20-24 Jun 2022 Roscoff (France)

Origin of metazoans

 

REGISTRATION REQUEST and ABSTRACT SUBMISSION DEADLINE: MARCH 31, 2022

 

To attend the conferences Jacques Monod, an abstract submission is mandatory,

Registrations request without abstract submission will not be processed, except in specific

cases (i. g. for Publishers : please contact chairperson).

 

Chairperson: Evelyn HOULISTON

Sorbonne University / CNRS, UMR 7009, Laboratoire de Biologie du Développement de Villefranche-sur-Mer, 06230 Villefranche-sur-Mer, France

Phone: +33 (0)4 93 76 39 83

Email: houliston@imev-mer.fr

 

Vice-chairperson: Arnau SEBÉ-PEDRÓS

Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) -PRBB building, Dr. Aiguader 88, 08003 Barcelona, Spain

Phone: +34 93 316 01 46

Email: arnau.sebe@crg.eu

 

 

All living animals, the metazoans, are derived from a single ancestral multicellular assemblage that formed in the earth’s oceans hundreds of millions of years ago. The origin and the early evolution of this unique metazoan ancestor remain among the most fascinating questions in biology. A highly interdisciplinary emerging international community has started to build a new framework for understanding the origin of metazoans and will be brought together at this meeting.

The core issue of reconstructing the history of animal evolution will be illuminated by experts in both paleontology and molecular phylogeny. One crucial issue addressed at the meeting will be the topology of the metazoan tree at its base using data from outside the major clade Bilateria: the sponges, the ctenophores, the cnidarians and the placozoans. Also making important contributions to understanding of the transition to multicellularity are cell biologists, notably through analysis and comparison of individual cellular features such as cell polarity, cell-cell junctions and cellular symbioses. The cellular perspective is also coming to the fore via rapid developments in single cell transcriptome sequencing, allowing us to address how progressive specialization of individual cell types underpins animal evolution. 

Finally, an important source of insights into animal evolution are studies using experimental “model” species drawn from the non-bilaterian animal groups, as well as from outside the metazoans. Metazoan models covered at the meeting include the cnidarians Hydra, Hydractinia and Nematostella, the ctenophore Mnemiopsis, and several sponge species, as well as the enigmatic placozoan Trichoplax. Also considered will be the parallel evolutionary adventures in multicellularity of other eukaryotes including plants, fungi and brown algae.

 

Topics covered by the conference will thus be

 

  • Lessons from non-metazoan eukaryotes: the protistan relatives of animals and other multicellular transitions. 
  • Animal phylogenetic relationships
  • Lessons from the fossil record
  • Evolution of cellular features and cell types
  • Lessons from non-bilaterian models:  ctenophores, sponges, placozoans and cnidarians

 

 

Applications submission

Registration fee (including board and lodging)

470 € for PhD students
810 € for other participants

Application for registration   details here :
The total number of participants is limited to 115 and all participants are expected to attend for the whole duration of the conference. Selection is made on the basis of the affinity of potential participants with the topics of the conference. Scientists and PhD Students interested in the meeting should deposit on line :

- their curriculum vitae
- the proof of their student status
- the list of their main publications for the 3 last years
- the abstract of their presentation:

The abstract must respect the following template: TemplateResumeFile
- First line: title
- Second line: list of authors. Presenting author underlined
- Third line: author's addresses
- Fourth line: e-mail of the presenting author
Abstracts should be no longer than an A4 page and preferably be submitted in Times New Roman, font size 10 pts. No figures. ".docx" file format.

After deadline, the organizers will select the participants. Except in some particular cases approved by the Chairperson, it is recommended that all selected participants present their work during the conference, either in poster form or by a brief in- session talk. The organizers choose the form in which the presentations are made. No payment will be sent with application. Information on how and when to pay will be mailed in due time to those selected.

 

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