OCTOBER 14 - 18, 2024
REGISTRATION REQUEST and ABSTRACT SUBMISSION DEADLINE: June13, 2024
To attend the conferences Jacques Monod, an abstract submission is mandatory,
Registrations request without abstract submission will not be processed, except in specific
cases (i. g. for Publishers : please contact chairperson).
Chairperson: Paul Turner
Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, 165 Prospect St., Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520 USA
Phone: + 1 203 314 2229
Email: paul.turner@yale.edu
Vice-chairperson: Yannis Michalakis
Maladies Infectieuses et Vecteurs : Ecologie Génétique Evolution et Contrôle (MIVEGEC) UMR Université de Montpellier – CNRS - IRD 5290, 911 avenue Agropolis BP64501, 34394 Montpellier CEDEX 5, France
Phone:
Email: yannis.michalakis@ird.fr
Interactions between viruses can occur within an infected host individual, where these virus–virus interactions may include direct and indirect consequences of one virus strain or species for the successful infection of another virus. The range of outcomes span a continuum, so that virus-virus interactions produce either mutualisms (net fitness benefits to each virus) or possible antagonisms (fitness disadvantages). These interactions can be due to concurrent infections of multiple viruses within the host, or they may result from effects of prior infections, such as changes to host immunity that suppress or enhance the later infection success of a different virus. Historically, virus-virus interactions were often discovered by chance. Whereas, more recent efforts seek to purposefully examine the role of virus-virus infections in a wide variety of biological systems. There is increasing evidence that virus–virus interactions commonly occur, and that studying these relationships is crucial for the general understanding of virus ecology and evolution, as well as for elucidation of viral pathogenesis and disease.
The goal of this Monod conference is to convene virus researchers of varying expertise (epidemiology, theory, empiricism, bioinformatics), who work on myriad types of viruses that infect a wide variety of hosts. We will discuss classic and novel ideas about virus evolution, and the importance of within-host interactions among viruses and how they may impact virus evolution. This conference is extremely timely due to the increased realization of the importance of interactions not only among viral species and strains, but also among viral components, be they ‘normal’ or semi-infectious or defective interfering particles, viral satellites or genomic segments, in modulating and determining viral phenotypes and infections outcomes. Importantly, the ecological context of such interactions is extremely relevant but (in our opinion) largely overlooked in virus research. Therefore, our hope is that this unique conference will contribute to expanding the integration of virus evolutionary ecology into virology studies.
The conference will cover the following topics:
- Importance of virus interactions in disease
- Evolutionary ecology of virus interactions in natural environments
- Effects of virus interactions on adaptability and evolvability
- Using sociology concepts to understand virus interactions
- Host defenses, immunology and virus-virus interactions
For information: you should plan to arrive in Roscoff on Monday, October 14 in the afternoon/evening ; departures will be on Friday October 18 around 7-8 a.m. If your abstract is accepted, you will receive an e-mail with all the logistical information needed for booking your transport.