Program

Conference program
   

Sunday, Sept. 25 
12:00- Arrival, registration
18:00-18:15 Welcome, official opening
18:15-19:00 Keynote lecture
Don A. Cowan, University of Pretoria, South Africa: "Functional metagenomics in a world of mega-sequencing?"
19:15- Reception dinner, social function
   

Monday, Sept. 26 
09:00-10:30 Session 1: Phylogenetic and functional surveys of natural environments. (Session host: Don A. Cowan, University of Pretoria, South Africa)
Andrea Franzetti, University of Milano Bicocca, Italy: "The power of light: metagenomics and in situ microcosms reveal that light promotes the growth of heterotrophic bacteria and pollutant biodegradation on glacier surface".
Sara Sjöling, Södertörn University, Sweden: "Application of microbial ecosystem functions of low temperature sediment and soil".
Günter Brader, Austrian Institute of Technology, Austria: "Environmental DNA interfering with bacterial signaling".
10:30-11:00  Coffee break
11:00-12:30  Session 1, continued
Rolf Daniel, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Germany: "Taxonomic and functional characterization and mining of microbial mat systems"
Phillip Pope, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway: "Meta-omic analysis of the irrecoverable microbiota in digestive ecosystems"
Bernd Wemheuer, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Germany: "Driving forces of bacterioplankton community structure, diversity and function in the North Sea"
12:30-13:30 Lunch 
13:30-14:30 Poster session (on display throughout the conference)
14:30-16:00 Session 2: Tools and technologies for Functional Metagenomics (Session host: David Mead, Varigen Biosciences Corp., USA)
Justin Donato, University of St. Thomas, USA: "Efficiency of metagenomic gene expression in multiple strains of E. coli"
Philip Mair, University of Cambridge, UK: "Ultrahigh-throughput screening of the bacterial metagenome using fluorogenic and chromogenic substrates in microfluidic droplets"
Roland Marmeisse, CNRS/Université Lyon 1, France: "Strategies to mine eukaryotic genes from the environment"
16:00-16:30  Coffee break 
16:30-18:00  Session 2, continued
Trevor Charles, University of Waterloo, Canada: "Overcoming Library Bias and Screening Barriers"
Wolfgang Liebl, Technical University of Munich, Germany: "Development and use of alternative hosts for functional (meta)genome analysis"
John Gaby, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway: "Assessment of short vs. long read assemblies and their applicability to assessing microbial community dynamics and metabolism in a mesophilic biogas reactor" 
18:30-21:00 Dinner 
   

Tuesday, Sept. 27 
9:00-10:30 Session 3: Applications of Functional Metagenomics (Session host: Gabrielle Veronese, INSA-Toulouse, France)
Alina Pushkarev, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Israel: "Let there be light: searching for chemical energy derived from light"
Michael Roggenbuck, Novozymes A/S, Denmark: "Accessing the functional potential of microbial consortia isolated from exotic vertebrates"
Wolfgang Streit, University of Hamburg, Germany: "Deep-mining in Metagenomes" 
10:30-11:00  Coffee break 
11:00-12:30  Session 3, continued
Ronnie de Jonge, Utrecht University, Netherlands: "Uncovering root microbiome functions by advanced metagenomics"
Mathabatha Evodia Setati, Stellenbosch University, South Africa: "Grape associated microbiomes – a holistic investigation of microbial composition under different vineyard management practices"
Francesco Strino, Qiagen Aarhus, Denmark: "A pipeline for studying the functional content of microbial communities using a CLC Workbench"
12:30-13:30  Lunch 
13:30-14:00  Poster session
14:00-18:00 Excursion
18:30-21:00 Conference dinner 
   

Wednesday, Sept. 28  
09:00-10:30  Session 4: Functional Metagenomics for enzyme discovery. (Session host: Trevor Charles, University of Waterloo, Canada)
Aline Maria da Silva, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Brazil: "Composting as a source of new bacteria and thermostable enzymes viewed through metagenomics and metatranscriptomics"
Bernd Striberny, ArcticZymes AS, Norway: "Combining sequence-based and functional metagenomics reduces cost, risk and time-consumption in the discovery of novel enzymes"
Gabrielle Veronese, INSA-Toulouse, France: "Human gut microbiomics for discovery of novel glycan catabolic pathways"
10:30-11:00 Coffee break
11:00-12:30 Session 4, continued
Anna Lewin, SINTEF, Norway: "Discovery of thermostable enzymes from extreme environments - sequence mining vs. functional screening"
David Mead, Varigen Biosciences Corp., USA: "Functional Metagenomics of a Replicase from a Novel Hyperthermophilic Aquificales Virus"
Jose Eduardo Gonzalez-Pastor, Center of Astrobiology (CSIC-INTA), Spain: "Novel ultraviolet resistance genes revealed by functional metagenomics"
12:30-13:30 Lunch
13:30-14:30 Poster session
14:30-15:30 Coffee break
16:00-17:30 Session 5: Functional Metagenomics for bioactive compound discovery (Session host: Wolfgang Streit, University of Hamburg, Germany)
Mark Liles, Auburn University, AL, USA: "Exploring soil and sediment metagenomic libraries using function- and sequence-based approaches for natural product discovery and bioremediation applications"
Chengcang Wu, Intact Genomics, Inc., USA: "Large scale discovery and deorphanization of natural products using fungal artificial chromosomes and untargeted metabolomics (FAC-MS)"
Wesley Williams, University of the Western Cape, South Africa: "Functional metagenomic screening for biosurfactant using multiple host strategy"
17:30-18:00 Closing ceremony, poster prize, end of conference
18:30-21:00 Dinner
   

Posters
 No. Presenter/title
  1. Simone Balzer Le, SINTEF, Norway: "Comparison of different strategies to establish stable microbial consortia for the conversion of crude glycerol derived from second-generation biodiesel into butyrate and 1,3 propanediol"
  2. Günter Brader, Austrian Institute of Technology, Austria: "Environmental DNA interfering with bacterial signaling" (also oral contribution)
  3. Jennifer Chow, University of Hamburg, Germany: "Metagenomic enzyme discovery: Striking new paths to robust and promiscuous biocatalysts"
  4. Justin Donato, University of St. Thomas, USA: "Antibiotic resistance in wastewater treatment bacterial communities exposed to triclosan"
  5. Adrian Ertsås Naas, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway: "Metagenomic discovery and characterization of a potentially novel cellulolytic mechanism linked to the Bacteroidetes Type IX secretion system"
  6. John C. Gaby, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway: "Assessment of short vs. long read assemblies and their applicability to assessing microbial community dynamics and metabolism in a mesophilic biogas reactor"
  7. Antonio Garcia-Moyano, Uni Research Miljø, Norway: "Optimizing the identification of new proteases on industry-relevant substrates"
  8. Gunhild Hageskal, SINTEF, Norway: "Flow-based method for biofilm enrichment and exploration of metagenomes by simulating natural physiological conditions in the laboratory"
  9. Tonje Heggeset, SINTEF, Norway: "INBioPharm - Integrated Novel Natural Product Discovery and Production Platform for Accelerated Biopharmaceutical Innovation from Microbial Biodiversity"?
  10. Christopher Hunter, GigaScience, BGI, UK: "MetaFUNC: How does GigaDB help?"
  11. Anan Adel Ibrahim, The University of Edinburgh, UK: "Assessment of Environmental Contamination in farms diagnosed with Johne's Disease cases"
  12. Nobutada Kimura, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Japan: "A Thermostable Bilirubin-Oxidizing Enzyme from Coke Plant wastewater Treatment Activated Sludge Isolated by a Metagenomic Approach"
  13. Elisabeth Laville, INSA-Toulouse, France: "Ultra-high throughput functional metagenomics reveals novel pathways of mucin degradation by mucosa-associated human gut bacteria"
  14. Philip Mair, University of Cambridge, UK: "Ultrahigh-throughput screening of the bacterial metagenome using fluorogenic and chromogenic substrates in microfluidic droplets" (also oral contribution)
  15. Alina Pushkarev, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Israel: "Functional metagenomic screen reveals new and diverse microbial rhodopsins" (also oral contribution)
  16. Mariana Rangel Pereira, University of Cambridge, UK: "Enzyme discovery through ultrahigh-throughput functional metagenomics in picolitre droplets"
  17. Deni Ribicic, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway: "From simple to complex degradation of hydrocarbons. A concept of metagenome succession in oil-amended microcosms"
  18. Michael Roggenbuck, Novozymes A/S, Denmark: "Accessing the functional potential of microbial consortia isolated from exotic vertebrates"
  19. Lena Schilling, c-LEcta GmbH: "Development of heterologous expression and screening of pathways for bioactive compounds"
  20. Mathabatha Evodia Setati, Stellenbosch University, South Africa: "Bacterial diversity in sun-exposed and shaded Vitis vinifera L. cv Sauvignon blanc grape clusters" (also oral contribution)
  21. Aline Maria da Silva, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Brazil: "Composting as a source of new bacteria and thermostable enzymes viewed through metagenomics and metatranscriptomics"
  22. Gabrielle Veronese, INSA-Toulouse, France: "Characterizing human gut bacterial phenotypes associated with mucin adhesion"
  23. Gabrielle Veronese, INSA-Toulouse, France: "Discovery of carbamate degrading enzymes by functional metagenomics" (also oral contribution)
  24. Gabrielle Veronese, INSA-Toulouse, France: "Functional exploration of naturally and artificially enriched rumen microbiomes reveals novel enzymatic synergies involved in plant cell wall breakdown"
  25. Noelia Villarroel Rodriguez, Aberystwyth University, UK: "Discovery of novel laccases combining in silico screening of metagenomic libraries and functional characterization"
  26. Gilles Vismans, Utrecht University, Netherlands: "Aboveground activation of defense leads to recruitment of bacteria into the rhizosphere of Arabidopsis thaliana"
  27. Franziska Wemheuer, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Germany: " Grasses are not equal green: the impact of management regimes on bacterial endophyte community composition and function differs with grass species"
  28. Hao Zhang, Utrecht University, Netherlands: "Rhizosphere Microbiome Functional Metagenomics in Relation to Plant Growth and Health"