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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 Mäkelä,

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 380–391, 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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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 electronically. Please read them carefully and check the list at the right before contacting theFEMSCentralOffice.

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SAM council members, international speakers and delegates from the USA, Scotland, Ireland and South

Africa at ‘Anaerobe 2011: Anaerobes of the human gas-trointestinal microbiota and disease’, a joint meeting of SAM and the Society for General Microbiology held in

York, England in September 2011.

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

HISTORYThe Society for Anaerobic Microbiology was founded in 1975 as the Anaerobic Discussion Group and became the SAM in 1989. It became a full member of FEMS in 2009 and currently includes 240 microbiologists in its portfolio.

Membership to the Society is open to anyone interested in anaerobic microbiology. Members includeworkersfromawiderangeofscientificbackgrounds from all parts of the world. SAM also has links with the Anaerobe Society of the Americas.

ACTIVITIESThe Society organises meetings which bring together Clinical Microbiologists and Scientists with an interest in anaerobic bacteriology. Annual meetings have been hosted at the Health Protection Agency Colindale, London.

In addition, it organises joint meetings with other Societies, most recently with the Society for General Microbiology.

Currently, Professors Sheila Patrick and Elisabeth Nagy of SAM Council are involved in organising a Workshop titled ‘The paradox of Propionibacterium acnes: benign commensal and virulent pathogen’ to be held at the 22nd European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases on 31 March - 3 April 2012 in London.

- Text and Photos by Prof. Sheila Patrick

ORGANISATION

The Society is run by an elected Council:

Chair: Professor Sheila Patrick

Vice Chair & Honorary Treasurer: Dr Mark Wilks

Honorary Secretary: Dr Kenneth Bruce

Council members: Professor Haroun Shah, Dr Garry Blakely, Mrs Julie Elston, Professor Neil Fairweather, Dr Val Hall, Dr Mike Hudson, Professor Elisabeth Nagy

Current and past SAM Council members at the FEMS-sponsored meeting ‘The Human Microbi-ome and Anaerobic Infection’ at the Health Protection

Agency, Colindale, London UK, February 2011

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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

O B I T U A R Y

The Finnish Academician, Professor Emerita P. Helena Mäkelä has died at the age of 81.

Helena Mäkelä contributed fundamentally to the development of theFederationofEuropeanMicrobiologicalSocieties(FEMS),firstasthe meetings secretary and then in 1992-1995 as the President.

Several FEMS activities, such as workshops, travel grants, promotion and impact of microbiology and microbiologists in Europe, were initiated while Helena Mäkelä was a member of the Executive Com-mittee of FEMS. She advanced research, education, and application ofmicrobiologyinseveralorganizationsbothinternationallyandin Finland, and served as the president of the International Union of Microbiological Societies (IUMS) and the International Endotoxin Society.

She was the Director of the Department of Bac-teriology and the Infectious Diseases Unit at the National Public Health Institute of Finland from 1965 to 1996.

Helena Mäkelä was a leading researcher in bacte-rial pathogenesis, infectious diseases, and vac-cinology. Her basic training was in medicine, and the post-doctoral period in Joshua Lederberg´s laboratory in Stanford opened up the pioneering studies on lipopolysaccharide genetics and struc-ture, which she later on successfully expanded to studies on the biology of lipopolysaccharides in Salmonella.

For these studies, she received the Robert Koch Prizein1970.HelenaMäkeläwasadrivingforceinepidemiologicalandmolecularcharacterizationof uropathogenic and meningitic Escherichia coli isolates and thereby contributed to the establish-ment of the clonal groups-concept in E. coli.

The development and application of vaccines re-mained a major research topic throughout Helena Mäkelä´s career. Her vaccine studies began by assessingtheefficacyofapolysaccharidevaccineagainst a meningococcal epidemic in Finland in the 1970s. The success led to a series of extensive

analyses of immune responses to polysaccharide and conjugate vaccines against Haemophilus influ-enzae type b and pneumococci.

The studies have been important for present use of these vaccines. Helena Mäkelä devoted much of her efforts to help children in developing coun-tries and to advance vaccination programmes in Bangladesh and the Philippines. She received the PrinceMahidolPrizefromThailandin2002,andin Finland she was awarded the honorary title of Academicianin2003asthefirstFinnishwomanScience Academician.

Helena Mäkelä was a microbiologist of inter-national renown and had a broad vision for microbiology. She supported and encouraged young microbiologists by advancing their career. Improving the position of women sci-entists was important to her. As a person, she was easy to approach and always had time to discuss microbiology or other matters. Fea-tures of her life’s work were social conscience, commitment to advance international educa-tion in microbiology, and support for devel-oping countries.

- Timo Korhonen, Helsinki

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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 , f e b 2 0 1 2

DEADLINES1 March 2012

FEMS Meeting Grants(for meetings to be held in 2013)

1 April 20121 September 2012

FEMS Meeting Attendance Grants

15 June 2012 1 December 2012

FEMS Research FellowshipsFEMS Visiting Scientist Grants

1 June 2012 15 December 2012

FEMS National & Regional Congresses Grants

1 October 2012FEMS Advanced Fellowships

Microbiology Tidbits

Amoeba May Offer Key Clue to Photosynthetic EvolutionThe major difference between plant and animal cells is the photosynthetic process, which con-verts light energy into chemical energy. When light isn’t available, energy is generated by break-ing down carbohydrates and sugars, just as it is in animal and some bacterial cells. Two cellular organelles are responsible for these two process-es: the chloroplasts for photosynthesis and the mitochondria for sugar breakdown. New research from Carnegie’s Eva Nowack and Arthur Gross-man has opened a window into the early stages of chloroplast evolution.

Source: Carnegie Institution

Traces of Listeria Found in Vancouver Ready-To-Eat Fish ProductsA University of British Columbia study has found traces of the bacteria Listeriainready-to-eatfishproducts sold in Metro Vancouver. UBC food mi-crobiologist Kevin Allen tested a total of 40 ready-to-eatfishsamplespriortotheirbestbeforedate.Purchased from seven large chain stores and 10 small retailers in Metro Vancouver, these products included lox, smoked tuna, candied salmon and fishjerky.

Source: The University of British Columbia

‘Universal’ Vaccines Could Finally Allow for Wide-Scale Flu PreventionAnemergingclassoflong-lastingfluvaccinescould do more than just save people the trouble ofanannualflushot.Princeton University-based researchers have found that the “universal” vaccine could for the firsttimeallowfortheeffective,wide-scalepre-ventionofflubylimitingtheinfluenzavirus’abil-ity to spread and mutate.

Source: Princeton University

FEMS-Sponsored Meetings, March - April 2012

2012 Mar 30 - 11th European Conference on Fungal Genetics, Germany

2012 Apr 10 - Environmental Microbiol-ogy and Biotechnology in the Frame of the Knowledge-Based Economy, Italy

2012 Apr 15 - 3rd Workshop on Microbial Sulfur Metabolism, The Netherlands

2012 Apr 16 - 5th European Spores Con-ference, United Kingdom

2012 Apr 22 - 8th Int’l Conference: Con-taminantsinFreezingGround,CFG8Austria