notice of workshop on microbial spores (including protozoa)

[Micah I. Krichevsky]

The attached summary describes an international
Workshop on Interdisciplinary Harmonization of
Terminology Used in Describing Spore-forming
Microorganisms.  The Organizing Committee extends
an invitation to biologists having expertise in the
physiology and morphology of spore forming organisms,
at the School for Scientific Communication in Santa
Maria Imbaro, Italy on October 22-25, 1995.

We have secured partial funding for the Workshop from
the United Nations Environment Programme and from
CODATA. We are also optimistic about receiving
additional support from the U.S. National Science
Foundation.

At this time, we are asking for expressions of interest
in attending. We ask participants to agree to deliver
information on spore terminology in their particular
subspecialty at least six weeks prior to the meeting.
please submit a brief description of the data you could
provide for this workshop and a suggested format for
submission if you are interested in participating.
Also, please fill out the attached form to indicate
your desire to attend or participate without attending.

If you will not be able to attend for any reason,
please consider participating in the substance of the
workshop through Email, FAX, etc. We shall circulate
the material of workshop by various means before,
during, and after the actual workshop takes place.
Please indicate your preferred method of communication,
e.g., Internet (preferably) on the accompanying form.

Santa Maria Imbaro is a lovely town in the Abruzzi
region of Italy, situated near the Adriatic Sea in the
foothills of the Apennines.  Rationale for the choice
of this location is noted in the documentation.  Hotel
costs in the area are very reasonable.

We trust you will give serious thought to participating
in this workshop to contribute your expertise in
producing a working tool for interdisciplinary
knowledge exchange.  We are confident that this model
can be used as a prototype for semantic linking in
other areas.

Please respond to this invitation by May 25th.  Your
comments and questions are welcome anytime by Email,
phone, fax, or mail.  We look forward to hearing from
you.

Sincerely yours,

Organizing Committee:


Micah I. Krichevsky, Chair
Bionomics International
12221 Parklawn Drive
Rockville, MD 20852 USA
Voice:     1-(301)881-2804
Fax:  1-(301)881-1625
Internet: micahk at helix.nih.gov

Miriam Balaban
School for Scientific Communication
Mario Negri Sud Biomedical 
    Research Institute
66030 Santa Maria Imbaro (Ch), Italy
Voice:     +39-872-570 316
Fax:  +39-872-570 317
Internet:  Balaban at ICHMNS.CMNS.MNEGRI.IT

Lois D. Blaine
Bioinformatics Department
American Type Culture Collection
12321 Parklawn Drive
Rockville, MD 20852 USA
Voice:     1-(301)816-4370
Internet:  lblaine at atcc.org

Richard Castenholz
Department of Biology
University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403-1210 USA
Voice:      1-(503)346-4530
Fax:   1-(503)346-2364
Internet: rcasten at darkwing.uoregon.edu

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Workshop on Interdisciplinary Harmonization of
Terminology Used in Describing Spore-forming
Microorganisms

                                  SUMMARY

Spore forming microorganisms are consistently
encountered in microbial biodiversity and
bioconservation studies. For example, biodiversity
studies in Europe have shown that some forms of edible
fungi have disappeared from various woodland niches.
Thus, the need for habitat conservation was
demonstrated and red lists of endangered fungal species
have been established. The systematics of these
organisms is complex and must be taken into account.
Spore formation is found in bacteria, fungi, protozoa
and algae. Because of the wide range of microorganisms
and the wide range of types of spores, the definitions
and descriptions of spore types are very confusing at
present. The last comprehensive discussion attempting
to resolve this confusion was limited to some of the
bacteria alone and was published in 1976. Thus, it is
too limited in scope and out of date.

The lack of a comprehensive, authoritative treatment of
the description of spores and spore types means that
many biodiversity and systematics studies are either in
error or are not understandable due to the resulting
misidentifications or confusing descriptions. This
problem, without doubt,  adversely affects many such
studies.

Furthermore, the lack of consistent vocabulary with
respect to spores has legal and regulatory
consequences. Intellectual property rights concerning
strains of microorganisms require strict definitions
and accurate, understandable descriptions of the
properties of the strains. This is especially true
where the strain or use of the strain will be patented.
Many secondary metabolites of commercial importance are
from various spore forming organisms such as
actinomycetes, bacilli, penicillium, etc. Scientists,
government regulators, patent officials, lawyers, etc.,
all require agreed-upon definitions and standards for
describing the various forms of spores and
spore-related anatomical features of microorganisms.

We propose to hold a workshop of experts on the
systematics of spore formation in bacteria, fungi,
protozoa and algae. The experts will be chosen by
consultation with appropriate international
organizations involved with the systematics of these
various microorganisms (such as the Bergey's Manual
Trust and International Committee on Systematic
Bacteriology for the bacteria).

The subject of the workshop would be the
rationalization and codification the terminology of
spore descriptions for all these types of
microorganisms. The output of this effort would be a
report containing the proceedings of the workshop
including a manual of definitions and instructions on
accurate and standardized descriptions of spores. This
report would serve as a multidisciplinary standards
manual for systematics of spore forming microorganisms,
providing for more accurate and consistent
identifications.

(A more extensive description of the concept and
process of the Workshop is available from:

micahk at helix.nih.gov

Please do NOT post requests to the listserver.)
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                PARTICIPATION FORM

Please send the following information by any convenient
means to Micah I. Krichevsky.

|__| I will attend the Workshop.

|__| I will need travel funds. (Funds very limited.)

|__| I will not need travel funds. (We will be
     eternally grateful.)

|__| I will supply the requested information at least 6
     weeks prior to the Workshop(required for funding).

|__| I will take part in the effort but cannot attend
     the Workshop.


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