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Protein Transport Across Cell Membranes

Gordon Research Conference

Nanoscale Imaging and Molecular Mechanisms of Protein Transport Systems

March 11 - 16, 2018

Chairs Danny Schnell and Trevor Lithgow

Vice Chairs Randolph Hampton and Toshiya Endo

Hotel Galvez

2024 Seawall Boulevard

Galveston, TX, United States

Venue and Travel Information

Conference Description

This meeting brings together an international group of researchers who share interests in the mechanisms of protein transport across and into cellular membranes. Protein transport is fundamental to the biogenesis of organelles and cellular membranes. Numerous human and plant pathologies are related to protein mistargeteing or the secretion of virulence factors. In 2018, the meeting present the latest breakthroughs in transport mechanisms in eukaryotes and prokaryotes, with a particular focus on how frontier developments in imaging technologies are providing near atomic resolution on the structure and function of cellular components that mediate protein transport events. Sessions are organized around different topical foci, including targeting of proteins to membranes, protein translocation across and into membranes, quality control mechanisms, regulation of translocation, protein secretion in pathogens, and new paradigms in protein translocation. Talks by invited speakers will be supplemented by shorter talks chosen from abstract submissions. The conference provides opportunities for the interaction of both established leaders in the field and early career scientists who will become the leaders in the future.

Related Meeting

This GRC will be held in conjunction with the "Protein Transport Across Cell Membranes (GRS)" Gordon Research Seminar (GRS). Those interested in attending both meetings must submit an application for the GRS in addition to an application for the GRC. Refer to the associated GRS program page for more information.

Conference Program

Sunday
4:00 pm - 8:00 pm	Arrival and Check-in
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Dinner
7:30 pm - 7:40 pm	Introductory Comments by GRC Site Staff / Welcome from the GRC Chair
7:40 pm - 9:30 pm	Targeting of Substrates to the Membrane Transport Machinery Discussion Leader: Reid Gilmore (University of Massachusetts Medical School, USA)
7:40 pm - 7:45 pm	Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:45 pm - 8:10 pm	Judith Frydman (Stanford University, USA) "Molecular Chaperones and Protein Folding in the Cell"
8:10 pm - 8:20 pm	Discussion
8:20 pm - 8:45 pm	Shu-Ou Shan (California Institute of Technology, USA) "Mechanisms of Protein Targeting to Cellular Membranes"
8:45 pm - 8:55 pm	Discussion
8:55 pm - 9:20 pm	Lynn Richardson (Michigan State University, USA) "Molecular Topology of the Transit Peptide During Chloroplast Protein Import"
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm	Discussion
Monday
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
8:30 am - 9:00 am	Group Photo
9:00 am - 12:30 pm	Structure and Mechanisms of Protein Translocases Discussion Leader: Toshiya Endo (Kyoto Sangyo University, Japan)
9:00 am - 9:05 am	Introduction by Discussion Leader
9:05 am - 9:30 am	Roland Beckmann (Gene Center Munich, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany) "Structural Insights into Protein Translocation Mechanisms Using Cryo-Electron Microscopy"
9:30 am - 9:40 am	Discussion
9:40 am - 10:05 am	William Clemons (California Institute of Technology, USA) "An Update on Tail-Anchored Targeting from a Structural Perspective"
10:05 am - 10:15 am	Discussion
10:15 am - 10:45 am	Coffee Break
10:45 am - 11:10 am	Susan Lea (University of Oxford, United Kingdom) "Structure of the Core of the Type Three Secretion System Export Apparatus"
11:10 am - 11:20 am	Discussion
11:20 am - 11:40 am	Robert Keenan (University of Chicago, USA) "Identification of Oxa1 Homologs Operating in the Eukaryotic Endoplasmic Reticulum"
11:40 am - 11:45 am	Discussion
11:45 am - 12:05 pm	Steven Theg (University of California, Davis, USA) "Evaluating the Functional Pore Size of Chloroplast TOC and TIC Protein Translocons: Import of Folded Proteins"
12:05 pm - 12:10 pm	Discussion
12:10 pm - 12:25 pm	Guillaume Roussel (University of California, Irvine, USA) "Disposition of E. coli SecA Bound to Lipid Vesicles"
12:25 pm - 12:30 pm	Discussion
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm	Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm	Free Time
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm	Power Hour The GRC Power Hour is an optional informal gathering open to all meeting participants. It is designed to help address the challenges women face in science and support the professional growth of women in our communities by providing an open forum for discussion and mentoring. Organizers: Karen Fleming (Johns Hopkins University, USA) and Meredith Morris (Clemson University, USA)
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm	Poster Session
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm	Membrane Transport and the Interface of Protein Transport with Transport-Associated Machinery Discussion Leader: Nathan Alder (University of Connecticut, USA)
7:30 pm - 7:35 pm	Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:35 pm - 7:55 pm	Paul Jarvis (University of Oxford, United Kingdom) "Protein Import into Chloroplasts and Its Regulation by the Ubiquitin-Proteasome System"
7:55 pm - 8:05 pm	Discussion
8:05 pm - 8:25 pm	Nikolaus Pfanner (University of Freiburg, Germany) "Mitochondrial Machineries for Protein Translocation and Assembly"
8:25 pm - 8:35 pm	Discussion
8:35 pm - 8:55 pm	Sabine Rospert (University of Freiburg, Germany) "Functions of Ribosome-Bound Factors in the Yeast Saccharoymces cerevisiae"
8:55 pm - 9:05 pm	Discussion
9:05 pm - 9:25 pm	Tania de Koning-Ward (Deakin University, Australia) "Dissecting the Function of Components Comprising the Plasmodium Translocon of Exported P"
9:25 pm - 9:30 pm	Discussion
Tuesday
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm	Membrane Protein Insertion and Dynamics Discussion Leader: Ross Dalbey (Ohio State University, USA)
9:00 am - 9:05 am	Introduction by Discussion Leader
9:05 am - 9:30 am	Karen Fleming (Johns Hopkins University, USA) "From Chaperones to the Membrane with a BAM!"
9:30 am - 9:40 am	Discussion
9:40 am - 10:05 am	Peter Rehling (University Medical Center Gottingen, Germany) "Mitochondrial Protein Transport Along the Presequence Pathway"
10:05 am - 10:15 am	Discussion
10:15 am - 10:45 am	Coffee Break
10:45 am - 11:10 am	Alain Filloux (Imperial College London, United Kingdom) "Pore-Forming Activity of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa Type III Secretion System Translocon Alters the Host Epigenome"
11:10 am - 11:20 am	Discussion
11:20 am - 11:40 am	Kathryn Diederichs (National Institutes of Health, USA) "Structural Studies of the Mitochondrial Sorting and Assembly Machinery Complex"
11:40 am - 11:45 am	Discussion
11:45 am - 12:05 pm	Nir Fluman (Stockholm University, Sweden) "Protein Dimerization Can Fix a Labile Membrane Protein Topology"
12:05 pm - 12:10 pm	Discussion
12:10 pm - 12:25 pm	William Dowhan (McGovern Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, USA) "How the Charge Balance Rule Governs Membrane Protein Topology"
12:25 pm - 12:30 pm	Discussion
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm	Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm	Free Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm	Poster Session
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm	Origins and Diversity of Membrane Transport Machinery Discussion Leader: Peter Rehling (University Medical Center Gottingen, Germany)
7:30 pm - 7:35 pm	Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:35 pm - 8:00 pm	Nicholas Noinaj (Purdue University, USA) "Substrate Recognition by the BAM Complex"
8:00 pm - 8:10 pm	Discussion
8:10 pm - 8:35 pm	Toshiya Endo (Kyoto Sangyo University, Japan) "Mitochondria Protein and Lipid Transport"
8:35 pm - 8:45 pm	Discussion
8:45 pm - 9:05 pm	Christopher Carrie (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany) "The Role of TPR Domains of Plant Mitochondrial Oxa Proteins"
9:05 pm - 9:10 pm	Discussion
9:10 pm - 9:25 pm	Donna Fernandez (University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA) "Dual Sec Translocases and Function of GET3-Related Factors Within Chloroplasts"
9:25 pm - 9:30 pm	Discussion
Wednesday
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm	Assembly of Membrane Transport Complexes Discussion Leader: Carole Dabney-Smith (Miami University, USA)
9:00 am - 9:05 am	Introduction by Discussion Leader
9:05 am - 9:30 am	Christopher Hayes (University of California, Santa Barbara, USA) "Receptor-induced Toxin Delivery During Bacterial Contact-Dependent Growth Inhibition (CDI)"
9:30 am - 9:40 am	Discussion
9:40 am - 10:05 am	Tracy Palmer (University of Dundee, United Kingdom) "The Transport of Proteins by the Twin Arginine Protein Transport Pathway"
10:05 am - 10:15 am	Discussion
10:15 am - 10:45 am	Coffee Break
10:45 am - 11:05 am	Sichen Shao (Harvard Medical School, USA) "Mechanisms of Tail-Anchored Protein Triage"
11:05 am - 11:15 am	Discussion
11:15 am - 11:40 am	Hui Jiang (National Institute of Biological Sciences, Beijing, China) "Molecular Pathways of Mitochondrial Outer Membrane Protein Degradation"
11:40 am - 11:50 am	Discussion
11:50 am - 12:05 pm	Felicity Alcock (University of Oxford, United Kingdom) "Analysing the Assembled Tat Translocase"
12:05 pm - 12:10 pm	Discussion
12:10 pm - 12:25 pm	Cierra Spencer (San Francisco VA Medical Center / University of California, San Francisco, USA) "Membrane Trafficking of the Accessory Sec Transport Substrate and Machinery"
12:25 pm - 12:30 pm	Discussion
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm	Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm	Free Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm	Poster Session
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm	Protein Transport in Health and Disease Discussion Leader: Harris Bernstein (National Institutes of Health, USA)
7:30 pm - 7:35 pm	Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:35 pm - 7:55 pm	Han Remaut (VIB-VUB Center for Structural Biology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium) "Protein Transport in the Curli or Bacterial Amyloid Assembly Pathway"
7:55 pm - 8:05 pm	Discussion
8:05 pm - 8:25 pm	Meredith Morris (Clemson University, USA) "Can We Learn New Tricks from an Old Dog? Glycosome Biogenesis in an Ancient Eukaryote"
8:25 pm - 8:35 pm	Discussion
8:35 pm - 8:55 pm	Andrey Karamyshev (Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, USA) "Aberrant Secretory Proteins in Human Diseases"
8:55 pm - 9:05 pm	Discussion
9:05 pm - 9:25 pm	Renate Jansen (University of Groningen, The Netherlands) "Targeting and Insertion of Pxa1, the Yeast Homologue of ALDP, a Peroxisomal ABC Transporter Important for Human Health"
9:25 pm - 9:30 pm	Discussion
Thursday
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
8:30 am - 9:00 am	Business Meeting Nominations for the Next Vice Chair; Fill in Conference Evaluation Forms; Discuss Future Site and Scheduling Preferences; Election of the Next Vice Chair
9:00 am - 12:30 pm	Response of Protein Transport to Stress Discussion Leader: Carla Koehler (University of California, Los Angeles, USA)
9:00 am - 9:05 am	Introduction by Discussion Leader
9:05 am - 9:30 am	Cole Haynes (University of Massachusetts Medical School, USA) "The Mitochondrial UPR and Mitochondrial Protein Import Efficiency"
9:30 am - 9:40 am	Discussion
9:40 am - 10:05 am	Linda Kenney (Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore) "Type Three Secretion"
10:05 am - 10:15 am	Discussion
10:15 am - 10:45 am	Coffee Break
10:45 am - 11:10 am	Jude Przyborski (University Hospital Heidelberg, Germany) "Malaria Parasites Co-Opt Human Hsp70 for Protein Translocation"
11:10 am - 11:20 am	Discussion
11:20 am - 11:40 am	Christopher Stubenrauch (Monash University, Australia) "The TAM: A Nanomachine Responsible for the Assembly of Complex Outer Membrane Proteins"
11:40 am - 11:45 am	Discussion
11:45 am - 12:05 pm	Takuya Shiota (Organization for Promotion of Tenure Track, University of Miyazaki, Japan) "Analysis of the Function of Beta-Barrel Assembly Machinery in the Bacteria by New Method EMM Assembly Assay"
12:05 pm - 12:10 pm	Discussion
12:10 pm - 12:25 pm	Marco Catipovic (Harvard University, USA) "Single Molecule Studies of the Bacterial Translocase SecA"
12:25 pm - 12:30 pm	Discussion
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm	Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm	Free Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm	Poster Session
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm	Systems/High-Throughput Approaches to Understanding Protein Transport and Organelle Biogenesis Discussion Leader: Shu-Ou Shan (California Institute of Technology, USA)
7:30 pm - 7:35 pm	Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:35 pm - 8:00 pm	Sabrina Koch (University of Groningen, The Netherlands) "Two Distinct Anionic Lipid Dependent Steps During Posttranslational Translocation"
8:00 pm - 8:10 pm	Discussion
8:10 pm - 8:35 pm	Carla Koehler (University of California, Los Angeles, USA) "Small Molecule Modulators for Mitochondrial Protein Import"
8:35 pm - 8:45 pm	Discussion
8:45 pm - 9:00 pm	Joseph Glavy (College of Pharmacy, University of Texas at Tyler, USA) "Stabilizing Forces Holding the Nuclear Pore Ring Assembly"
9:00 pm - 9:05 pm	Discussion
9:05 pm - 9:25 pm	Nadja Ernst (Massachusetts General Hospital / Harvard Medical School, USA) "A High-Throughput Secretion Assay Reveals a Chaperone-Independent Type III Secretion Pathway"
9:25 pm - 9:30 pm	Discussion
Friday
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
9:00 am	Departure