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CONGRESS ORGANIZERS

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Participants of the 39th FEMS Council Meeting in Toulouse, France

The official newsletter for FEMS Affiliates

A F F I L I AT E S L E T T E RSEPTEMBER 2012

Also in this issue:

Publications Corner:• Highlights from FEMS

Microbiology Reviews• FEMS Journals open for

new cover images• New FEMS Journal open

for submissions

Grants Page• Featured Grantee:

Stacy Krueger-Hadfield• Featured Fellow:

Francesca Turroni• FEMS Lwoff Award is

open for nominations

Society Page: Société Française de Microbiologie (French Society of Microbiology)

Website for FEMS 2013 now live

SAVE the DATE: FEMS 2013

DEADLINES

List of FEMS-sponsored meetings

Microbiology Tidbits

Prof. Bauke Oudega elected as next FEMS Vice-President

Several changes occurred during the 39th FEMS Council Meeting in Toulouse, France on 15 September 2012. A new Vice-President was elect-ed, the Secretary-General-elect and Grants Secretary-elect took office and a Member-at-Large for Education was appointed.

Dr Bauke Oudega of the Vrije Univer-siteit Amsterdam was elected as the next Vice-President. He will officially take on his post in September next year (2013) when current Vice-Presi-dent Jean Claude Piffaretti takes on the role of FEMS President.

Secretary-General Tone Tonjum and Grants Secretary Vaso Taleski offi-cially stepped down as their terms of office ended. Drs Stefano Donadio and Jaroslav Spizek succeeded them accordingly. Drs Donadio and Spizek

were elected for the said positions during the 38th Council Meeting in Leuven, Belgium last year.

The FEMS Executive Committee also wielded its right to appoint a new committee member in the person of Dr Joanna Verran. She will be a new Member-at-Large focusing on educa-tion. Dr Verran is the current Delegate of the International Biodeterioration and Biodegradation Society. She also has an excellent track record in microbiology education.

This year’s FEMS Council Meeting was held in Toulouse, France on the invi-tation of Société Française de Microbiologie (SFM - French Society of Microbiology) delegate Dr Eric Oswald. FEMS thanks the SFM and Dr Oswald for their hospitality.

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F E M S A F F I L I A T E S L E T T E R , S E P 2 0 1 2

P U B L I C AT I O N S PA G E

How to avoid unfriendly neighbors

Multi-species biofilm communities are environ-ments in which complex but ill understood exchanges between bacteria occur. This review describes our current understanding of com-petitive relationships involving nonbiocidal biosurfactants, enzymes, and metabolites produced by bacteria and other microorgan-isms. These molecules target all steps of biofilm formation, ranging from inhibition of initial adhesion to matrix degradation, jamming of cell–cell communications, and induction of biofilm dispersion. This review provides a new perspective on competitive interactions within biofilms that could lead to antibiofilm strategies of poten-tial biomedical interest.

Olaya Rendueles, Jean-Marc GhigoFEMS Microbiology Reviews 36: 972–989

Living with friendly neighbors

Nearly all biofilm communities in nature comprise a variety of microorganisms. In this review, we focus on interactions occurring within a multi-species biofilm and their ef-fects on the nature of the mixed community. Interactions among species within a biofilm can be antagonistic, such as competition over nutrients and growth inhibition, or synergistic. The latter can result in the de-velopment of several beneficial phenotypes including the promotion of biofilm forma-tion by co-aggregation, metabolic coopera-tion where one species utilizes a metabolite produced by a neighboring species, and increased resistance to antibiotics or host immune responses compared to the mono-species biofilms. These beneficial interactions in mixed biofilms have important environmental, industrial, and clinical implications.

Sivan Elias, Ehud BaninFEMS Microbiology Reviews 36: 990-1004

HIGHLIGHT ARTICLES

from FEMS MICROBIOLOGY REVIEWS

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SUBMIT TODAY and be part of the future of research in infectious disease microbiology with Pathogens and Disease.

F E M S A F F I L I A T E S L E T T E R , S E P 2 0 1 2

Call for Journal CoversDo you want your beautiful images of microbes published? Why not send them to us?

The FEMS Journals are currently looking for new images to be used in the 2013 journal covers. The chosen images will be the faces of the journals (one image/journal) for a whole year. They will also be used for advertising spreads and other marketing products to endorse the journals.

Please send your images to publications@fems-microbiology.org.

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THE FEMS-LWOFF AWARD IS NOW OPEN FOR NOMINATIONS. FOR MORE INFORMATION,

PLEASE CLICK HERE.

F E M S A F F I L I A T E S L E T T E R , S E P 2 0 1 2

G R A N T S CO R N E R

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THE LATEST ISSUE OF THE FEMS FOCUS FEATURING OUR INTERVIEW WITH PROF. ANNE GLOVER IS NOW ELECTRONICALLY AVAILABLE.

F E M S A F F I L I A T E S L E T T E R , S E P 2 0 1 2

G R A N T S CO R N E R

Francesca Turroni was awarded a FEMS Advanced Fellowship (FAF) in 2011 for a 12-month Post Doc Research on the molecular characterization of bifidobacterial microbe-microbe and microbe-host interactions in Cork, Ireland.

Francesca Turroni was a Post Doc Research Scien-tist in the University of Parma in Parma, Italy when she was awarded the FEMS Advanced Fellowship. Her fellowship lasted 12 months (01 September 2011 - 31 August 2012) at the University College Cork in Cork, Ireland.

Her research focused on the molecular charac-terization of bifidobacterial microbe-microbe and microbe-host interactions. “This project is impor-tant in order to understand the functionality of next generation of health promoting bacteria,” she explained.

She was happy to have been granted the FEMS Ad-vanced Fellowship since without it, she could not have conducted her research project.

Turroni recommends the FEMS Advanced Fel-lowship to young scientists. “This is a really great opportunity for young scientists to develop their careers,” she said.

When asked what the influence of the FEMS Ad-vanced Fellowship is on her project and personal career, she explained, “The possibility to make a Post Doc in a new lab might offer me other interest-ing job opportunities at the end of the Post Doc experience.”

Her paper, “Global Genome Transcription Profiling of Bifidobacteriumbifidum PRL2010 under In Vitro Conditions and Identification of Reference Genes for Quantitative Real-Time PCR”, is connected with her research and was published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

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F E M S A F F I L I A T E S L E T T E R , S E P 2 0 1 2

S O C I E T Y F E AT U R E

SFM Fast Facts

French Name: Société Française de MicrobiologieEnglish Name: French Society of Microbiology

OFFICERSChairman: René Courcol

Vice-Presidents: Cambau Emmanuelle , Jean-Luc Tholozan

Secretary-General: Alain GravetTreasurer: Jean-François DesnottesCommunication: Jean-Pierre Marcel

SECRETARIATMailing Address: 191 rue de Vaugirard, 75015 Paris Email address: secretariat.sfm @ orange.fr

WEBSITEwww.sfm-microbiologie.org

The French Society of Microbiology (SFM) is a non-profit organization founded in 1937 under the name “Association of French-speaking Mi-crobiologists” with the Pasteur Institute in Paris, France as its headquarters. It was governed by the law of 1901 and recognized as a charity since 1993. For reasons of consistency with foreign companies, the society chose the name French Society of Microbiology.

The French Society of Microbiology aims to bring together microbiologists from France and French-speaking countries, working in different areas of medical microbiology, industrial, and environ-mental physiology, genetics, taxonomy, hygiene and antimicrobial agents.

It is composed of six sections:• Medical Microbiology (Human and Veterinary)• Anti-Infectious Agents• General Microbiology• Ecology, Environment and Biodiversity• Food Microbiology• Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology

Each section can create study groups, permanent or temporary, working on specific topics. Sections and Study Groups following were created:• Virology (1959)• Mycology (1963)• Soil Microbiology (1963)• Food Microbiology (1963)• Immunology (1965)• Antibacterial Agents (1969) renamed Antimi-

crobial Agents (1983)• Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology

(1975)• Clinical Microbiology (1976)• Education (1977)• Anaerobic (1980)• Tropical Microbiology (1980)• Marine Microbiology (1980)• Freshwater Microbiology (1983)• Genetics and Physiology (1985)• Taxonomy (1985)

SFM organizes or sponsors symposia and meet-ings, alone or in collaboration with other socie-ties. It also publishes a regular newsletter and a website to communicate its aims.

Its next event will be the SFM Congress on 7-8 February 2013 which will be held in Lille, France with the following important dates:

Call for PapersOpening: April 2012 Closing Date: 28 September 2012 Selection: October 2012

RegistrationOpening: June 2012 Date of rate change: January 3, 2013

Scholarships ApplicationDeadline: November 16, 2012

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www.kenes.com/fems-microbiologyCONGRESS ORGANIZERS

1-3 Rue de Chantepoulet, PO Box 1726CH-1211 Geneva 1, SwitzerlandTel: +41 22 908 0488Fax: +41 22 906 9140E-mail: fems@kenes.com

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TF E M S A F F I L I A T E S L E T T E R , S E P 2 0 1 2

The website for the next FEMS Congress is now up and running. Interested participants can now access General Information on the event, Pre-liminary Timetable and Sponsorship/Exhibition information.

Although the Online Registration is yet to open, there is enough information available on registra-tion fees and payment procedure.

There are 200 Congress Grants available for Young European Scientists who would like to at-tend the event too.

The FEMS Congress will be held at the Leipziger Messe Congress Center in Leipzig, Germany.

Important dates to keep in mind are:

• February 11, 2013 - Abstract Submission Dead-line

• March 15, 2013 - Deadline for Submission of Congress Grants Application

• April 15, 2013 - Early Bird Registration Deadline• June 15, 2013 - Late Registration Deadline

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The voice of microbiology in Europe.We advance and unify microbiology knowledge.

Keverling Buismanweg 4, 2628 CL Delft, The NetherlandsT: 0031 15 269 3920 | F: 0031 15 269 3921 | E: fems@fems-microbiology.org

The FEMS Affiliates Letter is a production of FEMS Central Office

F E M S A F F I L I A T E S L E T T E R , S E P 2 0 1 2

DEADLINES

1 December 201215 June 2013

FEMS Research Fellowships

15 December 2012 1 June 2013

FEMS National & Regional Congresses Grants

1 March 2013 FEMS Meeting Grants

(for meetings to be held in 2014)

1 April 2013 1 September 2013

FEMS Meeting Attendance Grants

2 5 O c t o b e r 2 0 1 2 Actinobacteria within Soils: Capacities for Mutualism, Symbiosis and PathogenesisMuenster, Germany

1 4 N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 2 Marine Microbiology and Biotechnology: Biodiscovery, Biodiversity and BioremediationUniversity College Cork, Cork, Ireland

FEMS-Sponsored Meetings, October - November 2012

MICROBIOLOGY TIDBITS

Most Extensive Pictures Ever of an Organism’s DNA Mutation ProcessesBiologists and informaticists at Indiana University have produced one of the most extensive pictures ever of mutation processes in the DNA sequence of an organism, elucidating important new evolu-tionary information about the molecular nature of mutations and how fast those heritable changes occur. Source: Indiana University

Assessing a New Technique for Ensuring Fresh Produce Remains Salmonella-FreeResearchers at the Institute of Food Research have tested a new technique to ensure fresh produce is free of bacterial contamination.

Source: Norwich BioScience Institutes

Alpine Glaciers Contribute to Carbon CyclingAn international collaboration led by Tom Battin from the Department of Limnology of the Univer-sity of Vienna unravels the role of Alpine glaciers for carbon cycling. They have uncovered unex-pected biogeochemical complexity of dissolved organic matter locked in glaciers and studied its fate for carbon cycling in glacier-fed streams.

Source: University of Vienna

Flu Antibody’s ‘One-Handed Grab’ May Boost Ef-fort Toward Universal Vaccine, New TherapiesScientists from The Scripps Research Institute and Sea Lane Biotechnologies have solved the co-crystal structure of a human antibody that can neutralize influenza viruses in a unique way. The antibody recognizes the crucial structure that flu viruses use to attach to host cells, even though previously this structure had been thought too small for an antibody to grab effectively. The im-mune protein manages to hit this precise spot by using just a small part of its target-grabbing appa-ratus. In so doing, it can neutralize a broad range of dangerous flu viruses.

Source: The Scripps Research Institute