Session Announcement and Call for Abstracts International Polar Year (IPY) 2012 >From Knowledge to Action Conference 22-27 April 2012 Montréal, Canada
Abstract Submission Deadline for all Sessions: Friday, 30 September 2011 Session 1.3.3, Polar Microbes, Genetics, and Molecular Biology Organizers of Session 1.3.3, "Polar Microbes, Genetics, and Molecular Biology," announce a call for abstracts. The session will be convened at the International Polar Year (IPY) Conference, 22-27 April 2012 in Montréal, Canada. Microbes are important players in Polar habitats. They are major drivers of biogeochemical cycles in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. In the Arctic, for example, the thawing of permafrost could lead to dramatic increases in microbial activities and carbon decomposition with subsequent release of greenhouse gases. In the Antarctic, microorganisms are important in mediating nutrient cycling in surface lakes and subglacial environments. Understanding microbial populations and metabolisms is therefore necessary for determining the biogeochemistry in Polar ecosystems. In addition, survival mechanisms of microbes exposed to sub-zero conditions or freeze-thaw cycles contribute to our understanding of the resilience of life and to advances in biotechnology and astrobiology. This session will include current work in microbial ecology, microbial diversity, biogeography, genetics and metabolisms and is concerned with modern molecular tools such as genomics, metagenomics, or next generation sequencing as well as classical genetics and molecular techniques. The abstract submission deadline for this and all other sessions is Friday, 30 September 2011 at 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time. To submit an abstract, please visit: http://www.ipy2012montreal.ca Carlos Pedrós-Alió, (Spain) [email protected] Yoo Kyung Lee, (Korea) [email protected] Trista Vick (United States) [email protected]
