Over the last two decades, there has been a significant surge in interest in the fundamental aspects of bacterial and archaeal structure and function, driven by advances in fluorescence and cryo-EM imaging. Quantitative and automated methods have brought about radical changes in the breadth and depth of questions that could be explored, while genome sequencing and genetic methods such as CRISPR-Cas9 and Tn-Seq have greatly expanded the range of organisms that can be studied incisively, enabling comparative studies of processes such as growth, morphogenesis, and division, across diverse prokayotic phyla. Many of these prokaryotic cell biology systems are being successfully reconstituted using purified components, leading to the discovery of molecular mechanisms underpinning cellular functions. The conference will bring together presentations that illustrate the application of advanced cell and molecular biology methods to a wide range of fundamental functions in prokaryotic cells. Advances in understanding the fundamentals of bacterial and archaeal structure and function also create opportunities for the development of novel approaches to kill pathogens or modulate the growth and behaviour of synthetically engineered strains.

Key Sessions

• Advances in Nanoimaging
• Cell Envelope Dynamics and Division
• Cell Growth and Cell Cycle
• Cell Shape and Morphogenesis
• Genome Organization, Replication, and Expression
• Spatial Organization of Cellular Structures

Confirmed Invited Speakers

Sonja-Verena Albers (University of Freiburg)
ORGANIZATION OF THE ARCHAEAL DIVISOM
Georgina Benn (University of Oxford)
ORGANISATION OF THE E. COLI OUTER MEMBRANE
Thomas Bernhardt (Harvard University)
CONTROL OF POLAR CELL ELONGATION IN ACTINOBACTERIA
Ariane Briegel (Institut Pasteur)
TOWARDS NANOSCALE IMAGING OF HOST-MICROBE INTERACTIONS
Yves Brun (Université de Montreal)
THE ROLE OF DYNAMIC PILI IN BACTERIAL ADHESION
Jeff Errington (The University of Sydney)
REPURPOSING A PLASMID SEGREGATION PROTEIN DURING A MAJOR BACTERIAL EVOLUTIONARY SHIFT
Simon Foster (University of Sheffield)
STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS CELL DIVISION: IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH
Séamus Holden (University of Warwick)
MOLECULAR MECHANISMS AND PHYSIOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES OF ELONGASOME TUG-OF-WAR
Georgia Isom (University of Oxford)
COORDINATION OF OUTER MEMBRANE AND CELL WALL SYNTHESIS VIA PHOSPHOLIPID TRANSFER PROTEIN YhdP
Buse Isbilir (University of Cambridge)
ARCHITECTURE AND ASSEMBLY OF MICROBIAL SURFACE LAYERS
Christine Jacobs-Wagner (Stanford University/HHMI)
IMAGING ANTIMICROBIAL PEPTIDES IN ACTION
Geraldine Laloux (UC Louvain)
ORGANIZING A BACTERIAL CELL FOR PREDATION
Jan Lowe (MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology)
ASGARD ARCHAEAL ORIGIN OF MICROTUBULES
Nika Pende (University of Vienna)
PLOIDY, ORIENTATION AND CHROMOSOME SEGREGATION IN METHANOGENS
Tessa Quax (University of Groningen)
VIRAL INFECTION OF HALOARCHAEA
Susan Schlimpert (John Innes Centre)
CLEARING THE WAY FOR DIVISION: A NOVEL FtsK/SpoIIIE FAMILY PROTEIN LINKS DNA SEGREGATION TO SPORULATION IN STREPTOMYCES
Sloan Siegrist (University of Massachusetts Amherst)
THE INS AND OUTS OF THE MYCOBACTERIAL CELL ENVELOPE
Victor Sourjik (Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology)
DIFFUSIONAL PROPERTIES OF BACTERIAL CYTOPLASM
Benjamin Springstein (Institute of Science and Technology Austria)
REPURPOSING OF A DNA SEGREGATION MACHINERY INTO A CYTOSKELETAL SYSTEM CONTROLLING CELL SHAPE 
Elitza Tocheva (University of British Columbia)
BamA SELF-INSERTION DRIVES INNER-TO-OUTER MEMBRANE REMODELLING IN DIDERM FIRMICUTES
Patrick Viollier (University of Geneva)
GLYCAN CONTROL OF FLAGELLATION
Jean-Marie Volland (UC Santa Barbara)
CHALLENGING SIMPLICITY: THE INTRICATE CELLULAR ARCHITECTURE OF LARGE SULFUR BACTERIA
Anne Marie Wehenkel (Institut Pasteur)
MECHANISTIC INSIGHTS INTO SCAFFOLDING PROTEINS LINKED TO CELL DIVISION AND ELONGATION IN MYCOBACTERIALES

Target Audience

The conference will attract major players in the field of prokaryotic cell biology, which comprises ~100 significant groups worldwide. It will also attract many microbiologists with a general interest in microbial cell function who would badge themselves as molecular biologists or microbial biochemists. Talks will cover a wide range of topics, and graduate trainees, postdoctoral fellows, and academic and industry group leaders will be brought up to date with the newest developments across the discipline. 

Educational Need

Prokaryotic cell biology underpins important applied research areas, such as infectious disease, antimicrobial discovery and development, and synthetic biology; however, it is rarely taught as a discipline in its own right, especially with the decline of offered degrees in microbiology. The modern discipline, which has emerged over the last 30 years, encompasses a wide range of technical methods and can be highly quantitative, covering a diversity of organisms and mechanistic problems. The conference presentations will collectively provide a comprehensive grounding in all major facets of the field, bringing new participants to the field at all levels (pre- and post-doctoral, as well as group leaders switching fields).