The Twenty Fourth Fungal Genetics Conference will be held at the Asilomar Conference Center from March 20-25, 2007. Approximately 750-800 scientists and students from around the world will attend. The conference focuses on the molecular biology, genetics, genomics, biochemistry and cell biology of filamentous fungi.
This biennial conference promotes interaction between researchers interested in plant pathogens, medical pathogens, saprophytic fungi, and symbiotic fungi. All participants stay on the conference grounds, a fact that facilitates informal discussions among them and in the past has led to the development of new collaborations and research directions. The formal meeting will consist of four plenary sessions, four sets of concurrent sessions devoted to specialized areas, and three poster sessions. Topics to be covered in the plenary sessions include the following: 1) Genome structures and dynamics, 2) Host-pathogen and symbiotic interactions, 3) Development and metabolism, and 4) Sex, time, and evolution. Topics for the concurrent sessions will cover the following areas: 1)Whole genome comparative analysis, 2) Fungal-plant interactions, 3) Zygomycete and Chytrid genomics, biotechnology and evolutionary biology, 4)Teaching fungal biology and genetics, 5) Evolutionary genetics and genomics, 6) Associations between fungi and humans, 7)Regulation of primary and secondary metabolism, 8) Epigenetics and genome dynamics, 9) Population genetics, 10) Biological applications of genomic sequence data, 11) Biofilms, quorum sensing, and thigmotropism, 12) Dimorphic transitions, 13) Symbiotic and parasitic (viruses, nematodes, other fungi and insects) interactions, 14) Mating and sexual development, 15) RNA functions, 16) Circadian rhythms and photobiology, 17) Industrial mycology in the post-genomics era, 18) Proteome and postgenomic approaches to protein secretion, 19) Small molecules and signaling, 20) Apoptosis and vegetative incompatibility, 21) Evolution of gene clusters, 22) Cellular morphogenesis and development, 23) Signal transduction and cell surface receptors, 24) Cool tools for fungal biology: gene disruption and imaging, and 25) Advances in oomycete research and Basidiomycete biology.
Beginning in the 1940s with the work of Beadle and Tatum, who first demonstrated the relationship between genetics and biochemistry, fungi have served as model eukaryotes, aiding in understanding of basic biological processes. This meeting places a strong emphasis on the participation of young scientists and students, particularly those from underrepresented groups. It provides many with their first opportunity to attend a major international conference and present their research findings, an important part of their training and professional development. Funds will be distributed on the basis of need and will be used to defray the travel and participation expenses of students, postdoctoral researchers, and some young scientists who would otherwise be unable to attend the meeting.
