Wednesday 2 June - Saturday 5 June 2010

Microtubules are of fundamental importance for an extraordinary variety of essential processes in all eukaryotic cells. In the 1980s, advances in light microscopy and the discovery of motor proteins catalyzed the expansion of microtubule cytoskeleton research. In the 1990s the discovery of GFP revolutionized the visualization of dynamic cytoskeletal processes inside cells. Over the years and especially recently due to the advent of proteomics, many nteractors of microtubules have been identified and we are approaching an exciting phase where complete knowledge of the components of the microtubule cytoskeleton appears within reach. Therefore, the focus of microtubule cytoskeleton research is moving from identification of components, their characterization in isolation, the consequences of loss of function for intracellular organization and dynamics towards a truly mechanistic description of the entire microtubule system and its regulation.

To achieve a systems-wide understanding of microtubule cytoskeleton behaviour requires a combination of different disciplines including biochemistry, biophysics, structural biology and mathematical modeling, and to exchange concepts developed in different scientific communities like in cell and developmental biology.

This conference aims at providing an overview of contemporary microtubule cytoskeleton research at all complexity levels, from atomic resolution to entire organisms and will be structured as follows:

(1) Molecules interacting with microtubules;

(2) Complex microtubule arrays and cell architecture;

(3) Microtubules in developmental processes and in differentiated structures.