Light-sensing mechanisms impact the lifecycle and physiology of all branches of life. Researchers at the 2018 Photosensory Receptors and Signal Transduction Gordon Conference study biological molecules that absorb light and cause changes in cellular behavior in response to it. Examples range from the mechanisms of human vision to the ability of bacteria to interact with plants. This work has wide-ranging implications: the basic science discoveries in this area have and will continue to lead to understandings of the human circadian clock, optimization of biofuel production, and light-driven artificial controls of neuronal response. Over the past 20 years, this biannual meeting has been the site of a remarkably fruitful exchange of results, new ideas, and technical progress among researchers who are experts in a wide variety of experimental techniques. This mixing leads to creative novel proposals. Moreover, the meeting has a strong attendance by junior scientists, female scientists, and an internationally diverse group of researchers. This demographic keeps the meeting lively and promotes the careers of future leaders in Photoreceptor Science.
Understanding how different photoreceptor systems orchestrate biological processes - from mammalian vision through plant growth to bacterial symbioses - requires integration of diverse methodologies and expertises. We request funds to support the 2018 Photosensory Receptors & Signal Transduction Gordon Research Conference and its closely associated Gordon Research Seminar, in Il Ciocco, Italy March 3-9, 2018. Our vision is to provide a platform for photobiologists from diverse disciplines to showcase recent advances, integrate in lively debate and share new applications. Specifically, participants will discuss how molecular photoreceptors are changed by interaction with light and how these structural changes are amplified through signaling networks to affect diverse physiology. The 2018 GRC will specifically integrate research on photoreceptors from animals, plants and microbes and will cover time scales from femtoseconds to evolutionary eons. The nine sessions represent a diversity of topics including emerging areas of understanding (e.g. Carotenoid-dependent signaling proteins). Diversity will be maximized through integration of disciplines (e.g. biophysics, structural biology; signaling) across biological systems.
