Int. Congr. on Extremophiles

[Rudi Mueller]

++++++++++++++First International Congress on
Extremophiles++++++++++++++++++++++
Estoril, Portugal, 2.-6. June 1996

An International Congress on Extremophiles will be
held in Estoril, Portugal, from Sunday June 2 to
Thursday June 6, 1996 near the Cascais Bay on the
Estoril coast, which is 20 km from Lisbon and 30 min
drive from the Lisbon airport. The weather is warm
and pleasant in June and a variety of activities will be
available in association with the Congress.

AIM OF THE CONGRESS

The meeting will provide a forum for information
exchange between specialists in the rapidly growing
field of extremophile research. We aim to provide a
stimulating and open scientific atmosphere for
scientists from academia and industry. The general
structure of the meeting will be plenary sessions
given by invited speakers in the morning and
symposia in the afternoons. Short oral presentations
will be given of papers selected from submitted
abstracts. Ample time will be provided for poster
presentations and discussions. In addition workshops
focusing on specific emerging themes will be
organized.

SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMME

Microorganisms that are adapted to live in extreme
environments have developed various strategies to
sustain life under these conditions. The Congress will
focus on both fundamental and applied aspects of the
physiology, biochemistry and molecular genetics of
microorganisms that live under such extreme
conditions as very high or low temperature, pH, salt
concentration and pressure. The following is a list of
the major topics:

-Genetics and molecular biology
  of extremophiles
  Molecular biology and genetics of Archaea
  Genome sequences and chromatin structure
  Transcription factors
  Archaeal introns
  Nucleic acid structures and modifications

-Protein structure and function
  of extremophiles
  Protein folding and molecular chaperones
  Structure and catalytic properties
  Structure and stability factors
  Protein engineering

-Physiology and metabolism of extremophiles
  Membrane composition
  C and N metabolism
  High cell density cultivation
  Production of proteins and other compounds

-Screening and application of extremophiles
  Potentially valuable enzymes from extremophiles
  Application of enzymes to molecular biology,
  diagnostics and industrial processes
  Taxonomy of extremophiles
  Isolation methods

PRACTICAL INFORMATION
To receive the second circular, please send a message to

Prof. Dr. G. Antranikian
Extremophiles 96
Technical University Hamburg-Harburg
Biotechnology/Technical Microbiology
Denickestr. 15, D-21071 Hamburg, Germany
Fax: +40-7718-2909
E-Mail: Antranikian at tu-harburg.d400.de. 

The second circular will provide additional information
about the programme, registration and accommo-
dation details. The Congress language will be English.
The number of participants will be limited to 300.