活动; 4）群体水螅的研究（例如Hydractinia）提供了对后生动物早期进化和自我/非自我识别起源的见解; 5）Hydroids是干细胞生物学和衰老的一个很好的模型，因为Hydra的估计寿命超过3000年。 这些主题将是本次会议的主要科学焦点，重点是将新技术方法应用于水螅生物学，特别是与传统技术相结合，如将细胞悬浮液移植和聚集到新动物中。 三个由水螅体社区以外的专家领导的技术研讨会将重点关注：1）实时成像; 2）使用CRISPR-Cas9进行基因组编辑; 3）收集和分析基因组和转录组数据。 这个令人兴奋和信息丰富的科学计划将极大地有利于科学家的水螅体工作的社区。

"Hydroidfest 2016" will take place September 23-25, 2016 at the Bodega Bay Marine Laboratory in Bodega Bay, California. This meeting will focus on hydroids, a group of aquatic animals with untapped, but exciting potential for developmental biology and neurobiology research. Major breakthroughs are made using model laboratory animals (e.g. mouse or fruit fly) to understand basic concepts that will apply to many or all animals. Traditionally, only a small number of model animals are used by researchers due to the limitation of experimental techniques in non-model animals; this can lead to biases and knowledge gaps. Recent breakthroughs in technology allow a great expansion in the number of animal models, which will dramatically increase insight into fundamental biological processes. One such group of interesting, but understudied animals are hydroids. A small but growing number of scientists have used hydroids to make fundamental discoveries and with newly developed technologies are now poised to make major breakthroughs. This burgeoning hydroid community will meet at "Hydroidfest 2016" to discuss new ideas, learn about new technologies, form new collaborations, and foster community growth. The meeting will focus particularly on encouraging interactions between experienced scientists and new trainees, with an emphasis on increasing diversity. This meeting will have a very positive effect on the hydroid research community and will be established as a biennial event. Hydroids are exciting laboratory models for making fundamental discoveries in many areas of biology, including development and neurobiology: 1) They have a simple and well-understood body plan that has been key to understanding developmental concepts such as Wnt signaling; 2) They have an informative phylogenetic position: they are in the clade that is sister to bilaterians and therefore discoveries made often reflect deeply conserved eukaryotic processes; 3) Hydroids are transparent, which greatly facilitates live imaging, particularly for recording the activity of the nervous system; 4) The study of colonial hydroids (e.g. Hydractinia) offers insights into the early evolution of metazoans and the origins of self-/non-self-recognition, and; 5) Hydroids are a great model for stem cell biology and aging, as Hydra has an estimated lifespan upwards of 3000 years. These topics will be the major scientific focus of this meeting, with an emphasis on bringing new technological approaches to bear on the biology of hydroids, particularly in combination with traditional techniques such as grafting and aggregating cell suspensions into new animals. Three technology workshops led by experts outside of the hydroid community will focus on: 1) Live imaging; 2) Genome editing with CRISPR-Cas9, and; 3) Collecting and analyzing genomic and transcriptomic data. This exciting and informative scientific program will enormously benefit the community of scientists working on hydroids.