The Eleventh International Congress of Mycology of the International Union of Microbiological Societies, San Francisco, California, 23–28 July 2005

Abstract

The International Union of Microbiological Societies has three divisions – Bacteriology and Applied Microbiology, Mycology and Virology – which come together every 3 years for the organization of their international congresses. In 2005, the American Society for Microbiology hosted these congresses in San Francisco. Yeasts fall within the Division of Mycology and this report covers the numerous contributions on yeasts to the Mycology Congress. Overall, about 3000 registrants attended the combined Congresses, with about 275 delegates focussing on Mycology. The Mycology program was organized into plenary, symposium and poster sessions under the themes of Development, Evolution, Ecology, Medical Mycology and Industrial Mycology. Contributions on yeasts were represented throughout these themes. The application of genomics was prominent in most presentations and has emerged as a fundamental tool to study and understand yeast evolution, phylogeny, ecological adaptation, physiology, structural development, mechanisms of pathogenesis and epidemiology. Under the impact of genomic analyses, the traditional research boundaries between yeasts and filamentous fungi are beginning to blur, and an increasing number of fungal biologists are now working in …