This application requests support for the conference entitled """"""""Helicases and Nucleic Acid Translocases: Structure, Mechanism, Function, and Roles in Human Disease"""""""". This conference is sponsored by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) and will take place from July 31 to August 5, 2011, in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Research on helicases and other nucleic acid translocases has exploded in the recent years, due to the central role of these enzymes in essentially every aspect of RNA and DNA metabolism. Over the last years, it has also become clear that numerous helicases are directly involved in the aging process. Most prominently, the RecQ and FancJ families of DNA helicases have direct roles in aging. Defects in human RecQ proteins cause premature aging and cancer predisposition in Werner and Rothmund-Thomson syndromes. Mutations in FancJ are linked to similar clinical manifestations in Fanconi Anemia. The molecular connections between RecQ- and FancJ-related diseases, discovered only very recently, will be a major topic at the conference. In addition, nucleic translocases that affect chromatin structure and function have a clear importance in the regulation of aging-related processes through their ability to affect gene expression in a genome structure-dependent manner. These and other critical roles of helicases and translocases have created a growing need for exchange of information among the diverse group of scientists studying the structure, molecular and cellular functions, as well as diseases and the aging process associated with the focus of this meeting. The conference will cover all aspects of helicases and translocases, from structure to human disease, all of which are being intensely studied. By emphasizing exceptional research in a modestly sized conference setting, the FASEB conference provides unique opportunities for the exchange of information, technology and perspective among new and established investigators. The conference will encompass nine major scientific sessions and three poster sessions, as well as room for informal discussion. Speakers for major talks include established scientists in the field as well as younger scientists. The conference format is expected to provide background information and to give new investigators the opportunity to present their data and ideas for open discussion.
Over the last years, it has become clear that numerous helicases and translocases play important roles in the aging process. This meeting will help to delineate connections between helicases and translocases and aging and disease states by facilitating a vivid exchange of information among a diverse group of scientists studying all aspects of structure, molecular and cellular functions of these important enzymes.
