Centre for Organismal StudiesCOS Symposium: Life in Context – Organismal Sensing and Adaptation in the Natural Environment
- Tuesday, 23. July 2024, 09:00
- Centre for Organismal Studies, Bertalanffy-Hörsaal, Im Neuenheimer Feld 231 (Zugang via INF 230), 69120 Heidelberg
Life has a prodigious ability to adapt. Organisms interact with their environment at levels from molecules to cells, tissues, and behaviour and over time scales from milliseconds to years. Consequently, organisms are not just defined by their genomes, but equally by their environment. The symposium will bring together speakers who investigate the impact of the environment on organisms and how they adapt to it, from the genomic, cell-biological, developmental, behavioural and evolutionary perspectives. Topics include environmental sensing, inter-organismal interactions, and adaptation across scales. The symposium will also introduce new experimental systems for integrative biology and cover organismal responses in the context of anthropogenic environmental change.
Address
Centre for Organismal Studies
Bertalanffy-Hörsaal
Im Neuenheimer Feld 231 (Zugang via INF 230)
69120 HeidelbergOrganizer
Event Type
Meeting
Event Homepage
Programme 23 July
09:00 – Session 3
- Nicole Dubilier (MPI Bremen): Nicole Dubilier leads the Department of Symbiosis which studies the biology and ecology of associations between bacteria and eukaryotes. The main emphasis is on marine invertebrates from chemosynthetic environments such as sulfide-rich coastal sediments, vents and seeps.
- Selected abstracts talk 1
- Francesco Licausi (Oxford University, UK): The Synoxys lab investigates the signaling mechanisms that link oxygen availability to plant growth and development, to understand adaptations to oxygen fluctuations throughout evolution and to design novel biotechnological strategies.#
- Selected abstracts talk 2
10:30 – Coffee Break
11:15 – Session 4
- Kazuo Inaba (Shimoda Marine Station, Japan): The group of Prof. Inaba studies the structure, function and evolution of cilia and flagella by using marine organisms such as ascidian, sea urchin, fish, and comb jelly.
- Tonni Grube-Andersen (MPIZ Cologne, Germany): Roots are faced with constant stress both regarding nutrient/water availability and biotic factors such as pathogenic microbes, and needs to respond accordingly to survive. The lab of Dr. Grube-Andersen studies how roots communicate with their environment.
- Selected abstracts talk 3
12:30 – Lunch Break
14:00 – Session 5
- Josefa Gonzalez (CSIC Barcelona, Spain): The group of Josefa Gonzalez focuses on understanding how organisms adapt to their environments, using Drosophila. They combine omics approaches with detailed molecular and phenotypic analyses to get a comprehensive picture of adaptation.
- Flora Vincent (EMBL, Heidelberg, Germany): The Vincent group explores the diversity and impact of marine microbial interactions across different biological scales, with a focus on symbiosis within unicellular eukaryotes.
- Schmeil Award Ceremony
15:30 – Coffee Break
16:15 – EMBO Lecture: Liam Dolan (GMI Vienna, Austria) – Early Land Plant Evolution
Prof. Liam Dolan’s research uses genetics to discover how plants and their cells develop and evolve with a main focus on the identification of mechanisms that control the development and differentiation of specialized plant cell types. His research on the adaptation of early plant life to the land encompasses environmental adaptation on the cellular and evolutionary scale.
17:30 – Poster Prize and Closing Remarks
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All Dates of the Event 'COS Symposium: Life in Context – Organismal Sensing and Adaptation in the Natural Environment'
The international “Life in Context – Organismal Sensing and Adaptation in the Natural Environment” symposium is hosted by the Centre for Organismal Studies of Heidelberg University. The event is open to all. Attendance is free of charge, registration is required.