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Workshop "Immunity and Symbiosis" (01/14/09 Fabrice Vavre)
In the frame of the COST Action FA0701
« Arthropod Symbioses: from fundamental studies to pest and disease management »
We are pleased to announce the workshop entitled:
Immunity and Symbiosis
That will be held from the 27th to the 30th of May 2009 in Aussois, France
Since the mid 19th century, microbiologists and immunologists have been deeply influenced by the work of Robert Koch and Louis Pasteur, which have driven their research interests on pathogens and parasites. They provided the first descriptions of animal and plant pathogens and have defined “scientific standards”, such as the postulate of Koch that have dominated the biological dogma for a long-time. As such, the immune system was often viewed strictly as a defence mechanism against bacteria, and bacteria as disease-causing killers.
Throughout the last decade, biologists have become more and more aware that the interaction between bacteria and animals is more subtle than this caricature. Symbiosis is widespread in nature and embodies a range of associations ranging from mutualism to parasitism. Genomic data show that mutualistic bacteria can encode a so-called “pathogenicity islands”, and that the immune system can say “yes” to beneficial bacteria by integrating them in different organism cells and tissues, though controlling their number and their invasion power.
The existence of diverse symbioses requires us to re-examine how we view host-bacteria interactions, and the functioning of immune systems. Whilst innate immune systems must prevent pathogen invasion, they must permit mutualistic bacteria to survive, transmit and prosper. How this is achieved is simply not known. Beyond this, parasitic symbionts may only survive by manipulating host immune expression, and these may be important in driving the evolution of these systems.
In addition to interacting with, and potentially framing the design of, immune systems, symbionts themselves sometimes function within the host’s resistance system, altering susceptibility to natural enemies. How is symbiont-mediated resistance to natural enemies effected? Does it involve interaction with the host immune system?
All these require symbiotic partners to be considered in our understanding of host immune system activity and reciprocally, consideration of immune system activity in comprehending symbiont biology.
In this workshop, we welcome talks on different kinds of interactions from parasitism to mutualism and at various level of integration from molecules to populations that are relevant for examine the significance of the immune system interface in symbiotic interactions.
Tentative list of invited speakers:
- Serap Aksoy (Yale University, USA)
- Henk Braig (Bangor University, UK)
- Didier Bouchon (Université de Poitiers, France)
- Jean Michel Drezen (Université de Tours, France)
- Ingrid Faye (Stockholm University, Sweden)
- Dominique Ferrandon (Université de Strasbourg, France)
- Richard Ffrench-Constant (University of Exeter, UK)
- Nicole Gerardo (Emory University, USA)
- Bruno Lemaitre (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Suisse)
- Won-Jae Lee (Ewha Woman’s University, South Korea)
- Margaret McFall-Ngay (University of Wisconsin Madison, USA)
- Kerry Oliver (University of Georgia, USA)
- Luis Teixeira (University of Cambridge, UK)
Outline of the program
May 27: arrival day, welcome reception.
May 28: Oral communications, Evening poster session.
May 29: Oral communications, Banquet.
30th of May: departure Day
Communications and Poster session
Most communications will be on invitation. However, a few oral presentations will be selected and a poster session will be organized. Participants willing to communicate should send a title and an abstract of their communication to Fabrice Vavre (vavre@biomserv.univ-lyon1.fr) by March 1, 2009. Decision will be taken by April 1, 2009.
Location and access
The workshop will be held in the CNRS Centre Paul Langevin in Aussois. Aussois is a charming village in the French Alps.
Aussois can be easily reached by train from Paris, Lyon, Milano or Torino to Modane that is situated at 8km from Aussois.
Registration and accomodation
The Conference Registration and Accomodation Form should be completed and emailed to Fabrice Vavre (vavre@biomserv.univ-lyon1.fr) by March 1, 2009.
Costs for registration, lodging (single rooms) and meals will be around 350 Euros. Participants will pay the fees on site with credit card or in cash.
This meeting will immediately follow the Jacques Monod Conference entitled "Insect immunity in action: from fundamental mechanisms of host defense to resistance against infections in nature" (see http://www.cnrs.fr/sdv/cjm/2009/theopold_e.html for more details).
Looking forward to seeing you in Aussois,
The Organizing Committee
Kostas Bourtzis, University of Ioanina, Greece (COST Action Chair)
Abdelaziz Heddi, INSA de Lyon, France (MC member and Local organizer)
Roy Gross, University of Würzburg, Germany (Working Group Leader)
Greg Hurst, University of Liverpool, UK (Working Group Leader)
Fabrice Vavre, University of Lyon, France (Working Group Leader and local organizer)
REGISTRATION AND ACCOMMODATION FORM
Name:
Institution:
Postal Address:
Tel:
Fax:
E-mail:
Please give specific dates: arrival: ____________ departure: __________
ABSTRACTS AND PRESENTATIONS
Presentation will be in oral or poster format. The Organizing Committee does encourage poster presentations. The abstracts should be as informative as possible. After a review of the abstracts, the organizing committee will decide on the final scientific program.
===============================================================
ABSTRACT FORM
I would like to make an o Oral or o Poster presentation (Please mark ?).
Title:
Author(s), affiliation(s) and email of corresponding author:
Abstract (approximately 250 words)
References
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