This proposal requests three years of partial support for the Metals in Biology Gordon Research Conference (MIB GRC) and its descendent, the Gordon-Kenan Bioinorganic Graduate Research Seminar (MIB GK-GRS), to be held annually in Ventura, CA in late January. Metal ions play critical roles in over one third of all enzymes, and are involved in a number of important health related biosynthetic pathways including the conversion of electrochemical to chemical energy, and the biosynthesis of antibiotics, DNA, neurotransmitters, steroids, leukotrienes, and hormones. The molecular level details regarding metalloenzyme function emerge from several complementary lines of study, at the interface of chemistry, biology, and physics. The broad and long term goal of these conferences are to foster discussion and collaborations in a highly interdisciplinary area of research, and nurture the younger members of our community by providing them with their own sense of community, and allowing the future leaders of our field to emerge. The significance of this application is that the MIB GRC provides the principal forum for the discussion of research at the forefront of bioinorganic chemistry.
The specific aims of this meeting will be to convene ~27 speakers that represent critical areas of metal ions in biology research with a total of 150 participants for a five day conference in a relatively isolated setting. The program will have a keynote address and nine sessions that broadly address current issues in proton-coupled electron transfer, the assembly and evolution of iron sulfur clusters as electron transport agents and catalysts for complex multi electron processes, the role played by sulfur ligands in promoting metalloenzyme function, metal ion-promoted 0-0 bond formation and cleavage, the detection and detoxification of reactive oxygen species formed under oxidative stress, and bioinspired catalysis. In addition, two evening poster sessions will permit all of the conferees to contribute to the discussion of these topics. Metal ions play critical roles in over one third of all enzymes, and are involved in a number of important biosynthetic pathways including the conversion of electrochemical to chemical energy, and the biosynthesis of antibiotics, DNA, neurotransmitters, steroids, leukotrienes, and hormones. The molecular level details regarding metalloenzyme function emerge from several complementary lines of study, at the interface of chemistry, biology, and physics. Both the formal and informal discussions associated with the MIB GRC meeting are critical to the advancement of the field, and fostering collaborations in this highly interdisciplinary area of research.
