This proposal is for a conference grant for the Twelfth Microbial Genomes Conference (formerly the E. coli and Small Genomes Conference) to be held September 26-30, 2004, at the UCLA conference center at Lake Arrowhead, California. The genomics landscape has changed now that numerous genomes are available and that microarrays and bioinformatics methods are advancing rapidly. It is a critical time to foster multi-disciplinary approaches to making sense out of all the genomic sequence information. Considerable integration of different aspects of microbiology will undoubtedly take place, including new perspectives on evolution and the requirements for life. To achieve these goals, particularly of integration and synergy, scientists from diverse disciplines must interact. Thus, this conference will include active genome researchers, such as sequencing experts and informatics specialists working in database design, sequence analysis, or simulation; geneticists developing new methods to take advantage of genomic information, e.g. for functional analysis; and cell biologists and biochemists who have specialized in areas now ripe for genomics such as metabolism, chromosome structure, or gene regulation. One focus of this conference will also be on microbial communities and biodiversity. An additional focus will be on modeling and constructing circuits.and pathways. This meeting has become established as a major annual microbial genomics conference during the last twelve years and has assured status and quality. ? ? ?
