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Newsletter of the British Society for Medical Mycology
BSMM Newsletter
British Society for Medical Mycology Winter 2001
With Christmas upon us once again, those in need of some mycological cheer may like to log on to the following site: “Fungi that are necessary for a merry Christmas”
Members Update
The Society welcomes the following new members and looks forward to their attendance at future meetings:
Ms Susan Howard / SALFORD / Miss Elizabeth Doughton / HERTFORDSHIREProf Alistair J P Brown / ABERDEEN / Mrs Nita Fatania / MIDDLESEX
Miss Penny Cliff / LEEDS / Mrs Elizabeth Jarvis / STAFFORDSHIRE
Miss Sirida Youngchim / LONDON / Mr Trevor Sparkes / HANTS
Dr David W Williams / CARDIFF / Ms Niamh Murphy (F) / IRELAND
Dr Christopher J Linton / BRISTOL / Dr Joy Sturtevant (F) / WASHINGTON, USA
Dr Thomas S Harrison / LONDON / Miss Donna L Stevenson / CLEVELAND
Ms Helen F Kennedy / GLASGOW / Dr Fritz Muhlschlegel / KENT
Mr Nicholas Parsons / DUNDEE / Dr Jill Wishart / ABERDEEN
Miss Helen E Ambrose / OXFORD / Miss Rhian Adams / ABERDEEN
Miss Victoria K Owen / LIVERPOOL / Dr Nellie Lloydd Evans
Prof Philip Aloysius Thomas / GAMBIA
INDIA
We regret to announce the death of Prof Graham Gooday and Prof Stenderup.
The following nominations have been received:
Frank Odds for the position of President of the Society
Caroline Moore, Brian Jones and Richard Hobson as members of the Society (two vacancies)
No nominations yet received for the post of General Secretary!
Ant further nominations (supported by two members of the Society and with written consent of the nominee) must be received by January 31st 2002
Meeting Report: Molecular Mechanisms of Fungal Cell Wall Biogenesis Conference
Biogenesis of the fungal cell wall synthesis has attracted a lot of scientific attention in recent years. It has become evident that the fungal cell wall is a highly specialized and organized structure assembled from carbohydrates (glucan and chitin) and highly glycosylated proteins. Cell wall synthesis is linked to cell cycle progression and is under tight temporal and spatial regulation. Biogenesis of the cell wall also provides an attractive target for antifungal drugs.
The international conference on Molecular Mechanisms of Fungal Cell Wall Biogenesis was unique in many ways. It was held near Ascona, Switzerland, at the Monte Veritá, a gathering place for anarchists at the beginning of the 20th century. Now dedicated to science, the conference center is situated on a hillside overlooking Lake Maggiore and surrounded by mountains. This meeting was unique in that gathered together were many of the international fungal cell wall experts. Several of the founder members of the area of cell wall research participated including Enrico Cabib, Widmar Tanner and Philip Robbins, who gave the keynote address.
The highly interesting programme covered many new developments in cell wall biogenesis. It was organized into organelle-specific sessions; biosynthesis in the ER, the Golgi and at the plasma membrane, followed by assembly and regulation. The majority of presentations focused on the model fungus Saccharomyces cerevisiae but the meeting finished on a high note with the final session including the human pathogenic fungi Candida albicans, Aspergillus fumigatus and Cryptococcus neoformans.
A wide range of topics were covered in depth ranging from the N- and O-linked glycosylation of cell wall proteins, transport and localisation of chitin synthase to the signalling pathways that maintain cell wall integrity.
Some of the highlights included Randy Schekman’s talk on intracellular transport and localization of chitin synthase III. Enrico Cabib captivated the audience with video images of GFP-tagged chitin synthase 2, the chitin synthase that synthesizes the primary septum in S. cerevisiae, and GFP-Myosin 1 visualising the contractile ring at the time of septum formation. Laura Popolo and César Nombela both talked about the salvage pathway where mutants with cell wall defects have increased chitin synthesized by chitin synthase III. Laura Popolo’s work indicated that the cell wall integrity sensor Mid2p/Wsc1p was required for persistent activation of the salvage pathway. The cell wall mutants also have increased activation of Slt2p, which correlated with the amount of cell wall stress. Cesar Nombela also described the CRH gene family that has similarity to the catalytic domain of endo-1,3-1,4-glucanase. Crh1p and Crh2p localised to sites of polarized growth and Crh2p accumulated at the mother-bud neck and this was dependent on septins and Bni4p. Some very elegant experiments were described by Mike Hall to investigate the function of some novel kinases belonging to the PKH family (homologues of mammalian phosphoinositide-dependent kinase 1) that phosphorylates and activates protein kinase C.
The characterization of the fungal cell wall and its interaction with the host environment in pathogenic fungi was discussed towards the end of the conference. Frans Klis covered the localization of the two protein types found in the cell wall, describing the function of the N-linked glycans on outer cell wall proteins as long, flexible fillers that protect these proteins from environmental agents. His immunogold labeling of PIR proteins localized this family to a layer within the glucan wall and he quoted Peter Lipke’s idea that their 4-cysteine motif might provide a sulfhydryl-bonded layer that limits cell wall permeability. The importance of glycosylation in pathogenesis was highlighted. Neil Gow and Joachim Ernst reported on glycosylation mutants in Candida albicans that are defective in their ability to form the invasive hyphal form of the pathogen, while Tamara Doering showed some stunning electromicrograph images of the extracellular polysaccharide capsule of Cryptococcus neoformans.
To complement the oral presentations, an afternoon was scheduled for the highly informative poster session. Many aspects of cell wall biogenesis were presented, ranging from genome-wide microarray analysis of cell wall mutants to confocal laser scanning microscopic images of F-actin patches on regenerating protoplasts of Schizosaccharomyces pombe. The Aberdeen fungal group were well-represented with four posters covering aspects of the C. albicans cell wall.
The social event of the meeting was a boat trip to Brissago Islands with a guided tour of their botanic gardens. This was followed by an outdoor dinner at a typical Swiss grotto. The mystery of why water-filled plastic bags could be seen hanging among the overhead grapevines was finally solved when the grotto owner explained that their function was to keep the mosquitoes away. They were certainly effective and a good time was had by all.
We would like to thank the BSMM for providing a travel grant to support our participation in this excellent meeting.
Carol Munro, Alex Brand and Dick Hobson
Aberdeen Fungal group, Department of Molecular & Cell Biology, University of Aberdeen
Results of BSMM Annual Meeting Questionnaire
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Newsletter of the British Society for Medical Mycology
The Annual Meeting of the BSMM is one of the most important functions of the society. It is the only local forum where members can hear presentations given by experts from around the world on recent and controversial developments in the field of medical mycolgy. It also offers a great opportunity for members of the society to meet and discuss their mycological interests with friends and colleagues from around the country and further afield. In the opinion of the author, the BSMM Annual Meeting is particularly special as it must be one of the most friendly scientific gatherings in what is becoming an increasingly competitive arena. Every year invited speakers, from other countries or disciplines, whom wouldn’t ordinarily attend the meeting are overwhelmed by the hospitality and good humour of the delegates and doubtlessly return home singing the praises of British medical mycologists (without the aid of the BSMM Official songbook!). From another perspective, the informal atmosphere of the BSMM Annual Meeting is for many people (particularly younger members) an incentive for them to present their data in oral presentations. Indeed for many of us it is the first venue for cutting our teeth at giving a talk at a scientific meeting. For these reasons alone the BSMM Annual Meeting and its traditions should be cherished and maintained. However, times change and scientific disciplines evolve. Consequently, in order to serve their purpose of keeping delegates up to date with new developments, successful scientific meetings must evolve with their subject areas. The field of medical mycology in particular is in the process of changing. The incidence of life threatening mycoses continues to increase apace, novel and rare species are frequently identified as agents of disease, new antifungal agents are being introduced and new technologies are constantly being developed to identify fungal species and strains. In addition, the new fields of molecular biology and genomics have transformed our knowledge of fungal biology and this of course has significant ramifications for understanding how fungi cause disease. These developments make our subject a challenging and interesting one and to rise to these challenges these (and indeed many other) fascinating areas of research and development must be represented and discussed at our Annual Meetings. However, having said that the basic premise that fungi cause diseases in people must not be forgotten and clinical mycology must and will remain a mainstay of the meeting.
Given that the field of medical mycology is so dynamic, a questionnaire was included in the last newsletter to try and gauge whether members of the BSMM think that the Annual Meeting is servicing our needs in keeping us informed about how our discipline is developing. Unfortunately, only 14 forms were returned and I would like to thank these dedicated individuals. Hopefully, the muted response is a reflection of the fact that we are all very busy rather than an expression of apathy!!! Since the number of forms returned was so small it is difficult to make any real judgements of how members feel about the Annual Meeting (without being too much of a biogeek, with such a small sample the results are unlikely to be statistically robust). However, if the forms came from a representative group within the society perhaps the questionnaire may provide a glimpse of our feelings towards the meeting.
Interestingly, no students returned a form. This is a little disappointing as we would like to encourage more young mycologists to join the society and to participate fully in our meetings. The main activities of respondents were quite evenly divided with 10 indicating they were active in basic research, 10 active in diagnostics and 7 in clinical care (most included more than one category). Most people have very broad interests encompassing medical and molecular mycology, immunology and teaching. A majority (8/14) have attended 3 or more meetings over the last five years and all but one respondent said that the meeting was either important or very important to them. A majority also felt that the meetings were well balanced between basic and clinical research (9/14) and that the symposia are sufficiently broad to cover their interests (9/14). However, the fact that 5/14 respondents are not completely satisfied with the content of the meetings is a concern. The academic and social arms of the meeting are both seen to be integral to the success of the meetings. However, when it comes to deciding whether to attend the meeting or not the calibre of speakers (10 respondents) was seen to be more important than cost (4 respondents) or location (4 respondents). Additional comments were also made regarding freedom to attend the meeting being curtailed by lab staffing levels and study leave. Seven respondents would like to see more one day meetings in addition to the Annual Meeting (on topics such as Dermatophytes, fungal virulence factors, new antifungals and molecular diagnosics), however, no one seemed willing to volunteer to act as host for one of these. All except one respondent would like to see joint meetings with other societies, including the SGM, FIS and BMS. Finally, a number of respondents had some very helpful suggestions for improving the meetings, such as dedicating a specific time period for poster viewing, encouraging speakers to give thorough introductions to their presentations and sending meeting flyers to other societies.
From this limited sample and admittedly short questionnaire it would seem that the society is quite evenly balanced between clinical and molecular mycologists. On the whole most members seem relatively happy with the meetings as they have been organised over the past few years. Although an equal number of respondents (2) berated the lack of basic clinical mycology and molecular mycology! Clearly both camps can’t be entirely right. One of the great strengths of the BSMM is that it is comprised of members involved in clinical and in basic science. These groups are not mutually exclusive and clearly since we are all mycologists we all have a lot we can learn from one another. Hopefully the BSMM Annual Meeting will continue to act as a forum where this diversity can be capitalised on and that it will also remain a friendly and encouraging platform for budding and mature mycologists alike to present their data.
Thanks again to all of you who responded to the questionnaire.
Derek Sullivan. Meetings Secretary.
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Newsletter of the British Society for Medical Mycology
School of Dental Science, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland.
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Newsletter of the British Society for Medical Mycology
BSMM MEETING, ABERDEEN 6 - 8 APRIL 200
Foundation Lecture.
Pete Magee
Genomic variation via chromosome rearrangement and mating in Candida albicans
Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, University of Minnesota, USA
Symposium 1. Advances in Molecular Mycology
June Kwon-Chung .
Advances in the molecular biology of Cryptococcus neoformans since the discovery of its heterothallism"
Molecular Microbiology Section, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, USA.
Frank Odds
TBA
Department of Molecular Biology, Institute of Medical Sciences, Aberdeen University, UK.
Fritz Mühlschlegel
pH-regulated dimorphism in Candida albicans
Department of Biosciences, University of Kent at Canterbury, UK.
Pete Sudbery
TBA
Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield, UK
John Taylor
TBA
Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA.
Dominique Sanglard
Institute of Microbiology, Hospital Lausanne (CHUV), Switzerland
Symposium 2. Advances in Medical Mycology
Jeremy Bagg
Mycology and the Mouth
Glasgow Dental Hospital & School, Glasgow UK
Holger Hebart
Non-invasive methods for diagnosis of invasive fungal infections in patients after allogeneic stem cell transplantation
Medizinische Universitäts-klinik und Poliklinik, Tübingen, Germany
Gillian Shankland
TBA
Specialist Mycology Laboratory, Glasgow U.K.
Glynn Evans
Recent developments in Superficial Mycoses
Dept of Medical Microbiology and PHLS, Cardiff UK.
Tom Rogers
TBA Dept. of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, Imperial College School of Medicine, London
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Newsletter of the British Society for Medical Mycology
Application forms enclosed with this newsletter
Future meetings
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Newsletter of the British Society for Medical Mycology
6-8 April 2002
BSMM Annual Meeting; Aberdeen
Tel: 01224 273194
Fax 01224 2713144
e-mail:
5-8 May 2002 4th European Congress Of Chemotherapy and Infection, Paris.
Tel 46 8 459 66 00
Fax 46 8 661 91 25
Email:
www. Congrex.com/ecc4
25-27 August 2002 8th Congress of the European Confederation of Medical Mycology,Budapest.
Tel/Fax 36 1 212 6626, 36 1 225 1835, 36 1 225 1836.
email:
27-29 November 2002 Federation of Infection Societies Manchester
The BSMM is jointly hosting the next conference with BSAC. Watch this space
25-30 May 2003 ISHAM 2003
San Antonio Texas.
Meetings @imidex.com
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Newsletter of the British Society for Medical Mycology
Published by the British Society for Medical Mycology (Registered Charity No. 291852)
President:Professor R.J. Hay
General Secretary:Dr R.A. Barnes Department of Medical Microbiology. UWCM, Heath Park, Cardiff CF14 4XN.
Meetings Secretary:Dr Derek Sullivan, Microbiology Research Unit, School of Dental Science, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland
Treasurer:Dr G.S. Shankland, Regional Mycology Reference Laboratory, Department of Dermatology, University of Glasgow, The Robertson Building, 56 Dumbarton Road, Glasgow G11 6NU.