Bridging the Gaps from Genomes to Biomes

The 2012 Gordon Conference on Marine Microbes will present cutting-edge research on several aspects of biodiversity and functioning of this essential part of the biosphere. Research on marine microbes is witnessing a Renaissance time, where many new organisms, processes and metabolic features are discovered and found to play fundamental roles in the ocean functioning. Including virus, bacteria, and protists and their interactions, this Conference will bring together scientists from different backgrounds and approaches and try to present an integrated way of the marine microbial life. While ‘omics will be treated in their different aspects, namely genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, integrative and systems approaches will also be covered and tentatively integrated. The Conference is organized in thematic sessions, including "Relevant scales of investigation", "’Omics", "Mechanisms of Physiology", "Biogeochemical implications", "Future trends and controversies", to cite only a few. The Conference will try to confront different approaches and views so to stimulate discussion and also to stimulate further thinking by bringing top-researchers from related fields. All participants are invited to present a poster on their research and young researchers and graduate students will participate to a contest for the best poster, who will be awarded a prize and allowed to offer a short presentation during a plenary session. The collegial atmosphere of this Conference, with programmed discussion sessions as well as opportunities for informal gatherings in the afternoons and evenings, provides an avenue for scientists from different disciplines to brainstorm and promotes cross-disciplinary collaborations in the various research areas represented.