Mechanisms of Microbial Transcription

Gordon Research Conference

Phylogenetic Contrasts and Commonalities in Gene Expression Mechanisms

June 15 - 20, 2025

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GRC Education Requirements: Undergraduates or those who have not obtained a bachelor's degree in science/engineering (or acceptable equivalent) are not eligible to apply to attend Gordon Research Conferences or Seminars.

Chairs

and

Vice Chairs

and

Southern New Hampshire University

2500 North River Road

Manchester, New Hampshire, United States

Venue and Travel Information

Application Information

Applications for this meeting must be submitted by May 18, 2025. Please apply early, as some meetings become oversubscribed (full) before this deadline. If the meeting is oversubscribed, it will be stated here. Note: Applications for oversubscribed meetings will only be considered by the conference chair if more seats become available due to cancellations.

Conference Description

The Mechanisms of Microbial Transcription GRC is a premier, international scientific conference focused on advancing the frontiers of science through the presentation of cutting-edge and unpublished research, prioritizing time for discussion after each talk and fostering informal interactions among scientists of all career stages. The conference program includes a diverse range of speakers and discussion leaders from institutions and organizations worldwide, concentrating on the latest developments in the field. The conference is five days long and held in a remote location to increase the sense of camaraderie and create scientific communities, with lasting collaborations and friendships. In addition to premier talks, the conference has designated time for poster sessions from individuals of all career stages, and afternoon free time and communal meals allow for informal networking opportunities with leaders in the field.

Transcription lies at the heart of gene expression, a process necessary for environmental adaptation and cellular homeostasis. The Mechanisms of Microbial Transcription GRC historically focused on the structure, function, and regulation of RNA polymerases and now includes research on a broad range of transcriptional and post-transcriptional gene expression mechanisms. We seek to continue broadening our community by including a wide variety of gene expression-related topics while maintaining our core strength in the mechanistic molecular biology of transcription. Our 2025 program features cutting-edge work on molecular mechanisms of gene expression in viruses, bacteria, and archaea including model organisms and pathogens.

Abstract Deadline: Although applications will be accepted until the date noted above, any applicants who wish to be considered for an oral presentation should submit their application by April 13, 2025.

Related Meeting

This GRC will be held in conjunction with the "Mechanisms of Microbial Transcription" Gordon Research Seminar (GRS). Those interested in attending both meetings must submit an application for the GRS in addition to an application for the GRC. Refer to the associated GRS program page for more information.

Conference Program

Sunday
2:00 pm - 9:00 pm	Arrival and Check-in
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Dinner
7:30 pm - 7:40 pm	Introductory Comments by GRC Staff / Welcome and Introduction from the Chairs
7:40 pm - 9:30 pm	A Comparative View of Transcription in Bacterial Pathogens Discussion Leader:
7:40 pm - 7:50 pm	Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:50 pm - 8:15 pm	"Targeting Transcription in Mycobacterium Tuberculosis: A Strategic Approach to Develop Synergistic Treatments"
8:15 pm - 8:25 pm	Discussion
8:25 pm - 8:50 pm	"Mechanisms of Transcriptional Pausing and Regulation in Clostridioides Difficile"
8:50 pm - 9:00 pm	Discussion
9:00 pm - 9:10 pm	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
9:10 pm - 9:15 pm	Discussion
9:15 pm - 9:25 pm	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
9:25 pm - 9:30 pm	Discussion
Monday
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm	Transcriptional Control of Homeostasis, Colonization, and Antimicrobial Resistance Discussion Leader:
9:00 am - 9:05 am	Introduction by Discussion Leader
9:05 am - 9:30 am	"Studying Mycobacterial Transcription by SEnd-seq and Single-Molecule Microscopy"
9:30 am - 9:40 am	Discussion
9:40 am - 10:05 am	"An Unconventional CRP regulator Controls Polysaccharide Utilization in Bacteroides"
10:05 am - 10:15 am	Discussion
10:15 am - 10:25 am	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
10:25 am - 10:30 am	Discussion
10:30 am - 10:55 am	Coffee Break
10:55 am - 11:20 am	"A Structural Perspective of RNAP Evolution: From Cyanobacterial RNAP to Plant Chloroplast PEP"
11:20 am - 11:30 am	Discussion
11:30 am - 11:40 am	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
11:40 am - 11:45 am	Discussion
11:45 am - 11:55 am	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
11:55 am - 12:00 pm	Discussion
12:00 pm - 12:10 pm	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
12:10 pm - 12:15 pm	Discussion
12:15 pm - 12:25 pm	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
12:25 pm - 12:30 pm	Discussion
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm	Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm	Free Time
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm	The GRC Power Hour™ The GRC Power Hour™ is designed to address the interests and needs of all scientists and the challenges they face in their careers. Specifically, the program promotes meaningful conversations amongst colleagues of all career stages about barriers to career advancement and strategies to support the professional growth of all members of the community. The GRC Power Hour™ is open to all conference participants. Organizer:
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm	Poster Session
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm	Structural Biology of Transcription Across Domains Discussion Leader:
7:30 pm - 7:35 pm	Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:35 pm - 8:00 pm	"Structural Insights into σ²⁸Mediated Transcription Initiation and its Regulation by Anti-sigma Factor in Pseudomonas Aeruginosa"
8:00 pm - 8:10 pm	Discussion
8:10 pm - 8:35 pm	"Structural Basis for Eukaryotic Transcription and Co-Transcriptional Process"
8:35 pm - 8:45 pm	Discussion
8:45 pm - 8:55 pm	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
8:55 pm - 9:00 pm	Discussion
9:00 pm - 9:10 pm	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
9:10 pm - 9:15 pm	Discussion
9:15 pm - 9:25 pm	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
9:25 pm - 9:30 pm	Discussion
Tuesday
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm	New Methods to Probe Gene Expression Discussion Leader:
9:00 am - 9:05 am	Introduction by Discussion Leader
9:05 am - 9:30 am	"How Bacteria Tune Transcription Termination Efficiency"
9:30 am - 9:40 am	Discussion
9:40 am - 9:50 am	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
9:50 am - 9:55 am	Discussion
9:55 am - 10:05 am	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
10:05 am - 10:10 am	Discussion
10:10 am - 10:35 am	Coffee Break
10:35 am - 11:00 am	"Dynamic RNA Biology at the Single-Molecule Level: Watching how Interconnected Transcription-Related Processes Work in Real-Time"
11:00 am - 11:10 am	Discussion
11:10 am - 11:35 am	"MetaGPA and Metatranscriptomics: A Powerful Duo for Hypothesis-Free Novel Enzyme Discovery using Transcriptional Changes"
11:35 am - 11:45 am	Discussion
11:45 am - 11:55 am	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
11:55 am - 12:00 pm	Discussion
12:00 pm - 12:10 pm	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
12:10 pm - 12:15 pm	Discussion
12:15 pm - 12:25 pm	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
12:25 pm - 12:30 pm	Discussion
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm	Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm	Free Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm	Poster Session
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm	Post-Transcriptional Mechanisms Discussion Leader:
7:30 pm - 7:35 pm	Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:35 pm - 8:00 pm	"RNA-Based Regulation During Phage Infection"
8:00 pm - 8:10 pm	Discussion
8:10 pm - 8:35 pm	"Mapping the Borrelia Burgdorferi RNA-RNA Interactome Reveals Abundance of Base-Pairing sRNAs"
8:35 pm - 8:40 pm	Discussion
8:40 pm - 9:05 pm	"Newly Discovered Translation Factors that Prevent Ribosome Stalling and Cell Death in Bacteria"
9:05 pm - 9:15 pm	Discussion
9:15 pm - 9:25 pm	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
9:25 pm - 9:30 pm	Discussion
Wednesday
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
8:30 am - 9:00 am	Group Photo
9:00 am - 12:30 pm	Transcriptional Control in Archaea and Viruses Discussion Leader:
9:00 am - 9:10 am	Introduction by Discussion Leader
9:10 am - 9:35 am	"Non-Canonical RNA Polymerases of Bacteriophages"
9:35 am - 9:45 am	Discussion
9:45 am - 9:55 am	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
9:55 am - 10:00 am	Discussion
10:00 am - 10:10 am	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
10:10 am - 10:15 am	Discussion
10:15 am - 10:45 am	Coffee Break
10:45 am - 11:10 am	"Post-Initiation Regulation of Archaeal Transcription"
11:10 am - 11:20 am	Discussion
11:20 am - 11:45 am	"From Old to New: Unravelling Transcription Factor Regulation in Archaea"
11:45 am - 11:55 am	Discussion
11:55 am - 12:05 pm	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
12:05 pm - 12:10 pm	Discussion
12:10 pm - 12:20 pm	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
12:20 pm - 12:30 pm	Discussion
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm	Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm	Free Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm	Poster Session
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm	Chromosome Topology and Gene Expression Discussion Leader:
7:30 pm - 7:35 pm	Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:35 pm - 8:00 pm	"Unique Protein Fold and DNA-Binding Mode Revealed by Structures of M. tuberculosis Nucleoid-Associated-Protein NapA-DNA Complexes"
8:00 pm - 8:10 pm	Discussion
8:10 pm - 8:35 pm	"Breaking the Slide: How Switching from a DNA-Sliding Clamp to a Repressor Mediates Long-Range Gene Silencing"
8:35 pm - 8:45 pm	Discussion
8:45 pm - 8:55 pm	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
8:55 pm - 9:00 pm	Discussion
9:00 pm - 9:10 pm	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
9:10 pm - 9:15 pm	Discussion
9:15 pm - 9:25 pm	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
9:25 pm - 9:30 pm	Discussion
Thursday
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
8:30 am - 9:00 am	Business Meeting Nominations for the Next Vice Chair(s); Complete the GRC Evaluation Forms; Election of the Next Vice Chair(s)
9:00 am - 12:30 pm	Co-Transcriptional Mechanisms Discussion Leader:
9:00 am - 9:20 am	Introduction by Discussion Leader
9:20 am - 9:45 am	"Coordination Between Transcription, Translation, and mRNA Degradation in Bacteria"
9:45 am - 10:05 am	Discussion
10:05 am - 10:35 am	Coffee Break
10:35 am - 11:00 am	"Structural Basis of Transcription Regulation of HK022 put RNA and Beyond"
11:00 am - 11:10 am	Discussion
11:10 am - 11:35 am	"Post-Initiation Control of Plasmid Conjugation"
11:35 am - 11:45 am	Discussion
11:45 am - 11:55 am	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
11:55 am - 12:00 pm	Discussion
12:00 pm - 12:10 pm	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
12:10 pm - 12:15 pm	Discussion
12:15 pm - 12:25 pm	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
12:25 pm - 12:30 pm	Discussion
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm	Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm	Free Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm	Poster Session
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm	Keynote Session: A Global View of Transcription Discussion Leader:
7:30 pm - 7:50 pm	Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:50 pm - 8:30 pm	"The Alternative Sigma Universe"
8:30 pm - 8:40 pm	Discussion
8:40 pm - 9:20 pm	"Transcription Factors and the Management of Infection by E. coli Pathovars"
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm	Discussion
Friday
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
9:00 am	Departure

Contributors

Dick Brennan on behalf of the Department of Biochemistry, Duke University

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Mechanisms of Microbial Transcription

Phylogenetic Contrasts and Commonalities in Gene Expression Mechanisms

Application Information

Conference Description

Related Meeting

Conference Program

Contributors

Conference Links

Poster Information

Funding Opportunities

Mechanisms of Microbial Transcription (GRS)

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