The semi-annual Chromosome Dynamics GRC attracts participants from across the globe, working with bacterial, archaeal or eukaryotic systems. The Chromosome Dynamics Gordon Conference evolved from a meeting that was narrowly focused on bacterial plasmid replication and segregation. As the scientific understanding of larger bacterial chromosomes and eukaryotic chromosomes blossomed, the Bacterial Plasmid GRC expanded its focus to bring new topics into the program.

Unlike many excellent specialty meetings where experts in eukaryotic or prokaryotic DNA replication, recombination, or transcription delve in to the intricacies of their special realm, the Chromosome Dynamics GRC takes a different tack. It includes interested participants with very different specialties including cell visualization, structural biology, genetics and biochemistry, who share the common goal of understanding chromosome dynamics and the mechanisms that organize large DNA molecules. This is critical because replication, recombination, transposition, mutation, gene transcription/silencing, gene order on chromosomes, and genome segregation are all phenomena that depend on aspects of chromosome dynamics.

The conference brings together a group of scientists at the frontiers of their fields and talks present unpublished work on a variety of processes and model systems. The meeting provides an intimate atmosphere for junior scientists and students to present their work and exchange ideas through poster sessions and informal discussions. Short talks in each session will include those chosen from the abstracts.

Breakout work on chromosomes from viruses to man has been announced at past meetings. Highlights included: new biochemistry and cell biology of condensins and cohesins, the role of actin-related proteins in bacterial chromosome segregation, new roles for telomeres in replication and repair, single-molecule studies of chromatin remodeling proteins and new roles for RNA in controlling epigenetic gene regulation and centromere function.