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The official newsletter for FEMS Affiliates

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

Also in this issue:

Publications corner:• Journal highlight from

FEMS Microbiology Ecology and FEMS Yeast Research

• New FEMS Journal launched

Grants page:• Hepatitis, focus at the

8th Conference on New Frontiers in Microbiology and Infection

• Featured Grantee: Britta Stadelmann

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS:FEMS-Lwoff Award

SAVE THE DATE: The next FEMS Congress will be on July 21-25, 2013

Grants deadlines

Microbiology Tidbits

List of FEMS-sponsored meetings in July and August

The first Coinfections meeting was successfully held in Halle (Saale), Germany on June 7 and 8, 2012. More experienced and young scientists alike exchanged scientific ideas in the two-day meeting organized by the European Academy of Microbiology and the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina.

Day 1 was jampacked with talks from Professors Albert Osterhaus of The Netherlands, Søren Molin of Den-mark, Nicolas Fasel of Switzerland, Achim Hoerauf of Germany, Birgitta Henriques-Normark of Sweden, Brian Davis of the U.S.A., Eva Friebertshau-eser of Germany and Robert Wilkin-son of the United Kingdom.

FEMS Immunology and Medical Microbiology journal Chief Editor Dr Patrik Bavoil ended the first day of scientific exchange through the

launch of Pathogens and Diseases, a new journal of FEMS.

On day 2, Dr Jonathan Mc Cullers from the U.S.A. opened the session on Microbial Interactions followed by Linda Wammes, MD of The Neth-erlands. The second session featured talks from Dr Julie Pfeiffer of the U.S.A. and Dr Bavoil.

The topics tackled during the meet-ing were complex microbial commu-nities and gene and signal exchanges, coinfections with parasites, epidemi-ology, bacterial infections, microbial interactions and microbiota in infec-tions and susceptibility to infections.

Prof. Hans Dieter Klenk of both the EAM and Leopoldina and Prof. Tone Tønjum of EAM and FEMS opened the meeting and shared the chairing of sessions.

The EAM Coinfections meeting was held in Halle, Germany.

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

JOUR NAL HIG HLIG HTS

This is the first time that high-resolution TEM images have been obtained, which provides evidence of several morphological changes in the ultrastructure of S. cerevisiae lees throughout real long-term aging.

Most of the studies on yeast autolysis have focused on the chemical analysis of wine, but few of them have studied the cytological changes of yeasts during aging. Many of the changes observed in our work could explain the evolution of the compositional and sensorial characteristics of sparkling wines reported by previous authors. The results suggest that autophagy is involved in the autolytic process. Moreover, different types of autophagy were observed in lees in real enological conditions.

Tudela et al. | FEMS Yeast Research | Volume 12, Issue 4, pages 466–476, June 2012 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1567-1364.2012.00800.x/abstract

The plant health- and growth-promoting biological inoculant (bio-inoculant) Trichoderma hamatum LU592 was trans-formed with the constitutively expressed green fluorescent protein (gfp) and hygromycin B resistance (hph) genes to spe-cifically monitor the isolate in the root system of Pinus radiata within a strong indigenous Trichoderma population.

A modified dilution plating technique was developed to allow the determination of the mycelia proportion of total propagule levels. LU592 was shown to colonize the rhizosphere most effectively when 105 spores per pot were applied compared with inoculum con-centrations of 103 and 107 spores per pot.

LU592 extended its zone of activity beyond the rhizosphere to at least 1 cm away from the root surface. A positive relationship was shown be-tween P. radiata root maturation and the spatial

and temporal proliferation of LU592 in the root system. A steep increase in mycelia levels and proportion of penetrated root segments was observed after 12 weeks.

This study reinforces the value of genetic markers for use in ecological studies of filamen-tous fungi.

However, despite isolate-spe-cific recovery of the introduced isolate, it was shown that total propagule counts do not always correlate with the amount of

viable mycelium present in the root system. There-fore, it is proposed that the differentiation of my-celia from spores and root penetration is used as more accurate measures of fungal activity.

Hohmann et al. | FEMS Microbiology Ecology | Volume 80, Issue 3, pages 709–721, June 2012

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1574-6941.2012.01340.x/full

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

A new FEMS Journal will be launched on August 1, 2012. Pathogens and Diseases will replace the FEMS Immunology and Medical Microbiology journal.

If you have articles that correspond to the descrip-tion below, you may submit them here.

Aims and ScopeTo publish outstanding primary Research Articles, Short Communications, and MiniReviews reporting on:

• Hypothesis- or discovery-driven studies relating to pathogens;

• The host pathogen interaction;• The host response to infection; and • Their molecular and cellular correlates.

Independent Commentaries on matters related to articles published in Pathogens and Diseases or on topics of actuality in infectious disease.

Pathogens include all unicellular eukaryotic and prokaryotic microbes and viruses that infect humans, including zoonotic pathogens. Studies corresponding broadly to the fields of molecular pathogenesis, cellular microbiology, innate and adaptive immunobiology and studies of the systems biology (’omics) of pathogens will be welcome. Experimental translational applications in vaccine research, therapeutics, pathogen typing or diagnostic will also be welcome.

Research SectionsResearch articles will be assigned to one of several subsections based on the dominant approach/topic of the study. These will include but are not limited to the broad areas of:

• Host/Pathogen Molecular Biology • Molecular/Cellular Pathogenesis • Microbial Communities in Infection and Disease • Host Responses to Infection• Translational Research • Systems Biology

New Section - Shortomics Shortomics will encompass all ’omic studies ranging in length from ’omic announcements.

All shortomics submissions will be handled at edito-rial level (usually not involving external referees) to minimise time from submission to publication.

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TEM micrograph of hepatitis B virions, also known as Dane particles.

Image credit: CDC/Dr. Erskine Palmer (PHIL #270), 1981.

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G R A N T S CO R N E R

“Hepatitis E, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C: from Basic Science to Clinical Practice” is the theme of the 8th Conference on New Frontiers in Microbiology and Infec-tion, a joint conference of the Federation of European Microbiologi-cal Societies (FEMS) and the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID).

The event will be held on October 7 -11, 2012 at the Eurotel Victoria in Villars-sur-Ollon,

Switzerland. Villars-sur-Ollon is a mountain resort located in the western part of Switzerland, about 100 kilometers from Geneva.

Target Audience

All scientists with a research interest in the field of hepatitis and infectious disease physicians are invited to attend. This conference offers especially young scientists and infectious diseases experts the opportunity to discuss their specific subjects of interest in depth with senior colleagues.

Conference Objectives

• Providing the opportunity for the transfer of state-of-the-art knowledge and understanding of hepatitis between research laboratory-based and clinical microbiologists as well as infectious diseases specialists

• Focusing and determining the state-of-the-art understanding of hepatitis and its impact on clinical practice by bringing together the best European and non-European scientists

• Giving young scientists the opportunity to meet and interact with senior scientists

• Offering research-minded clinical microbiolo-gists and infectious diseases specialists the opportunity to update his/her understanding of the conference’s subject

Young Scientist Travel Grants

FEMS and ESCMID provide a number of travel grants covering EUR 500. Please visit the conference website at www.cnfmi.org for details.

Since 2005, all CNFMI conferences were held in Villars-sur-Ollon, Switzerland. Here is a summary of all topics tackled during past conferences:

• 2011: H. pylori • 2010: Salmonella • 2009: From microbial pathogenesis to the dis-

covery of antivirulence drugs • 2008: Clostridia • 2007: Streptococcus pneumoniae • 2006: Mycobacteria • 2005: E. Coli

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G R A N T S CO R N E R

My sincerest gratitude to FEMS for the financial contribution, which allowed me to participate in the IV International Cryptosporidium & Giardia Conference 2012 in Wellington, New Zealand. This four-day conference allowed me to broaden my knowledge with regards to the current research in this field and to get valuable input for my own research projects, as well as to establish several important con-nections for my future career.

- Britta Stadelmann, Grantee, FEMS Meeting Attendance Grant

If you want to be featured in the next FEMS Affiliates Letter issue, send us a picture of you wearing your FEMS Meeting Attendance Grant sweater through fems@fems-microbiology.org.

Britta (middle) with Norbert Muller and Elin Einarsson

Britta (middle) with Fran Gillin and Jitka Jancar

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S O C I E T Y F E AT U R E

Named in honour of the first FEMS President (1974-1976) Professor André M. Lwoff, the FEMS-Lwoff Award is intended to reward a person or group of persons preferably working and residing in Europe in recognition of his/her/their outstand-ing service to microbiology in the continent.

Initiated in the year 2000 at the occasion of the 25th Anniversary of FEMS, the FEMS-Lwoff Award consists of a prize-lecture presented at a FEMS Congress, a medal, and an honorarium of 1.000,00 euros.

All fields of microbiology are considered in the award while preference will be given to scientific research activity.

The award is usually conferred during the FEMS Congress. The next FEMS Congress will be held in Leipzig, Germany on July 21-25, 2013.

If you want to nominate a person or group of persons, please check the regulations thoroughly before sending in your applications.

Deadline for nominations is January 10, 2013.

PAST FEMS-LWOFF AWARDEES

2011Miroslav Radman, CroatiaVenue and date of awarding: 4th FEMS Congress, Geneva, Switzerland,30 June 2011

2009Karl-Heinz Schleifer, GermanyVenue and date of awarding: 3rd FEMS Congress, Gothenburg, Sweden1 July 2009

2006Jorg Hacker, GermanyVenue and date of awarding: 2nd FEMS Congress, Madrid, Spain6 July 2006

2003Sir David A. Hopwood, United KingdomVenue and date of awarding: 1st FEMS Congress, Ljubljana, Slovenia2 July 2003

2000Philippe J. Sansonetti, FranceVenue and date of awarding:FEMS Jubilee, Sevilla, Spain15 September 2000

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The FEMS Affiliates Letter is a production of FEMS Central Office

F E M S A F F I L I A T E S L E T T E R , J U N E 2 0 1 2

DEADLINES1 September 2012

1 April 2013FEMS Meeting Attendance Grants

1 October 2012FEMS Advanced Fellowships

1 December 201215 June 2013

FEMS Research FellowshipsFEMS Visiting Scientist Grants

15 December 2012 1 June 2013

FEMS National & Regional Congresses Grants

1 March 2013 FEMS Meeting Grants

(for meetings to be held in 2014)

2012 Jul 9 - 13 3rd Central European Summer Course on Mycology: Biology of Pathogenic Fungi, Hungary

2012 Jul 15 - 2019th Congress of the Int’l Organisation for Mycoplasmology (IOM), France

2012 Aug 19 - 2414th Int’l Society for Microbial Ecology Symposium, Denmark

2012 Aug 25 - Sept 2Summer School in Applied Molecular Microbiology, Croatia

FEMS-Sponsored Meetings, July - August 2012

MICROBIOLOGY TIDBITS

ASM AWARDSASM is dedicated to acknowledging the best in microbiology. The ASM Awards, overseen by the American Academy of Microbiology, encompass the many subspecialties of microbiology, includ-ing biotechnology, clinical microbiology, envi-ronmental microbiology, antimicrobial chemo-therapy, immunology, and virology, as well as education and service to the profession. View all ASM Awards or to learn more about nominating someone for a specific award.

CALL FOR TENDERECDC is pleased to inform you that there is a call for tender published for: “EU-advice on molecular surveillance of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis: stakeholder meetings”. The deadline for submis-sion of tenders is 16 July 2012 at 4 pm local time. For further information please find the call docu-ments at the following link: http://ecdc.europa.eu/en/aboutus/calls/Pages/ProcurementsandGrants.aspx

PEOPLE TO PEOPLEPeople to People Citizen Ambassador Programs is organizing a delegation of specialists in micro-biology to travel to China in September 2012. The delegation leader is Roberto Kolter, Ph.D., profes-sor and head of the Kolter Lab in the Department of Microbiology and Immunobiology at Harvard Medical School, a former president of the Ameri-can Society for Microbiology (ASM) and current chair of ASM’s Public and Scientific Affairs Board, and we hope for a strong showing of microbiol-ogy specialists. A number of unique opportunities are planned, including dialogue with microbiology profes-sionals in China, and the opportunity to share techniques, training and microbiology principles. You can find more information, or enroll online, at www.peopletopeople.com/robertokolter.