Microbes are the engineers that make life possible on planet Earth. Not only are they fundamental in shedding light on the complexities of the evolutionary past, but they also are key in advancing the future of biotechnology. These topics will be explored in depth at a symposium "The New Microbiology: Genes, Genomics, and Complex Ecosystems,"at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Sunday, Februrary 20, 2000, 3:00-6:00 pm at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington, DC.
The symposium will focus on several areas of current microbiological research. For example, the diversity of microorganisms is largely unknown and unexplored, presenting challenges to researchers who study them and their roles in nature when these microbes cannot be grown in the laboratory. Microbes also live in close association with many other organisms. In particular, the interplay between bacteria and plants is vital for plant growth, and studies of this interaction have important implications for biotechnology.
Other aspects covered include the mechanisms of mutation in bacteria and their significance for the development of antibiotic resistance and diseases such as cancer. The key role of microbial evolution in the development of more complex forms will also be addressed.
Symposium convenor Julian E. Davies, current president of the American Society for Microbiology and professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, will speak on antibiotic resistance in "Superbugs and Superdrugs." Among the participants, Rita Colwell, Ph.D., Sc.D., director of the National Science Foundation, will talk about "Microbial Ecology and Systematics: Subdisciplines Whose Time Has Come."
"Microbial Evolution and Phylogeny: Is There a New Synthesis?" will be addressed by W. Ford Doolittle, Ph.D., Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Jeffrey H. Miller, Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles, will speak on "What Controls Mutation in Bacteria?"
Eugene Nester, Ph.D., chair of the Board of Governors of the American Academy of Microbiology and professor at the University of Washington, Seattle, will discuss implications for agriculture in "Macromolecule Transfer from Prokaryotes:The Agrobacterium Paradigm." Rounding out the speaker roster is Nobel Laureate Richard J. Roberts, Ph.D., New England Biolabs, Beverly, Mass., who will speak on "Restriction and Modification of Genomes."
The symposium is sponsored by the American Academy for Microbiology, an honorific leadership group within the American Society for Microbiology whose mission is to foster and recognize scientific excellence in the microbiological sciences. Its activities include convening colloquia to develop consensus-building position papers that provide expert scientific opinion and advice on current and emerging policy issues in microbiology.