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SEB Bulletin October 2006

Interested in applying for a travel grant? Visit www.sebiology.org
Deadlines for applications for the next two rounds are: 31st December 2006 and 31st March 2007

SEB Meeting 2006

I would like to thank the Company of Biologists, and SEB, for the grant awarded to me to attend the SEB annual meeting, which for 2006 was held at the University of Kent at Canterbury.

As a first year PhD student, attendance at this conference proved invaluable in helping me to transfer from the palaeobiology world of my Masters program, back into the world of the living, and into the field of experimental biomechanics. Attending so many intensive scientific sessions covering all aspects of biomechanics - from clinging tree frogs to bird flight and primate grasping, muscle mechanics and scaling of animal movement - has given me a real feel for the scope of current research. Prof. Alexander's talk on 'The Biomechanics of Imaginary Organisms', in particular, gave insight into how current knowledge and understanding can be used in the application of mechanical and physiological principles to the construction and reconstruction of theoretical and extinct animals. I was also given the opportunity to present some of my own work on the structure and scaling of the elephant's foot during the biomechanics poster session, for which I won second prize. Discussions left me brimming with ideas and new avenues of investigation.

Of course it wasn't all work and no play, and the social events proved at least as good an opportunity as the scientific sessions to bring researchers together. Particular highlights were the annual dinner, and the Kentish welcome evening, from which the balloon-modelling, stilt-walking jester and wandering minstrels will certainly be a lasting memory. Thank you SEB for a fantastic opportunity, and a wonderful experience!

Charlotte Miller
Royal Veterinary College

2006 Annual Conference of the Plant Growth Regulation Society of America

The Society for Experimental Biology and the Company of Biologists Travel Grant supported my attendance at the 33rd Annual Conference of the PGRSA which was held in Quebec City, Canada in July 2006.

The conference attracted 100 delegates, mostly from USA and Canada but also from China, Korea, Saudi Arabia and several European countries which made it a truly international event. The talks and posters were organized into the following areas; plant growth regulators (PGR) producing micro-organisms, PGR use in T&O horticulture, PGR applications in fruit and vine crops, and advances in PGR mode-of-action research. Diversified scientific sessions brought together lecturers from both industry and academia. The opportunity to gain knowledge of the very latest discoveries in the field of phytohormones and insight into their direct industrial application were a definite advantage of this meeting.

I also had a chance to present some my work during the poster session. My PhD research focuses on the cell cycle related cytokinin metabolism. Cytokinins are central to the regulation of numerous physiological processes in plants, including cell division and differentiation. Despite the importance of cytokinins for plant growth and development, this class of phytohormones is least understood with respect to the mode of action. One of the many questions that still have not been answered is to what extent enzymes from purine/cytokinin interconversion are involved in the regulation of cytokinin activity. I addressed this issue in the presentation entitled “A changing inclination of adenosine kinase towards cytokinin isomers during the cell cycle of tobacco BY-2 cells”. My poster was acknowledged with the Bayer CropScience award of excellence for the outstanding student poster presentation. It also triggered a lot of exchanges with other scientists who gave me valuable advices and new ideas for the further experiments.

In addition to the interesting scientific programme, the organizers gave us also the opportunity to visit the laboratories of the Laval University, adjacent botanical gardens, Quebec Multiplant nursery and wonderful Old City of Quebec. Once again I would like to thank the SEB and the Company of Biologists Travel fund for giving me the chance to attend this memorable meeting.

Zuzanna Kwade
University of Antwerp

7th International Workshop on the Molecular Biology and Genetics of the Lepidoptera

The Society for Experimental Biology and the Company of Biologists Travel Grant supported my attendance at the "7th International Workshop on the Molecular Biology and Genetics of the Lepidoptera", which was held at the Orthodox Academy of Crete, Greece in August 2006.

The conference attracted more than 200 delegates from 20 countries. Seventy presentations and 30 posters were packed into the five-day meeting. The talks and posters were organised into the following sessions:

1. Whole genome sequencing, EST and linkage mapping projects
2. Comparative genomics, evolution and phylogeny
3. Immunity
4. Viruses, other pathogens and control
5. Receptors and ligands
6. Endocrinology, physiology and biochemistry
7. Development and differentiation
8. Neurobiology and behaviour
9. Post-genomic tools and applications
10. Transgenesis

I had been selected to present a paper at the conference after submitting an abstract to the organising committee. The title of my oral presentation entitled 'Probing the insect immune system with the entomopathogen Photorhabdus'. My talk was very well received with excellent feedback from reputed scientists in the field as well as I had the chance to participate in meaningful discussions and exchange ideas concerning my work.

Again, the conference was a fantastic opportunity for me to make contact with world-leading scientists in molecular entomology, particularly those working in insect immunity, and I hope to use the knowledge gained to enhance my future studies. I would like to thank the Society for Experimental Biology, along with the Company of Biologists, for their generous travel grant that enabled me to attend and present my work to an international audience at this conference.

Ioannis Eleftherianos
University of Bath

Collaborative research project between the International Centre for Ecohydraulics Research (University of Southampton), the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation

The Columbia River in Washington State, USA, is one of the most developed rivers in the World. Several large run-of-the-river dams were constructed primarily for hydropower production, flow regulation, and irrigation. This renewable source of energy supplies up to 80% of Washington State's energy demand.

The development of the Columbia River and its tributaries has had dramatic ecological impacts, particularly by blocking the migratory routes of anadromous species of fish (e.g. Pacific salmon). In recognition of this, legislation imposes statutory obligations on power companies and operators of the dams to mitigate for the impact the dams have had on the fish communities.

In the past 10 years, the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers has annually spent 5-10 million dollars on research directed toward obtaining information needed to redesign the hydropower facilities on the Columbia River in an attempt to improve current methods of diverting migrating fish away from turbines to less damaging routes of passage. Traditionally, NMFS has successfully conducted considerable research to better understand the impact of hydropower development on salmonids and have provided managers with the information needed to protect stocks. It is well recognized that salmonids with a high commercial value have been well represented in the research programmes. However, less iconic anadromous species such as Pacific Lamprey (Lampetra tridentata) have been largely ignored. The Pacific lamprey, while not economically significant, is of considerable cultural importance to the Native American community indigenous to the Columbia River basin.

At the International Centre for Ecohydraulic Research at the University of Southampton, fish biologists work closely with hydraulic engineers to ascertain the response of several species of fish, including river lamprey (Lampetra fluviatilis), to the environment created at dams in an effort to improve fish pass design. Representatives from the Centre were invited to collaborate in a joint study to assess the ability of Pacific Lamprey (Lampetra tridentata) to negotiate weirs that block passage along the Umatilla River.

Experiments were conducted to assess the ability of migrating adult lamprey that had been radio-tagged to negotiate vertical structures. Anecdotal evidence provided by the Native Americans suggests that Pacific lampreys are capable of climbing waterfalls that have represented traditional sites of harvest. Lampreys were found to easily ascend a 1.4 m high aluminium wall using a complex sequence of locomotive reflexes (fig 1). Preliminary analysis suggests that radio-tags had little effect on the climbing ability of these fish under the experimental conditions created.

This visit has opened the door for better collaboration and understanding of fish ecological research between the UK and US. Since there is ongoing mitigation of fish passage research in the US, it represents an ideal opportunity for British researchers to jointly investigate the potential for having a balanced renewable energy source which is in tune with the environment in which it is being utilised.

I would like to thank Dr P Kemp (ICER), Dr M Moser (NOAA), for inviting me onto this project and the SEB and the Company of Biologists for providing me with the travel grant which made this collaboration possible.

Toru Tsuzaki
University of Southampton

VIIth International Congress on the Biology of Fish

A true pristine venue was chosen in St. John's, Newfoundland, for the VIIth International Congress on the Biology of Fish, which was held in July 2006. And I was very fortunate to be able to give a talk - a possibility come through due to generous financial support provided by the Society for Experimental Biology, the Company of Biology and the American Fisheries Society.

The conference hosted almost 500 participants from all over the world and it was a real pleasure both to met people whom I had met at earlier conventions but also new faces, some of whom which papers I have read with great interest and was delighted to get the chance to talk to. Several symposia ran concurrently covering multiple fish-related themes, from 'molecular mechanisms to ecotoxicology' over 'ion and acid base regulation', 'cardiovascular physiology' and 'welfare of fish' to 'improving performance in finfish aquaculture' and so forth. My own talk, with the title 'Visualisation of how buried lesser sandeel (Ammodytes tobianus) obtain oxygen - and evidence of a fish capable of metabolic depression', I gave in a symposia which addressed various aspects on how well (or not!) fish tolerate chronic and intermittent hypoxia. And I was most stunned (and very happy!) when it was announced during the grand closing conference dinner that I had won the student presentation award in my symposia. With that came not only the honour but also a generous cheque sponsored by Loligo Systems.

I have now for almost 3 years studied how hypoxia affects different physiological and behavioural aspects of sandeel, a very relevant subject matter for us Danes because the Danish waters are exposed to yearly, seasonal hypoxia. Sandeels are affected by both pelagic and near-bottom water conditions as they alternate between swimming in the open water during daytime while feeding and burying into the sediment at night or when frightened and all during winter. This makes the fish a good model organism for studies like mine because oxygen depletion typically occurs in the lower water parts of the water column, often during stratified conditions. Besides the numerous very inspiring and educational oral presentations, many exhibitions presented the most up-to-date technologies and two evening poster session displayed hundreds of impressive posters. After my own talk I got several enthusiastic questions which prompted fruitful exchange of ideas. I am in my final year of my PhD and the conference - not least the social events during the evenings where people have time to mingle and chat - gave me the opportunity to discuss future possibilities, which definitely has given me the inspiration and drive to finish my current project and move onto new, unexploited paths.

Jane W. Behrens
Marine Biological Laboratory,
University of Copenhagen

8th International Congress of Plant Molecular Biology

In August I attended the 8th International Congress of Plant Molecular Biology, held in Adelaide, Australia. There were more than 1100 delegates, which is fantastic for a conference in Australia, a country that is far away from most places! I am extremely grateful to the SEB and the Company of Biologists for assisting me with the expense associated with this trip.

The week was certainly packed full, with 12 fascinating plenary lectures covering the topics of genomics, the cell cycle, flowering, symbiosis, plant-made biopharmaceuticals, plant hormones, disease resistance, cell walls, small RNAs and systems biology. There were also 30 symposia to choose from, and more than 600 posters, so there was something for everybody. Of particular interest to me were the sessions on cereal research, which included structural genomics, grain quality and overcoming biotic and abiotic stress. Attending the conference allowed me to stay up to date with the progress of many researchers whose work I am already familiar with, such as the sequencing of the wheat genome (Dr Catherine Feuillet) and recent developments in research into cell wall synthesis (Prof Geoff Fincher). One advantage of a conference of this size, however, is the opportunity to hear about interesting work that is outside of your own field of research. For example, Prof Maurice Moloney's presentation on the production of plant-made biopharmaceuticals and the approach they are taking in his company, SemBioSys, was a particular highlight for me. Their work on the production of insulin certainly seems to be paving the way for a successful industry. Dr Jeff Bennetzen's insight into the instability of plant genomes and the complexity of genome structures that arises because of this was also fascinating to hear.

Being Australian, this conference provided a chance for me to renew connections with previous colleagues, and I really enjoyed being able to bring my work at the University of Nottingham to their attention. I was also able to meet researchers from an Australian laboratory who work on dormancy and germination in Arabidopsis and cereals, which is the focus of our lab also, and hope that this meeting may lead to future collaborations. Attendance at this meeting was definitely worthwhile, and I'd like to thank the SEB and the CoB again for their support.

Anne Medhurst
University of Nottingham

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