Thermophiles 2003

Scientific Program

Monday September 15th

10.30 onwards registration and coffee.
Buffet lunch 12.30-1.30pm
2.00pm Opening Ceremony
Welcome to the University of Exeter, Deputy VC.
Welcome from Prof. Littlechild
2.30pm Origins of Life on Earth and the Cosmos

Prof. Tim Naylor, University of Exeter, UK
Finding extra-terrestrial sites for thermophiles.

3.05pm Prof. David Saul and Charis Shepher, University of Auckland, NZ
Using SSU rRNA secondary structure to redraw and re-root the tree of life and to test the hypothesis of a hyperthermophilic Cenancestor.

3.40pm Prof. David Schwartzman, Howard University, Washington,USA and Prof. Lineweaver, University of New South Wales, Australia.
The hyperthermophilic origin of life revisited.

4.15pm Devon cream Tea


4.35pm Dr. Alakendra N. Roychoudhury, Geological Sciences, University of Cape Town,South Africa.
Sulfate Metabolism Across a Thermal Gradient.

5.00pm Prof. Tairo Oshima, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Science, Japan
Stability of nucleic acids in the presence of unique polyamines produced by thermophiles

5.35pm finish

6.30pm Welcoming reception
Reed Hall, University of Exeter
Welcome by Mayor of Exeter

Tuesday September 16th

9.00am The genome and its expression
Session 1. Genome sequencing,annotation and comparative sequence analyses
Prof. Mike Adams, University of Athens, Georgia, USA
Chair - 5 minutes introduction

9.05am Dr Hans-Peter Klenk, Electronic Gene Ltd., Germany
Phylogenomics of thermophilic archaea and bacteria

9.35am Dr. Lanming Chen, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
The complete genome sequences from Sulfolobus acidocaldarius and Hyperthermus butylicus.

10.05am Prof. Daniel Prieur, University of Bretagne Occidentale, Brest, France
Genetic elements of Thermococcales

10.35am Prof. Wolfgang Liebl et al., Georg-August-University, Goettingen and Technical University Hamburg-Harburg, Germany
Analysis of the Genome Sequence of the Thermoacidophilic archaeon Picrophilus torridus.

10.50am Coffee / Industrial Exhibition

Session 2. Structural and Functional genomics

Prof. Tairo Oshima, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Science, Japan
Chair - 5 minutes introduction

11.10am Prof. Mike Adams, University of Georgia, USA
Structural and Functional Genomics of Pyrococcus furiosus.

11.45am Prof. Robert Kelly, NCSU Biotechnology Program, Raleigh, NC, USA
Functional Genomics Approaches for Examining the Microbial Ecology of
Hyperthermophilic Microorganisms

12.20pm Dr. Bharat Patel and Dr. Swaminathan, Griffith University, Brisban, Australia
The anaerobic thermohalophile Halorthermothrix orenii: Phylogeny, genome plasticity and amylase crystal structures

12.55pm Buffet Lunch / Commercial Exhibition

1.55pm Biodiversity, phylogeny and physiology

Session 1. Novel microorganisms

Prof Karl Stetter, University of Regensburg, Germany
Chair - 5 minutes introduction

2.00pm Prof. Hugh Morgan, University of Waikato, NZ
Colonisation of surfaces in New Zealand thermal springs

2.30pm Prof. Juergen Wiegel, University Georgia, USA
Diversity of aerobic and anaerobic alkali-thermophiles

3.00pm Dr.Reinhard Rachel, University of Regensburg, Germany
Ignicoccus and Nanoarchaeum - two hyperthermophilic archaea
living together: Cell Envelope Ultrastructure and possible modes of interaction

3.30pm Dr. David Prangishvili et al., University of Regensberg, Germany and Copenhagen University, Denmark.
Exceptionally Diverse Morphotypes and Genomes of Crenarcaeal hyperthermophilic viruses

3.50pm Thahira Rahman et al., University of Ulster, Northern Ireland.
Distribution and Molecular Characterisation of highly thermophilic bacteria in cool soil environments.

4.10pm Tea / Poster Session 1

5.10pm Session 2. Applications

Prof. Juergen Wiegel, University of Georgia, USA
Chair - 5 minutes introduction

5.15pm Prof. Hilary Lappin-Scott, University of Exeter, UK
Hot, anaerobic biofilms in the surface environment.

5.45pm Dr. Geoff McMullan, University of Ulster, Northern Ireland
Molecular analysis of Geobacillus isolates- Highly thermophilic bacteria isolated from cool soil environments

6.10pm Dr. Gillian Baker, University of Western Cape, South Africa
16S rDNA primers and the unbiased assessment of thermophile diversity

6.35pm Prof. Quixin She, Danish Archaea Centre, Copenhagen, Denmark
Studying the dynamic interactions of the conjugative Sulfolobus pNOB8 with host chromosomes and the implications for horizontal gene transfer

7.00pm Prof. Roy Daniel, University of Waikato, NZ.
Thermostability, thermoactivity and True temperature optima. A third thermal parameter for enzymes

7.30pm finish Round table discussion / speaker SWRDA and wine

Wednesday September 17th

9.00am Macromolecular structure/function relationships

Session 1 DNA replication and repair, cell division, cell cycle control.

Prof. Mose Rossi, University of Naples, Italy.
Chair - 5 minutes introduction

9.05am Prof. John Reeve, Ohio State University, USA
Structure-dependent DNA Binding and Compaction of Archaeal Histones

9.35am Dr. Mariarita De Felice,Institute of Protein Biochemistry, CNR, Naples, Italy
Biochemical characterisation of a CDC6-like protein from Sulfolobus solfataricus

10.05am Prof. Hannu Myllykallio, University of Paris-Sud, France
Two Distinct pathways for thymidylate (dTMP) synthesis in hyperthermophilic bacteria

10.35am Dr. Malcolm White, University of St. Andrews, UK
Archaeal Nucleotide Excision repair: proteins and patches

11.05am Coffee / Commercial Exhibition

11.20am Dr. Maria Ciaramella, Institute of Protein Biochemistry, CNR, Naples, Italy
DNA damage response in Sulfolobus solfataricus.

11.50pm Dr. James Chong, University of Bath, UK
DNA replication in the thermophiles

12.20pm Dr. Georg Lipps, University of Bayreuth, Germany
Characterisation of the first member of the DNA-Polymerase family E: The replication protein of Sulfolobus islandicus plasmid pRN1

12.50pm Dr. Yulong Shen et al., Institute of Advanced Science and Technology, Tsukuba, Japan
Subunit interaction and regulation of activity through the terminal domains of the family D.DNA Polymerase from Pyrococcus horikoshii

1.20pm Dr. Sigridur Hjorleifsdottir,Prokaria Ltd.,Iceland
Novel DNA polymerase genes obtained from complex biomass using genemining

1.50pm Packed Lunch and photograph
Afternoon free and Touristic Trip approx. 2.00pm departure

Thursday September 18th

9.00am

Session 2. Thermophilic Proteins

Prof. David Rice, University of Sheffield, UK
Chair - 5 minutes introduction

9.05am Dr. Francine Perler, New England Biolabs, MA, USA
Protein Splicing- Lessons from Thermophiles

9.35am Prof. Frank Robb, University of Maryland, USA
Structural and Functional Analysis of the small heat shock proteins from hyperthermophiles

10.05pm Prof. Mike Danson, University of Bath, UK
The 2-oxoacid dehydrogenase multienzyme complexes in the Archaea.

10.35am Coffee / Industrial Exhibition

11.05am Prof. Jenny Littlechild, University of Exeter, UK
Hyperthermophilic dehydrogenase enzymes

11.35am Prof. Garry Taylor, University of St Andrews, UK
KDG aldolase from Sulfolobus solfataricus

12.05pm Dr. Esben Lorentzen , European Molecular Biology Laboratories, Hamburg, Germany
Crystal structure of an archaeal class 1 aldolase reveals homology to the eukaryotic class 1 aldolases

12.35pm Dr. Patrick Baker, University of Sheffield, UK
From hyperthermophiles to psychrophiles: the structural basis of temperature stability of the amino acid dehydrogenases

1.05pm Dr. Thomas Hansen, Institut Allgemeine Mikrobiologie, Kiel, Germany
Phosphoglucose Isomerases in Hyperthermophilic Archaea

1.25pm Buffet Lunch / Industrial Exhibition

Session 2. Thermophilic Proteins (continued)

Prof. J. Littlechild, University of Exeter; Dr. David Hough, University of Bath
Chair

2.25pm Dr. Satya Singh et al., Saurashtra University, Rajkot, India and National Food Research Institute, Tsukuba, Japan
Structure and Function Analysis of b-Glucosidase from Thermotoga maritima, a thermophilic bacteria through Gene Shuffling

2.45pm Dr. Seigo Shima et al., Max-Planck Institut, Germany
Hyperthermophilic and Salt-Dependebt Enzymes from Methanopyrus kandleri

3.05pm Dr. Anwar Sunna, Potsdam University, Germany
High Resolution Crystal Structure of Caldicellulosiruptor Carbonhydrate-Binding Module CBM27-1 in Complex with Mannohexaose.

3.25pm Tea / Poster Session 2
4.25pm Industrial Applications

Session 1.

Prof. Jakob Kristjansson, Prokaria, Iceland
Chair - 5 minutes introduction

4.30pm Dr. Chris du Plessis, BHP Billiton, South Africa
Oxygen and Carbon dioxide kinetic challenges for thermophilic mineral bioleaching processes

5.00pm Dr. Valentina Umrania , Department of Microbiology, Rajkot, India
Bioadsorption of heavy metals by thermoacidophilic autotrophs

5.20pm Prof. Jakob Kristjansson, Prokaria, Iceland
Novel nucleic acid processing enzymes from Thermophilic bacteriophages.

5.50pm Prof. Tulasi Satyanarayana, University of Dehli, India
Development of an ideal starch saccharification process using the thermostable amylolytic enzymes of thermophiles.

6.20pm Industrial Workshop and Wine Reception
7.30 for 8.00pm Conference Dinner , Great Hall, University of Exeter

Friday September 19th

9.00am

Session 2.

Prof. Garo Antranikian, Hamburg Technical University, Germany
Chair - 5 minutes introduction

9.05am Dr. Marc van der Maarel, Centre for Carbohydrate Bioengineering, Netherlands
Exploring and Exploiting Starch-Modifying Amylomaltases from Thermophiles

9.35am Dr. Sanjeev Kumar , University of Dehli, India
Production, purification and enzyme kinetics of a raw strach hydrolysing thermostable and neutral glucoamylase of Thermomucor indicae-seudaticae

9.55am Dr. Slawomir Dabrowski, BioCentrum, University of Denmark
Recombinant Thermostable AP exonuclease from Thermoanerobacter tengcongenesis tengcongenesis: Cloning, Expression, Purification, Properties and PCR Application

10.15am Prof. Brigitte Ahring, Denmark Technical University, Denmark.
Thermophilic ethanol production

10.45am Coffee / Industrial Exhibition

11.15am Dr. Ian Taylor, Chirotech Ltd., UK
Applications of thermophilic enzymes in commercial biotransformation processes

11.45am Prof Peter Bergquist, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
Production of recombinant enzymes from thermophilic microorganisms in fungal hosts

12.15pm Prof. Don Cowan, University of Western Cape, South Africa
Metagenomics, Gene Discovery and the 'Ideal Biocatalyst'

12.45pm Buffet Lunch

1.45pm Macromolecular structure/function relationships

Session 3. Temperature related effects on metabolism

Prof. Richard Sharp,CAMR, Porton Down, UK
Chair

1.45pm Dr. Tina Siebers, University of Essen, Germany
EMP and ED pathway in Thermoproteus tenax; Metabolic
parallelism or specific adaptation

2.15pm Prof. Reinhard Hensel, University of Essen, Germany
Triosephosphate isomerase of the hyperthermophile Thermoproteus tenax:
Thermostability is not everything

2.45pm Dr. Jan Massant et al., University of Brussel, Belgium
Metabolic channeling of Carbamoyl Phosphate, a thermolabile intermediate: evidence for physical interaction between Ckase and Otase from the hyperthermophile Pyrococcus furiosus

3.05pm Dr. Danny Charlier, University of Brussel, Belgium
Arginine regulation in Thermotoga neapolitana and T. maritima

3.25am Prof. Michael Thomm, University of Regensburg, Germany
Regulation of transcription in Pyrococcus

3.55pm Closing Ceremony

Tea and Departure