Scientific Program

Halophiles 2016
Sunday May 22nd
12:00-18:30

Registration

18:45

Welcome Address
Rafael Montalvo-Rodrguez

19:00

Keynote Seminar: The Strange Story of Haloquadratum walsbyi

Mike Dyall-Smith

20:00-22:00

Welcome Reception

Monday May 23rd

7:00-8:30

Registration

Session 1: Genetics
8:30

Comparative Analysis of Transcriptional Regulation of Stress Response

Across Four Species of Halophiles
Amy Schmid

9:00

The Evolution of Local Genetic Context as Explored in the

Halophilic Archaea
Marc Facciotti

9:30-10:00

Breakfast/Break

Session 2: Protein/Biochemistry/Physiology
10:00

Redox Control of Ubiquitin-Like Protein Modification and

Proteasome-Mediated Proteolysis in Halophilic Archaea
Julie Maupin-Furlow

10:30

It Needs A Little Sugar: Protein Glycosylation in the Haloarchaea

Jerry Eichler

11:00

Insights into Haloferax volcanii Growth on Environmental DNA

Robertson Thane Papke

11:30

Discovery, Expression, Characterization and Crystallization of a Novel

Extremozyme from the Deep Red-Sea Brine Pools
Stefan Grtzinger

11:45

Halophilic Wallemia ichthyophaga and Halotolerant Hortaea werneckii

Activate HOG Signaling Pathway by Different Mechanisms
Ana Plemenitas

12:00-13:30

Lunch

Session 3: Ecology
13:30

Prokaryotic Diversity in Sediments and Brines of Different Sites from

the Mediterranean, Atlantic and South America by Means of LargeScale Culture-Dependent and -Independent Approaches
Bartomeu Antoni Viver Piza

14:00

Features of Spiribacter, a Successful Moderately Halophilic Bacterium

Antonio Ventosa

14:30

Halocin C8, an Antimicrobial Peptide Produced by Halophilic Archaea

Belonging to the Genera Natrinema and Haloterrigena
Alison Besse

14:45

Biosynthesis of Polyhydroxyalkanoates by Halophilic Archaea

Judith Braganca

15:00-15:30

Coffee/Tea Break

Session 4: Biodiversity/Evolution
15:30

Fungi in the Salterns from Halotolerance to Polyextremotolerance

Nina Gunde-Cimerman

16:00

Exploring the Microbiota Associated to Euhalophytes of the

Amaranthaceae Family
Merit del Rocio Mora Ruiz

16:30

Salinibacter ruber: The Endless Microdiversity

Josefa Antn

17:00

Insights into Population Structure, Divergence and Taxonomy of

Halorubrum Strains using Five Taxonomic Study Approaches
Rafael R. de la Haba

17:15

Cultivation and Metagenomic Analysis of Halophiles from Salar de

Uyuni, Bolivia
Daniel Gzman

17:30-18:00

Poster Allocation

17:30-17:45

Closed Meeting of the ICSP-Subcommittee on the Taxonomy of

Halomonadaceae

17:45-18:00

Closed Meeting of the ICSP-Subcommittee on the Taxonomy of

Halobacteriaceae

18:00-19:30

Open Joint Meeting of the Subcommittee on the Taxonomy

of Halobacteriaceae and the Subcommittee on the Taxonomy
of Halomonadaceae

Tuesday May 24th

Session 1: Astrobiology
8:30

Halophiles on Mars: Insights into the Biophysical Limits for

Terrestrial Life
John E. Hallsworth

9:00

Modified Panspermia Can Halophiles Move from Planet to Planet?

Russell Vreeland

9:30-10:00

Breakfast/Break

Session 2: Biogeochemistry
10:00

Arsenotrophy in Three Soda Lakes of the Great Basin and Mojave

Deserts, USA
Ronald Oremland

10:30

Microbiolites of Great Salt Lake, Utah

Bonnie Baxter

11:00

Carbon Monoxide Oxidation: A Previously Unsuspected but Significant

Trait for Halobacteriaceae
Gary King

11:30

The Microbiology of Subsurface Nuclear Waste Repositories: Toward a

Realistic Prediction of the Microbial Effects on Repository Performance
Julie Swanson

11:45

Multistage Bioassociation of Uranium to a Halophilic Archaeon under

Highly Saline Conditions
Miriam Bader

12:00-13:30

Lunch

Session 3: Protein/Biochemistry/Physiology
13:30

Halophilic Viruses: How Unique They Are?

Hanna Oksanen

14:00

On the Structure and Function of the Haloarchaeal Pleomorphic

Virus Spike
Elina Roine

14:30

New Insights Into Haloarchaeal Cell-Surface Biogenesis

Jonathan Stoltzfus

15:00-15:30

Coffee/Tea Break

15:30-18:30

Bioinformatics Workshop

18:30-20:30

Poster Session and Social Event

Wednesday May 25th

Session 1: Ecology/Biodiversity/Evolution
8:30

Probing Saltern Brines with an Oxygen Electrode: What Can We Learn

About the Community Metabolism in Hypersaline Systems?
Aharon Oren

9:00

Hypersaline Microbial Communities at the Dry Extreme for Life

Jocelyne DiRuggiero

9:30-10:00

Breakfast/Break

Session 2: Ecology/Biodiversity/Evolution
10:00

The Biodiversity and Evolution of Halophilic Protozoa

Alastair Simpson

10:30

Microbial Diversity in Permanently Stratified Hypersaline Lakes of the

Transylvanian Basin, Central Romania
Horia Banciu

11:00

Viruses of Haloquadratum walsbyi: An Indirect Approach

Fernando Santos

11:15

Persister Cell Formation as a Stress Response in Haloarchaea

Julianne Megaw

11:30

Biased Extracellular DNA Consumption by the Archaeon Haloferax

volcanii
Xin Chen

11:45-13:30

Lunch

Session 3: Applied Biotechnology

13:30

Versatility of Halophilic Enzymes for Synthetic Applications

Francesca Paradisi

14:00

1,3-Propanediol Production from Glycerol by Halanaerobium

hydrogeniformans
Melanie Mormile

14:30

Halophilic Microorganisms with Potential Production of Bioplastics

Gabriel Lizama

15:00-15:30

Coffee/Tea Break

Session 4: Applied Biotechnology

15:30

Design and Optimization of a Bacteriorhodopsin-Based Retinal Implant

for the Treatment of End-Stage Retinal Degeneration
Nicole Wagner

16:00

A Halobacterium Expression System for Production of Full-Length

Plasmodium falciparum Circumsporozoite Protein
Wolf Pecher

16:15

Cross-domain Signalling- Production of Butyryl Homoserine Lactone by

the Halophilic Archaeon Halorubrum saccharovorum
Alessandro Busetti

16:30

Production and Characterization of Halophilic, Alkalithermophilic

Enzymes from Soda Lakes of the Wadi An Natrun, Egypt
Noha Mesbah

16:45-18:00

Poster Session

19:00-23:00

Gala Dinner

Thursday May 26th

9:30-15:00

Field Trip to El Yunque Rainforest