November 2011
A F F I L I AT E S L E T T E R The official newsletter for FEMS Affiliates
New FEMS Focus issue now available!
FEMS President Bernhard Schink just recently confirmed that the next FEMS Congress will be held in Leipzig, Germany. The said congress will be the fifth one that FEMS will organise for microbiologists around the world. Leipzig is located about a hundred miles south of Berlin and is one of the two largest cities in the federal state of Saxony, Germany.
The fourth FEMS Congress was held last June 26 - 30 in Geneva, Switzerland. The fifth FEMS Congress will be held in the summer of 2013 (July 21 - 27). More information about this event will be revealed in the following months. If you are interested follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the latest developments.
It has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes.
Also in this issue Featured abstract from FEMS Yeast Research Featured review from FEMS Reviews
At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing. Leipzig was ranked as 68th most livable city in the world in 2010. Also in the same year, it was included in the New York Times’ list of top 10 of cities to visit.
FEMS turns 37! Subscribe to the FEMS Journals now Upcoming Grants deadlines Microbiology tidbits
By virtue of tradition, FEMS travels from one European country to another for its biennial congresses. The first FEMS Congress was held in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The second was in Madrid, Spain followed by the third congress in Gothenburg, Sweden.
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Domesticated versus wild wine strains Humans can distinguish between wines produced using wine strains and wild strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae as well as its sibling species, Saccharomyces paradoxus. Wine strains produced wine with fruity and floral characteristics, whereas wild strains produced wine with earthy and sulfurous characteristics. The differences that were observed between wine and wild strains provides further evidence that wine strains have evolved phenotypes that are distinct from their wild ancestors and relevant to their use in wine production. Hyma, K. E., Saerens, S. M., Verstrepen, K. J. and Fay, J. C. (2011), Divergence in wine characteristics produced by wild and domesticated strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. FEMS Yeast Research, 11: 540–551. doi: 10.1111/j.1567-1364.2011.00746.x FEMS Yeast Research welcomes your high-quality papers. Submit them here.
Review article: Plasmodium exo-erythrocytic development Protozoan parasites of the genus Plasmodium are the causative agents of malaria. Despite more than 100 years of research, the complex life cycle of the parasite still bears many surprises and it is safe to say that understanding the biology of the pathogen will keep scientists busy for many years to come. Malaria research has mainly concentrated on the pathological blood stage of Plasmodium parasites, leaving us with many questions concerning parasite development within the mosquito and during the exo-erythrocytic stage in the vertebrate host. After the discovery of the Plasmodium liver stage in the middle of the last century, it remained understudied for many years but the realization that it represents a promising target for vaccination approaches has brought it back into focus. The last decade saw many new and exciting discoveries concerning the exo-erythrocytic stage and in this review we will discuss the highlights of the latest developments in the field. Graewe, S., Stanway, R. R., Rennenberg, A., Heussler, V. T. (2011), Chronicle of a death foretold: Plasmodium liver stage parasites decide on the fate of the host cell. FEMS Microbiology Reviews. doi: 10.1111/j.15746976.2011.00297.x
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Did you know that FEMS just turned 37 years old this month? It was in autumn in 1974, 22 November to be exAutumn in Delft act, when the first council was formed with the unanimous appointment of A. Lwoff as President; M. Modarski, Vice-President; H. Smith, Treasurer; A.H. Rose, Secretary-General; and C.J.E.A. Bulder as To further be true to its commitment as the voice of Meetings Secretary. microbiology in Europe, it does not only concentrate on the quantity of its member societies but on the This council was formed when an interim Execu- quality of benefits that it offers as well. tive Committee called for a meeting of all European microbiological societies on the above-mentioned The number of microbiology-related meetings that date. In this meeting, the microbiological societies FEMS supports increases every year. So do the miwere invited to send one delegate each to formally crobiologists who are able to develop their knowlelect an Executive Committee. edge through FEMS Grants and Fellowships. From that day on, FEMS has grown into an organisation of more than 40 microbiological societies linking tens of thousands of microbiologists in Europe and the rest of the world.
To foster the exchange of ideas and continuous learning, FEMS has also turned its once triennial congress into a biennial congress. Like a scientist who wants to change the world, FEMS does not rest on its laurels and tries to do better every year. And on it’s 37th birthday, it’s just but fitting to say: Happy Birthday, FEMS!
FEMS JOURNALS List of Virtual Issues
FEMS Immunology & Medical Microbiology Virtual Special Issue on Rickettsia n scriptio b u s e n i nl bined o ls from €187. m o c e a Get th S Journ OW. M E F e h to t get it R I BE N SUBSC ast chance to ) 12 rl be you to increase in 20 d l u o c ice This rice. (Pr p s i h t for
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FEMS Yeast Research Virtual Issue on Apoptosis Yeast Genetics and Molecular Biology Virtual Issue FEMS Microbiology Ecology Polar and Alpine Microbiology
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Microbiology Tidbits... Multidrug-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii Found Growing in Nearly Half of Infected Patient Rooms Multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (MDRAB) was found in the environment of 48 percent of the rooms of patients colonized or infected with the pathogen, according to a new study published in the November issue of the American Journal of Infection Control. (Elsevier via Alpha Galileo)
1 December 2011 15 June 2012 FEMS Research Fellowships FEMS Visiting Scientist Grants 15 December 2011 1 June 2012 FEMS National & Regional Congresses Grants 1 March 2012 FEMS Meeting Grants
(for meetings to be held in 2013)
1 April 2012 1 September 2012 FEMS Meeting Attendance Grants 1 October 2012 FEMS Advanced Fellowships
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Pulsating Response to Stress in Bacteria Discovered If the changing seasons are making it chilly inside your house, you might just turn the heater on. That’s a reasonable response to a cold environment: switching to a toastier and more comfortable state until it warms up outside. Biologists have long thought cells would respond to their environment in a similar way. But now researchers are finding that cells can respond using a new kind of pulsating mechanism, instead of just shifting from one steady state to another and staying there. (California Institute of Technology) Bacteria May Readily Swap Beneficial Genes: Microbes Trade Genetic Coding for Antibiotic Resistance and More As much as people can exchange information instantaneously in the digital age, bacteria associated with humans and their livestock appear to freely and rapidly exchange genetic material related to human disease and antibiotic resistance through a mechanism called horizontal gene transfer (HGT). (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Fighting Fire With Fire: ‘Vampire’ Bacteria Have Potential as Living Antibiotic A vampire-like bacterium that leeches onto specific other bacteria -- including certain human pathogens -- has the potential to serve as a living antibiotic for a range of infectious diseases, a new study indicates. (University of Virginia)
The FEMS Affiliates Letter is a production of FEMS Central Office
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