RNA is an incredibly versatile biological macromolecule whose function is carried out not only on the level of its primary sequence of nucleotides, but also by the local and global structures that are created when the constituent nucleotides form base pairs. Many RNA structures are thus involved in translational control, RNA localization, gene regulation, RNA stability, and more. Furthermore, in a large number of bacterial, plant, animal, and human viruses, positive-strand RNA takes on the role of their genomes. Far from simply coding for the protein products, both local structural elements as well as long-range structural interactions in the genomes of RNA viruses are involved in many fundamental viral processes such as virus disassembly, translation, genome replication, and packaging, and are thus in general important for viral fitness.
The aim of the workshop is to bring together researchers working on various aspects of RNA structure, topology, and function from both theoretical and experimental point of view, with a special focus on the genomes of RNA viruses.
The preliminary program of the conference is the following
– RNA structure and topology
– RNA viruses
– RNA bioinformatics
Keynote Speakers (preliminary)
– G. Bussi, SISSA
– M. Comas-Garcia, Universidad Autonóma de San Luis Potosi
– M. Hagan, Brandeis University
– C. Micheletti, SISSA
– K. Roeder, University of Cambridge
– B. Sargueil, CNRS
– R. Smyth, Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research
– G. Stirnemann, CNRS
– M. Szachniuk, Poznan University of Technology
– P. Šulc, Arizona State University
– J. Trylska, University of Warsaw
– R. Twarock, University of York
– S. Pasquali, Université Paris Cité
– L. Tubiana, Università di Trento
– A.Božič, Jožef Stefan Institute