2nd Zing Regulating with RNA in Bacteria & Archaea Conference

In the past decade it has become clear that regulatory RNAs allow bacteria and archaea to respond to a wide range of changes in their environmental conditions, and that much more of the genome is transcribed than ever imagined. This conference is the latest in a series of extremely successful meetings exploring the latest findings regarding this important class of regulators. The conference will be a premier forum for the presentation of cutting-edge advances and the latest perspectives in the areas of discovery, mechanism, structure and evolution of bacterial riboregulators. Sessions will cover prominent and emerging roles of small RNAs in regulatory networks as well as their diverse mechanisms of action. Other sessions will address how RNA-binding proteins and ribonucleases impact sRNA function. Riboswitches and other signals within mRNA that affect the stability or translation of the message as well as the important RNA-based CRISPR immunity against invading genetic elements also will be discussed. Finally, regulatory RNAs will be considered from broader evolutionary, systems and synthetic biology perspectives. In addition to featuring scientists invited from around the world, the program will include 20 speakers selected on the basis of submitted abstracts. This flexibility in programming allows inclusion of exciting late-breaking advances and will promote high visibility of rising young investigators. This meeting aims at bringing together researchers of all stages using diverse approaches to study many aspects of RNA regulation in a variety of systems, the main goal being to share novel insights, establish collaborations and facilitate cross-fertilization of ideas among investigators, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students.