Gordon Research Conferences
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Conference Program
 
Iron-Sulfur Enzymes
June 6-11, 2010
Colby-Sawyer College
New London, NH
Chair:
Fraser A. Armstrong

Vice Chair:
Tracey Rouault

Iron-sulfur (FeS) centers are essential for biology and inspirational in chemistry. These protein cofactors are broadly defined as active sites in which Fe is coordinated by S-donor ligands, often in combination with extra non-protein components, for example, additional metal atoms such as Mo and Ni, and soft ligands such as CN- and CO. Iron-sulfur centers are inherently air sensitive: they are found in essentially all organisms and it is possible that they were integral components of the earliest forms of life, well before oxygen (O2) appeared. Proteins containing FeS cofactors perform a variety of biological functions ranging across electron transfer, acid-base catalysis, and sensing where they are agents for cell regulation through transcription (DNA) or translation (RNA). They are redox catalysts for radical-based reactions and the activation of H2, N2 and CO2, processes that offer scientific and economic challenges for industry. Iron-sulfur centers provide the focus for fundamental investigations of chemical bonding, spectroscopy and paramagnetism, and their functions have numerous implications for health and medicine and applications for technology, including renewable energy. The 2010 Iron-Sulfur Enzymes GRC will bring together researchers from different disciplines for in-depth discussions and presentations of the latest developments. There will be sessions on structural and functional analogues of FeS centers, advances in physical methods, roles of FeS centers in energy and technology, catalysis (including radical-based rearrangements and the activation of nitrogen, hydrogen and carbon), long-range electron transfer, FeS centers in health and disease, cellular regulation, cofactor assembly, their relevance in industry, and experiments and hypotheses relating to the origins of life.


SUNDAY
2:00 pm - 9:00 pmArrival and Check-in (Office Closed 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm)
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 7:40 pmWelcome / Introductory Comments by GRC Site Staff
7:40 pm - 9:30 pmFUNDAMENTALS: INSIGHT FROM STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL ANALOGUES OF IRON SULFUR AND RELATED ACTIVE SITES
Discussion Leader: Marcetta Darensbourg (Texas A&M University)
7:40 pm - 8:20 pm Richard Holm (Harvard University)
"Recent Excursions into the Chemistry of Biologically Related Metal-Sulfur Clusters"
8:20 pm - 8:35 pm Discussion
8:35 pm - 9:15 pm Patrick Holland (University of Rochester, New York)
"Expanding the Boundaries of Iron-Sulfur Clusters: New Arrangements and Oxidation Levels"
9:15 pm - 9:30 pm Discussion
MONDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pmIRON SULFUR CENTER MATURATION, ASSEMBLY AND HEALTH IMPLICATIONS
Discussion Leader: Tracey Rouault (NIH, Bethesda, MD)
9:00 am - 9:30 am Dennis Dean (Virginia Technical University)
"In vivo assembly of Iron-Sulfur clusters: Perspectives and challenges"
9:30 am - 9:40 am Discussion
9:40 am - 10:05 am Wayne Outten (University of South Carolina)
"Exploring the in vivo mechanisms of Suf Fe-S cluster assembly in E. coli"
10:05 am - 10:15 am Discussion
10:15 am - 10:45 am Coffee Break / Group Photo
10:45 am - 11:10 am Janneke Balk (University of Cambridge, UK)
"FeS biogenesis in biogenesis in plants and algae"
11:10 am - 11:20 am Discussion
11:20 am - 11:45 am Julius Lukes (Institute of Parasitology, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic)
"Fe-S cluster assembly in the parasitic protist Trypanosoma brucei"
11:45 am - 11:55 am Discussion
11:55 am - 12:20 pm Hélène Puccio (University of Strasbourg, France)
"The role of frataxin in Fe-S assembly and its implication in human health"
12:20 pm - 12:30 pm Discussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pmPoster Session
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pmNITROGENASES
Discussion Leader: Brian Hoffman (Northwestern University)
7:30 pm - 8:00 pm Lance Seefeldt (Utah State University)
"Insights into the Nitrogenase Mechanism"
8:00 pm - 8:10 pm Discussion
8:10 pm - 8:40 pm Markus Ribbe (University of California, Irvine)
"Unique features of the VFe protein of Azotobacter vinelelandii"
8:40 pm - 8:50 pm Discussion
8:50 pm - 9:20 pm Jonas Peters (Caltech, Pasadena, CA)
"Considering single and multiple site mechanisms for Fe-mediated N2 fixation"
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm Discussion
9:30 pm Poster Session
TUESDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pmMECHANISMS OF DIRECT CATALYSIS AT IRON SULFUR CLUSTERS
Discussion Leader: Dick Cammack (King's College, London)
9:00 am - 9:25 am Wolfgang Buckel (University of Marburg, Germany)
"Iron-sulfur dehydratases"
9:25 am - 9:35 am Discussion
9:35 am - 10:00 am Pinhua Liu (Boston University)
"Mechanistic studies of IspH enzyme: A reductive dehydration reaction in prokaryotic isoprenoid biosynthesis"
10:00 am - 10:10 am Discussion
10:10 am - 10:40 am Coffee Break
10:40 am - 11:05 am Eric Oldfield (University of Illinois, Urbana)
"Mechanism of Action, and Inhibition, of IspG and IspH"
11:05 am - 11:15 am Discussion
11:15 am - 11:40 am Petra Hänzelmann (University of Würzburg, Germany)
"Mechanistic insights into the role of the two catalytic FeS clusters of the radical SAM protein MoaA"
11:40 am - 11:50 am Discussion
11:50 am - 12:15 pm Michael Johnson (University of Georgia, Athens)
"Biotin synthase revisited: The nature of the sulfur donor"
12:15 pm - 12:30 pm Discussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pmPoster Session
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pmIRON SULFUR PROTEINS IN CELL PROCESSES, REGULATION AND REPAIR
Discussion Leader: Nick LeBrun (University of East Anglia, UK)
7:30 pm - 8:00 pm Marc Fontecave (Université Joseph Fourier, Grenoble, France)
"Sulfuration of biological macromolecules: new 'Radical-SAM' enzymes"
8:00 pm - 8:10 pm Discussion
8:10 pm - 8:40 pm Adrie Steyn (University of Alabama, Birmingham)
"Mycobacterium tuberculosis WhiB3, a 4Fe-4S cluster intracellular redox sensor that modulates virulence and persistence"
8:40 pm - 8:50 pm Discussion
8:50 pm - 9:20 pm Mark Dillingham (University of Bristol, UK)
"An iron-sulfur cluster is essential for the repair of DNA breaks by the AddAB helicase-nuclease"
9:10 pm - 9:30 pm Discussion
9:30 pm Poster Session
WEDNESDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pmHYDROGENASES
Discussion Leader: John Peters (Montana State University)
9:00 am - 9:25 am Stephen Cramer (University of California, Davis)
"Nitrogenase and hydrogenase -- characterizing intermediates with radiation from milli-eV to keV"
9:25 am - 9:35 am Discussion
9:35 am - 10:00 am Wolfgang Lubitz (Max Planck Institute, Mülheim, Germany)
"The hydrogen-converting FeS Cluster in [FeFe] hydrogenase: Insight from magnetic resonance and vibrational spectroscopy"
10:00 am - 10:10 am Discussion
10:10 am - 10:40 am Coffee Break
10:40 am - 11:05 am Marcetta Darensbourg (Texas A&M University)
"Iron vs. sulfur-based oxygenation in hydrogenase active site synthetic analogues"
11:05 am - 11:15 am Discussion
11:15 am - 11:40 am Oliver Lenz (Humboldt University, Berlin)
"Cofactor assembly and function in O2-tolerant [NiFe]-hydrogenases"
11:40 am - 11:50 am Discussion
11:50 am - 12:15 pm Joan Broderick (Montana State University)
"Unraveling the mysteries of hydrogenase H-cluster assembly -- New insights into the roles of the radical SAM enzymes"
12:15 pm - 12:30 pm Discussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pmPoster Session
6:00 pmDinner
7:00 pm - 7:30 pmBusiness Meeting
(Nominations for the next Vice Chair; Fill out Conference Evaluation Forms; Discuss future Site & Scheduling preferences; Election of the next Vice Chair)
7:30 pm - 9:30 pmIRON SULFUR ENZYMES IN INTERCONVERSIONS OF CO AND CO2
Discussion Leader: Judy Hirst (MRC Laboratory, Cambridge)
7:30 pm - 8:00 pm Stephen Ragsdale (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor)
"Nickel-iron-sulfur clusters in the activation of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide"
8:00 pm - 8:10 pm Discussion
8:10 pm - 8:40 pm Holger Dobbek (Humboldt University, Berlin)
"Structural insights into the mechanism of Ni,Fe-containing CODHases"
8:40 pm - 8:50 pm Discussion
8:50 pm - 9:20 pm Frank Robb (University of Maryland, Baltimore)
"Regulation and catalytic roles of multiple carbon monoxide dehydrogenases in the carboxydotroph, Carboxydothermus hydrogenoformans"
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm Discussion
9:30 pm Poster Session
THURSDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pmIRON SULFUR ENZYMES AND ANALOGS IN HYDROGEN CYCLING TECHNOLOGY
Discussion Leader: Juan Fontecilla-Camps (Université Joseph Fourier, Grenoble, France)
9:00 am - 9:25 am John Golbeck (Penn State University)
"Hydrogen from solar energy"
9:25 am - 9:35 am Discussion
9:35 am - 10:00 am Paul King (National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO)
"Hydrogenases and solar hydrogen production"
10:00 am - 10:10 am Discussion
10:10 am - 10:40 am Coffee Break
10:40 am - 11:05 am Christopher Pickett (University of East Anglia, UK)
"Mechanism of hydride formation at [FeFe] hydrogenase subsite analogues"
11:05 am - 11:15 am Discussion
11:15 am - 11:40 am Vincent Artero (Université Joseph Fourier, Grenoble, France)
"Mimicking hydrogenases: from biomimetic models to noble-metal free electrocatalytic nanomaterials for hydrogen production and uptake"
11:40 am - 11:50 am Discussion
11:50 am - 12:30 pm TBA (Selected Short Poster Presentations)
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pmPoster Session
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pmIRON, SULFUR, FUNCTIONS, AND LIFE
Discussion Leader: Fraser Armstrong (University of Oxford, UK)
7:30 pm - 8:00 pm Rolf Thauer (Max-Planck Institute, Marburg, Germany)
"Ferredoxins, why?"
8:00 pm - 8:10 pm Discussion
8:10 pm - 8:40 pm Jill Mikucki (Dartmouth College, NH)
"Blood Falls: Insights into Subglacial Microbial Energetics"
8:40 pm - 8:50 pm Discussion
8:50 pm - 9:20 pm Juan Fontecilla-Camps (Université Joseph Fourier, Grenoble, France)
"The beginning of life. Where did the electrons come from?"
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm Discussion
FRIDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 amDeparture

Last Updated: July 22, 2010
 
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