[Coral-List] Reminder ICRS 2012 Cell and Molecular Biology of Symbiosis

[Alexander Venn]

Dear Colleagues, 

This is a reminder for our mini-symposium entitled “Cell and Molecular Biology of
Symbiosis” at the 2012 International Coral Reef Symposium, to be held in
Cairns, Australia in July 2012. This mini-symposium forms part of Symposium 6
(“Physiology and Functional Biology”). It will focus on the cellular and
molecular basis of the cnidarian-dinoflagellate symbiosis, especially with
regards to symbiosis establishment, stasis and breakdown, though submissions
about other coral-microbial symbioses will also be considered (see below for
further details).  
 
Abstracts are due by 1st October.  Please
submit your abstract via the ICRS website, http://www.icrs2012..com. [Note: only one
abstract per presenting author is permitted across the conference].
 
If you have questions about the suitability of your
abstract, please contact us directly:
 
Chair:  Simon Davy (simon.davy at vuw.ac.nz)
Co-chairs: Alex Venn (alex at centrescientifique..mc); Virginia Weis
(weisv at science.oregonstate.edu)
 
 
Mini-symposium 6a - Cell and
Molecular Biology of Symbiosis:
 
Elucidation of coral host/dinoflagellate
symbiont interactions at the cellular and molecular levels remains a major
challenge. Current lack of knowledge hampers our understanding of reef ecology
and symbiosis dysfunction under environmental stress. This mini-symposium
builds on a successful mini-symposium at the previous ICRS and will ensure that
this topic remains a primary focus. We will address cellular and molecular
aspects of the three key phases of cnidarian-dinoflagellate symbiosis: 1)
Establishment; 2) Stasis; 3) Breakdown. Some important questions relating to
these phases include: How do symbiotic partners recognize one another? By what
means do symbiont cells proliferate through host tissues? How are metabolites
transported across the host-symbiont interface? What cellular signals induce
corals to expel their symbionts during bleaching? Submissions that address
these and similar questions in cnidarian-dinoflagellate symbioses are
encouraged. We also encourage submissions that consider interactions between
corals and other microbes, especially where they inform our broader
understanding of coral immunity and coral holobiont biology.