Coevolutionary arms race between parasite virulence and host immune defense: challenges from state of the art research
Roscoff (Brittany), France, September 3-7, 2011
Deadline for application: May 5, 2011
Chairperson: Gabriele SORCI
BioGéoSciences - CNRS UMR 5561, Université de Bourgogne, 6 Boulevard Gabriel, 21000 Dijon (France)
Phone: +33 3 80 39 90 28 – Fax: +33 3 80 39 62 31
Mail: gabriele.sorci@u-bourgogne.fr
Vice-Chairperson: Manfred MILINSKI
Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology,
August Thienemann Strasse 2, D-24306 Ploen (Germany)
Phone: +49 (0) 45 22 763254 – Fax: +49 (0) 45 22 763310
Mail: milinski@evolbio.mpg.de
Parasites and pathogens are an increasingly pervasive threat for their hosts, as shown by the recent epidemics and pandemics (i.e. HIV, SARS, bird flu, swine flu) that have involved human beings. Recognizing pathogenic organisms and clearing infection is the primary function of immunity and such a function is present in basically all organisms, including plants. Because of its importance for the control of infectious diseases, the study of immune defenses has taken a central role within life sciences. Studying the complex molecular mechanisms underlying the immune response is, obviously, of crucial importance for the improvement of human and animal health. Nevertheless, living organisms, both hosts and parasites, are not static entities. Immune defenses and parasitic strategies to overcome them are constantly exposed to selection pressures and, as such, do evolve. Understanding and predicting the outcome of a host-parasite interaction, therefore, has to be based on evolutionary thinking. How reciprocal, coevolutionary, interactions affect the evolution of some of the most important features of host-parasite interactions, such as the expression of parasite virulence is currently the focus of intense research. This Jacques Monod Conference suggests a state of the art of some challenging concepts, emerged during the last years, that have reshaped our thinking on the rapid coevolutionary arms race between parasite virulence and immune defenses. The goal of the conference is to initiate and promote innovative research in the field of evolutionary immunology. We try to bridge the gap between theory and empirical work and to foster quantitative approaches, even in places, which have traditionally not been quantitative. We believe that this will help us to gain insight into the possible virulence trajectory of rapidly evolving parasites and reveal potential strategies for the management of infectious diseases.
Invited speakers
(provisional titles)
ADAMO Shelley (Halifax, Canada)
Host immune responses from a systems biology perspective: unexpected costs and benefits
ALTIZER Sonia (Athens, USA)
Virulence-transmission trade-offs and population divergence in virulence in a naturally occurring butterfly parasite
BOULINIER Thierry (Montpellier, France)
Evolutionary ecology of a transgenerational response to parasites, the maternal transfer of antibodies
COUSTAU Christine (Sophia Antipolis, France)
Regulation and specificity of the immune responses in a lophotrochozoan species: exploring the black boxes
DE BOER Rob (Utrecht, The Netherlands)
Do pathogens adapt to their host or their host populations?
EBERT Dieter (Basel, Switzerland)
The genetics of antagonistic coevolution
EDWARDS Scott (Cambridge, USA)
Genomics of host-pathogen coevolution: house finches and mycoplasma
GANDON Sylvain (Montpellier, France)
A model for the coevolutionary dynamics between viruses and the "immune system" (CRISPR) of bacteria
GRAHAM Andrea (Edinburgh, UK)
Genetic control of the rates of induction and decay of cytokine storms
HOCHBERG Michael (Montpellier, France)
Coevolutionary oddities and dead-ends: understanding their emergence and relevance to larger scale immune processes
KAUFMAN Jim (Cambridge, UK)
MHC resistance to infectious pathogens is determined by the dominantly-expressed class I and class II molecules in chickens: how and why
KLASING Kirk (Davis, USA)
The nutritional and metabolic costs of the host response to a pesky pathogen
KURTZ Joachim (Münster, Germany)
The evolutionary ecology of specificity in invertebrate immunity
MACKINNON Margaret (Kilifi, Kenya)
Analysis of immunity to febrile malaria
MATZINGER Polly (Bethesda, USA)
The role of tissues and of commensal organisms in immune regulation
MICHALAKIS Yannis (Montpellier, France)
Polyparasitism: consequences for mosquito hosts and microsporidia parasites
MILINSKI Manfred (Ploen, Germany)
Experimental evolution of MHC polymorphism
MORET Yannick (Dijon, France)
Evolutionary ecology of immune priming in insects
PARKER Geoff (Liverpool, UK)
Intermediate and paratenic hosts as helminth life cycle strategies
PATERSON Steve (Liverpool, UK)
Antagonistic coevolution accelerates molecular evolution
POTTS Wayne (Salt Lake City, USA)
Experimental evolution reveals retroviral adaptation to specific host genotypes
RICHNER Heinz (Bern, Switzerland)
Intergenerational transmission of immunity
RIVERO Ana (Montpellier, France)
Is there a trade-off between insecticide resistance and immunocompetence in mosquitos?
SCHMID-HEMPEL Paul (Zurich, Switzerland)
Immunogenetics of larger pollinators
SORCI Gabriele (Dijon, France)
Immune regulation and the evolution of parasite virulence
WODARZ Dominik (Irvine, USA)
Ecological and evolutionary principles in immunology
Deadline for application: May 5, 2011
Registration fee (including board and lodging)
400 € for PhD students
600 € for other participants
Application for registration
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 send:
- their curriculum vitae
- the list of their main publications for the 3 last years
- the abstract of their presentation
to the Chairperson of the conference before the deadline. After it, the chairman 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.