fal feb2012

www.fems-microbiology.org

The official newsletter for FEMS Affiliates

A F F I L I AT E S L E T T E RFEBRUARY 2012

Also in this issue:

Publications corner: FEMS Yeast Research

Thematic Issue Journal highlight from

FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Featured article from FEMS Microbiology Letters

Grants page: Call for Applications:

FEMS Meeting Grants Checklist for FEMS

Meeting Grants Applications

Call for Applications: FEMS Meeting Attendance Grants

Checklist for FEMS Meeting Attendance Grants Applications

Society Feature: Society for Anaerobic

Microbiology

Obituary: P. Helena Mkel,

1930-2011

The Coinfections meeting, set on June 7-8 2012 and hosted by the European Academy of Microbiology and the Leopoldina German Acad-emy of Sciences, is now open for registration.

The registration fee costs 100 and includes the following: admissiontoscientificsessions

and poster area programme and book of abstracts coffee breaks lunch and dinner on Thursday

(June 7, 2012) lunch on Friday (June 8, 2012)

This seminar will highlight recent advances in our understanding of polymicrobial infections, synergies between microbes and relevant aspects of symbiosis. Scientists at the international forefront will give

presentations and contribute to the discussions. There will also be posters presented by meeting participants. The presentations will cover the en-tirefieldfrommoleculestomedicine.

To register please complete the registration form and send it by email to eam@fems-microbiology.org. The deadline for registration is May 21, 2012.

The European Academy of Microbiol-ogy is an initiative of FEMS. The Coin-fections meeting is its 2nd meeting to date.

To view the scope of the meeting, list of speakers, accommodation possibil-ities, further registration information and other event information, please visit www.coinfections2012.com.

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F E M S A F F I L I A T E S L E T T E R , f e b 2 0 1 2

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

JOUR NAL HIG HLIG HT

Bacteria associated with coral tumors

Scleractinian corals with growth anomalies, often referred to as tu-mors, have been reported globally. A recent survey of Hong Kong waters showed that > 60% of Platygyra carnosus colonies developed tumors.Herewereportforthefirsttime,thebacterialcommunityassociated with tumors in P. carnosus over different seasons and loca-tions in Hoi Ha Wan Marine Park and Port Shelter. Culture-based meth-ods for strain isolation and molecular techniques of 16S rRNA analysis forstrainidentificationwereused,aswellastheculture-independenttechnique terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism.

We tested the hypothesis that the community composition would be considerably different between healthy and tumor corals and aimed to investigate whether potential differences because of tumors would overridetheseasonalandspatialinfluences.Ouranalysisdetectedonly minor differences between the communities associated with the

Biogeography of lichen-associated bacteria

The correlation between the taxonomic composition of Alphaproteo-bacteria, BurkholderiaandnitrogenfixersassociatedwiththelichenLobaria pulmonaria and the geographical distribution of the host was studied across four sites in Europe.

Results proved that the diversity of Alphaproteobacteria is affected by geography, while those of Burkholderiaandnitrogenfixersweremostly driven by local habitat. This differ-ence indicates a higher stabil-ity of the association between Alphaproteobacteria and the lichen host.

Cardinale et al. FEMS Microbiol Lett (2012), Accepted Article; doi: 10.1111/j.1574-6968.2012.02508.x

healthy and tumor corals, indicating that tumors are not associated with major changes in the bacterial communitystructure.Incontrast,communitystructurewasstronglyinfluencedbythelocationandseason,with greater Alphaproteobacteria diversity in the winter than in the summer. This study demonstrated that the coral-associated bacterial community composition was more related to environmental variables (i.e. season and location) than to disease (i.e. tumor).

DOI: 10.1111/j.1574-6941.2011.01225.x / Volume 79, Issue 2, pages 380391, February 2012

FEATUR E D ARTICLE

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Metabolic Engineering, Synthetic Biology

and Systems Biology

The completion, in 1996, of the genome sequence of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae laboratory strain S288C represents a watershed in yeast research.

Today, the rapidly growing range of products produced with engineered S. cerevisiae strains already range from biofuels and bulk chemicals to food ingredients and life-sav-ing pharmaceuticals, while many other yeast-based products are subject of intensive academic and industrial research.

Ten minireviews in this special issue of FEMS Yeast Research provide an overview of the rapid developments in Metabolic Engineering, Synthetic Biology and Systems Biology of S. cerevisiae./fb

F E M S A F F I L I A T E S L E T T E R , f e b 2 0 1 2

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

Available NOW

!

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F E M S A F F I L I A T E S L E T T E R , f e b 2 0 1 2

G R A N T S CO R N E R

FEMS MEETING GRANTS

ThefirstgrantdeadlineofeveryFEMSyear is always for the FEMS Meeting Grants which is March 1 (of the year preceding that in which the meeting takes place).

So as early as now, we are calling on all those who are currently planning Scientificconferences,laboratoryworkshops, and training courses in the European area in the year 2013. Events such as these will be consid-ered for a FEMS Meeting Grant.

The maximum amount of a Meet-ing Grant is EUR 15 000. The Meeting Grant may only be used to support the attendance of: Young Scientists (minimum of 60%

and a maximum of 80% of total grant value) and

Invited Speakers (minimum of 20% and a maximum of 40% of total grant value)

On special request by the organis-ers and upon approval by the Grants Secretary, a total grant amount can be used to support young scientists only.

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

A list of events that were granted a FEMS Meeting Grant is also main-tained online.

CHECKLIST FOR YOUR FEMS MEETING GRANT

APPLICATION

FEMS Meeting Grants regulations apply to each application for the FEMS Meeting Grants, the requirements consist of but not limited to the following:

You are a meeting organizer The meeting that you are planning is

microbiology-related This microbiology-related meeting is

either a Scientific conference, labora-tory workshop and/or training course

This meeting will be held in Europe

The grant that you will receive will be used to support Young Scientist/s and Invited Speaker/s

You have read the regulations for your application and you fulfill ALL require-ments

General and budgetary information Full programme with list of speakers Endorsement by the FEMS Delegate of

your FEMS Member Society You have read the application form You have completely filled-up the ap-

plication form Send the complete application to

grants@fems-microbiology.org before the deadline of March 1, 2012

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F E M S A F F I L I A T E S L E T T E R , f e b 2 0 1 2

G R A N T S CO R N E R

CHECKLIST FOR YOUR FEMS MEETING ATTENDANCE

GRANT APPLICATIONS

FEMS Meeting Attendance Grants regu-lations apply to each application for the FEMS Meeting Attendance Grants, the requirements consist of but not limited to the following: You are a member of a FEMS Member

Society You are not more than 36 years of age

at the closing date of the meeting You are an active microbiologist; An abstract for which you are the pre-

senting author The meeting that you are

attending is not awarded a FEMS Meeting Grant

You have read the regulations for your application and you fulfill ALL require-ments

You have read the application form You have completely filled-up the ap-

plication 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 including a letter confirming its acceptance by the meeting organisers 4. a photograph Send the complete application to

grants@fems-microbiology.org before the deadline of April 1, 2012

FEMS MEETING

ATTENDANCE GRANTS

FEMS starts each spring with the deadline for the FEMS Meeting At-tendance 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 sup-port attendance at meetings world-wide 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 At-tendanceGranttofirstfamiliarizethemselves with the regulations governing FEMS Meeting Attendance Grants.

Complete applications should be re-ceivedatFEMSCentralOfficeby: April 1, for attendance at meetings

opening between May 1-Septem-ber 30.

September 1, for attendance at meetings opening between Octo-ber 1-April 30.

The regulations and application forms are available electronicall