The Plant and Microbial Cytoskeleton GRC is a premier, international scientific conference focused on advancing the frontiers of science through the presentation of cutting-edge and unpublished research, prioritizing time for discussion after each talk and fostering informal interactions among scientists of all career stages. The conference program includes a diverse range of speakers and discussion leaders from institutions and organizations worldwide, concentrating on the latest developments in the field. The conference is five days long and held in a remote location to increase the sense of camaraderie and create scientific communities, with lasting collaborations and friendships. In addition to premier talks, the conference has designated time for poster sessions from individuals of all career stages, and afternoon free time and communal meals allow for informal networking opportunities with leaders in the field.
The cytoskeleton constitutes an evolutionarily ancient cell machinery. Composed of filaments and associated proteins, as well as motor proteins, it is at the core of cell morphogenesis, division, motility and other dynamic and force-generating events. In 2024, the 17th Plant and Microbial Cytoskeleton GRC will explore the role and organization of the cytoskeleton and associated machineries in a wide range of walled and non-walled model and non-model species, ranging across plants, fungi, bacteria, archaea, protists, and other microbes. The meeting aims at stimulating comparisons on cytoskeletal organization and function across the tree of life, to uncover unifying and diverging principles of cell shape determination, growth, and cell division. As always, the Plant and Microbial Cytoskeleton GRC will bring together cell biologists, geneticists, biochemists, structural biologists, computational modelers and physicists, for a mechanistic understanding of cytoskeletal form and function. Sessions will include presentations with cutting-edge approaches in these fields and foster collaborative and interdisciplinary discussion on the cytoskeleton. The program comprises approximately 25 talks from invited speakers, an additional 20 short talks selected from submitted abstracts, and lively poster sessions. Ample free time in the afternoons and evenings will be included to promote networking, brainstorming, and other informal interactions among attendees from all career stages.