FEMS Affiliates Letter February 2013

FEBRUARY 2013

A F F I L I AT E S L E T T E R The official newsletter for FEMS Affiliates

New FEMS website Also in this issue: Publications Corner: • FEMS Pathogens and Disease Sections • Highlighted articles • FREE issue FEMS Yeast Research Grants Page: • FEMS Meeting Attendance Grants Bits & Pieces: • Formatex MicrobiologyBook Series • Nat Sternberg Thesis Prize • FEMS Congress DEADLINES List of FEMS-sponsored meetings Microbiology Tidbits

Homepage http://www.fems-microbiology.org.

We are very excited to inform you about the launch of the new FEMS website which after more than a year in development finally went live on 5 February.

If you have not already done so, please take a look here!

appear, delete browsing history and cookies. We also recommend Affiliates to register anew to take advantage of the new option of creating his/ her own password plus of course the opportunity to update one’s details.

The new design enhances communication, facilitating access to information by making it easier to navigate and for us to maintain and update. Thus the site preserves much of the same content that will be familiar to you whilst also significantly improving your online FEMS experience. The home page, for example, now gives us the possibility to upload news text and images in contrast to the previous static home page.

As always, we welcome feedback.

Please email us at fems@femsmicrobiology.org to let us know what you find useful and where we may be able to improve. As we respond to feedback, changes to the web site may occur. Please be patient with us as we work toward making any adjustments.

There are fast information links for: • Member Societies • Journals • Awards • Grants • Congress Our top tip is to check your current bookmark: if the website does not

www.fems-microbiology.org

FEMS Office in Delft

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Pathogens and Disease articles now listed in Sections – read selection here -

Molecular Pathogenesis: Herd Immunity in the Meningitis belt Huber et al., Pathogens and Disease, 67: 4-10

This study compares outer membrane protein sequences in a number of Neisseria meningitidis serogroup A disease and carriage isolates from a defined region of sub-Saharan Africa between 2002 and 2008.

It concludes that there is a remarkable antigenic stability in this population and that results indicate that while herd immunity may be responsible for the disappearance of meningococcal clones over time, it is not a strong driving force for antigenic diversification.

Read more

Host Responses to Infection: Host defense against invaders

Translational Research: Green tea health benefits

Jönsson et al., Pathogens and Disease, 67: 54–66

Yu Cai et al., Pathogens and Disease, 67: 76–83

This well-illustrated study investigates the response of human blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) to a cord-forming strain of Mycobacterium abscessus. A fibrous chromatin-like meshwork containing DNA and histones is produced by the PBMCs, perhaps as a defense mechanism against other nondigestible invaders.

Read more

This is a very interesting and relevant study that demonstrates the ability of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), apolyphenol extract from green tea, to protect against Porphyromonas gingivalis-induced atherosclerosis. The experimental approach is straightforward and the results provide evidence for the mechanism accounting for the protective effect. Read more

P U B L I C AT I O N S PA G E

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Highlighted Article FEMS Reviews

Highlighted Article FEMS Ecology Characterization of picoplankton by flow cytometry

Rock solid?

Gómez-Pereira et al., FEMS Microbiology Ecology, 83-3: 664-671

Griffiths and Philippot, FEMS Microbiology Reviews, 37: 112–129

Flow cytometric sorting has been successfully employed to taxonomically affiliate a conspicuous group of red autofluorescent picoplankton in surface waters of the South Atlantic Ocean. Picoeukaryotes play a major role in CO2 fixation in the ocean, however, their diversity and distribution patterns remain poorly understood, partly because of their low abundance and methodological constraints. The authors have used catalysed reporter deposition fluorescence in situ hybridization to sort an uncharacterized group of picoplankton cells, which were identified to be affiliated with the Mamiellales clade II. The cells were further morphologically characterized by electron microscopy and were shown to have a simple cell morphology. This demonstrates that flow cytometry is a powerful method for the characterization of lowly abundant populations of picoplankton. Read more

This article reviews how soil microorganisms respond to disturbance or environmental change. Soil stability results from a combination of biotic and abiotic soil characteristics and so could provide a quantitative measure of soil health. Stability measurements could also provide an indirect indication of ‘critical slowing down’ and the approach of ecosystem tipping points.

In particular monitoring soil responses to stochastic natural disturbances may be a useful early indicator of an impending ecological state change. Read more

Free issue of FEMS Yeast Research Grab for free the latest issue of FEMS Yeast Research here. This issue features YeastIP the database and amdSYM the new recyclable marker.

YeastIP: a new userfriendly searchable multigene database with quick tool to identify ascomycete yeasts.

www.fems-microbiology.org

amdSYM: a new dominant marker in S. cerevisiae opening the door to fast and easy genetic manipulation and an excellent tool for consecutive genetic modifications.

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CALL for APPLICATIONS FEMS MEETING ATTENDANCE GRANTS FEMS starts each spring with the deadline for the FEMS Meeting Attendance Grants.

These are grants awarded to young European scientists wishing to attend microbiology meetings that are not supported by a FEMS Meetings Grant.

Meeting Attendance Grants may support attendance at meetings worldwide, but preference will be given for meetings within the European area.

The maximum amount of a Meeting Attendance Grant is €600 while the minimum is €250.

We are calling on young scientists wishing to apply for a Meetings Attendance Grant to first familiarize themselves with the regulations governing FEMS Meeting Attendance Grants.

Completed applications should be received at FEMS Central Office by: • 1 April, for attendance at meetings opening between 1 May – 30 September.

• 1 September, for attendance at meetings opening between 1 October – 30 April.

The regulations and application forms are available electronically. Please read them carefully and check the list at the right before contacting the FEMS Office.

G R AN T S CO R NER

CHECKLIST FOR YOUR FEMS MEETING ATTENDANCE GRANT APPLICATION FEMS Meeting Attendance Grants regulations apply to each application for the FEMS Meeting Attendance Grants; the requirements consist of but are not limited to the following: • You are a member of a FEMS Member Society • You are not older than 36 years at the closing date of the meeting • You are an active microbiologist • An abstract for which you are the presenting Author is added • The meeting that you are attending is not supported by a FEMS Meeting Grant • You have read the regulations for your application and you fulfill ALL requirements • You have completely filled-up the application form • The following should be submitted along with your application form: 1. a curriculum vitae including a list

of publications 2. one letter of recommendation 3. the abstract 4. a letter confirming its acceptance by

the meeting organisers 5. a photograph 6. a letter confirming the membership by

the society • Please send the complete application to grants@fems-microbiology.org before the deadline of 1 April 2013.

www.fems-microbiology.org

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Bits & Pieces Formatex Microbiology Book Series You are cordially invited to submit a chapter proposal to be considered for publication in the fourth number of the Formatex Microbiology Book Series (2013 Edition). The call for chapters for this book, which will be titled "Microbial pathogens and strategies for combating them: science, technology and education" will be open until 14th May 2013.

The aim of this book is to share the latest developments and advances in anti-microbial strategies.

Chapters shall be written by active researchers, but presented in a way accessible to a public beyond those who are specialists in the topic dealt.

"Anti" is here taken in the broadest sense as "against cell cycle, adhesion, or communication", when harmful for the human health, industry or economy (infectious diseases, chemotherapy, food, biomedicine, agriculture, livestock, biotechnology, water systems...). It will also cover topics on antimicrobial resistance, (early) microbial and resistance detection, enhancement of innate defenses against pathogens, as well as methods and techniques.

Those authors interested in submitting a chapter proposal are requested to submit a short abstract of it first, in order to avoid content duplications.

We look forward to receiving your proposals related to your most relevant recent research results. The deadline for chapter submission is 14 May 2013.

The Nat L. Sternberg Thesis Prize The Nat Sternberg Thesis Prize is a cash award given each year to a student for the most outstanding Ph.D. thesis in the field of prokaryotic molecular biology.

The award will be presented at the annual Molecular Genetics of Bacteria and Phages meeting, held on 6-10 August 2013 in Madison, Wisconsin USA, at which time the recipient will give a presentation about his or her work.

Meeting information is available at: http://www.union.wisc.edu/phages/orgs-topics. html Nominations open from 15 March 2013 to 15 April 2013. For further award details: http://sternbergaward.hms.harvard.edu Nat Sternberg (1942-1995), who developed P1 into a sophisticated molecular system that has dramatically influenced both basic molecular biology and biotechnology.

Submission deadline of late breaker abstracts for FEMS 2013 is 11 March 2013. Submit your abstract here.

Please visit the book website for more details: http://www.antimicrobialbook.org.

www.fems-microbiology.org

BITS & PIECES

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DEADLINES

MICROBIOLOGY TIDBITS

1 March 2013 FEMS Meeting Grants (for meetings to be held in 2014)

Microbial life in Antarctic subglacial lake In the race to find microbial life under Antarctic ice, a team of scientists from the USA has succeeded for the first time to find microbial life in the subglacial lake Whillans, which is hidden under more than half a mile of ice. This extreme condition is thought to be highly similar to that of icy moons. The study of extreme life forms in subglacial lakes on earth may therefore also give insight in potential life forms on other moons or planets of our solar system.

1 April 2013 1 September 2013 FEMS Meeting Attendance Grants 15 June 2013 1 December 2013 FEMS Research Fellowships

Source: WISSARD

1 June 2013 (meetings 1 July - 30 Dec.) 15 December 2013 (meetings 1 Jan. - June).

FEMS National & Regional Congresses Grants

FEMS-Sponsored Meetings, Spring 2013 10 March 2013 International Conference on Microbiology. Annual Conference of the Association for General and Applied Microbiology (VAAM) in Collaboration with the Royal Netherlands Society for Microbiology (KNVM), Bremen, Germany 24 April 2013 Biodeterioration of Wood and Wood Products, BWWP 2013, Tartu, Estonia

Discovery of haploid Candida albicans In the latest issue of Nature, collaborating scientists from the USA, Israel, Singapore and Taiwan, reveal that the yeast Candida albicans can generate viable haploid cells. C. albicans was always considered to live as an obligate diploid organism. The exciting discovery of haploid C. albicans strains is expected to greatly facilitate future genetic and molecular study of this fungal pathogen.

Source: University of Minnesota

Animal genome with a functional gene for antibiotic synthesis Scientists have discovered that the insect-like animal Folsomia candida, also known as springtail, harbours a gene that encodes a functional isopenicillin N synthase for the production of β-lactam antibiotics. Up until now, only bacteria and fungi were known to have the capacity to produce antibiotics.

Source: VU Amsterdam

26 April 2013 4th Microbial Genome Maintenance Meeting Oslo, Norway 25 May 2013 Molecular Mechanisms of Host-Pathogen Interactions and Virulence in Human Fungal Pathogens, HFP2013, Paris, France

Bacterium stimulates the formation of solid gold Canadian scientists of the McMaster University of Ontario have discovered that the bacterium Delftia acidovorans secretes a metabolite to protect itself from toxic soluble gold by promoting gold biomineralization. This discovery may offer opportunities for the development of microbial-assisted methods for the extraction of gold from water.

Source: McMaster University

The FEMS Affiliates Letter is a production of the Federation of European Microbiological Societies.

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