One-carbon (C-1) compounds play a central role in microbial metabolism. C-1 compounds include methane, carbon monoxide, CO₂, and methanol as well as coenzyme-bound one-carbon compounds, such as methyl-B12 and CH₃-H₄folate. Such compounds are of broad global importance because several C-1 compounds (e.g., CH₄) are important energy sources, some (e.g., CO₂ and CH₄) are potent greenhouse gases, and others (e.g., CH₂Cl₂) are xenobiotics. They are central in pathways of energy metabolism and carbon fixation by microbes and many are of industrial interest. Research on the pathways of one-carbon metabolism has added greatly to our understanding of evolution, structural biology, enzyme mechanisms, gene regulation, ecology, and applied biology. The 2010 meeting will include recent important findings in the following areas: (a) genomics, metagenomics, and proteomic studies that have expanded our understanding of autotrophy and C-1 metabolism and the evolution of these pathways; (b) regulation of carbon cycles and the interrelationship between the carbon cycle and other biogeochemical cycles (sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen); (c) novel pathways for carbon assimilation; (d) biotechnology related to C-1 metabolism; (e) novel enzyme mechanisms; and (f) the relationship between metal homeostasis and the global carbon cycle. The conference has a diverse and gender-balanced slate of speakers and session leaders. The wide variety of disciplines brought to the study of C-1 metabolism make the field an excellent one in which to train young researchers.