!!! POSTPONED TO 2021 DUE TO COVID-19, NEW DATES TO BE DEFINED !!!

Organized in the frame of the MeSMic project currently carried out at the University of Pau, France

The background 

The MeSMic project is focused on the impact of metals on microorganisms and their adaptation within an ecosystem is the main topic of this summer school. Microorganisms release, in conditions of deficiency for essential trace elements or facing toxic concentrations of metal ions, metal chelators such as, e.g., organic thiols, siderophores, or metallophores, allowing the control of metals intracellular concentration.

The objective

The objective of this summer school is to bring together recognized researchers working in the fields of metal-oriented microbiology, ecology and analytical chemistry from all over the world to exchange knowledge, stimulate contacts, and create new large scale interdisciplinary projects.

The programme

The programme will consist of short courses and presentations of latest studies with a special focus on encountered problems and still remaining questions. A large part of the time will be allocated to discussions and exchange of experiences and ideas.  The following topics will be covered:

• Mass spectrometry based strategies for the studies for metallophores and thiols: large scale high-throughput methods
• Mercury, thiols and transformation processes in microalgae
• Molecular mechanisms of the acquisition of iron in heterophobic bacteria degrading particulate marine organic matter
• Metal mediated-metabolic interactions in complex multi-species microbial assemblages

 The perspective

The last half-a-day of the summer school will be devoted to networking events aimed at the preparation of common projects to national European and other calls.

The participating experts

The experts who have already confirmed their participation:

• Pascal Arnoux (CEA, Cadarache, France) - Bacterial metallophores and metalloprotein functions with a focus on structural biology

• Erik Bjorn (University of Umea, Sweden) - Hg interactions with thiol bioligands

• Kai Blin (DTU Biosustain, Denmark) - Bioinformatics for New Bioactive Compounds

• Rene Boiteau (Oregon State University, OR, USA) - Impact of microbes and plants on the mobility and bioavailability of metals in marine and terrestrial environments

• Alison Butler (University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA) - Genomic screening to target discovery new microbial siderophores and evolutionary developments in siderophore biosynthesis

• Rebecca Cooper (Friedrich Schiller Universität Jena, Germany) - Metallophores as mediators for metal cycling in complex systems

• Dwayne Elias (Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, USA) - Hg interactions with microorganisms

• Gianluca Giorgi (University of Siena, Italy) - Mass spectrometric techniques for the detection and quantification of metallophores

• Elze Hesse (Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, UK) – Interspecific social interactions, public goods, metallophores

• Carlos Jiménez (University of La Coruña, Spain) - Siderophores in pathogenic marine bacteria 

• Stéphane Mari (INRA, Montpellier, France) - Metallophores in plants and bacteria

• Isabelle Schalk (University of Strasbourg, France) - Homeostasis and traffic of iron in Gram-negative bacteria 

• Vera Slaveykova (University of Geneva, Switzerland) - Hg interactions with microalgae

Venue:           IPREM Building, Hélioparc, 2, av. Pr. Angot

Beginning:     Monday, 20 July 2020 morning

End:                Friday, 24 July 2020 afternoon

Fee:                350 € including coffee breaks and lunches on-site and a summer school dinner 

Registration are not yet open

Ryszard Lobinski

David Amouroux

Béatrice Lauga

Maria Soledad Goni Urizza

Régis Grimaud

Robert Duran