The event in brief

The IUBMB Focused Meeting / FEBS Workshop “Crosstalk between Nucleus and Mitochondria in Human Disease”(CrossMitoNus) focuses on the communication that exists between mitochondria and the cell nucleus, first described as retrograde signaling between mitochondrial and nuclear genomes. Recently, mitochondrial factors have emerged as response elements that are influencing nuclear performance. Thus, unraveling the whole connectivity between the biomolecules involved in this regulatory mitochondria–nucleus crosstalk and its relation to cell fate and physiological state is nowadays a major challenge. Indeed, as a supra-disciplinary field, it demands collaborative efforts involving Cell Biology, Biochemistry, Biophysics, Structural Biology and Cancer Biology, and new approaches using experimental and computational methods.

The Scientific Program of the event is organized as Plenary Lectures, together with sessions containing Oral Short Communications selected from the submitted abstracts. In this regard, an effort to give preference to young researchers will be made. The program leaves enough time for fruitful and lively discussions, especially during the 1-min Flash Presentations, Poster Party Sessions and Round Table. In addition, special features of CrossMitoNus will be a Guided Poster Tour and Speakers' Corner, which will be held during poster sessions and breaks.

Introducing the Organizers 

Irene Díaz-Moreno (Meeting Chair) is Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (University of Seville) at the Scientific Research Centre “Isla de la Cartuja” (Institute for Chemical Research, cicCartuja, US–CSIC). She currently co-leads, with Prof. De la Rosa, a multidisciplinary team with several lines of research that focus on the analysis of protein–protein and protein–nucleic-acid interactions in different cell contexts. She has published two books and ca. 60 peer-reviewed articles in high-quality journals including PNAS, Mol Cell Proteomics, NAR, Nat Struct MolBiol, Structure, JBC and FEBS Lett. Prof. Díaz-Moreno has lectured in numerous international congresses and scientific meetings, and she has been awarded several prizes. These include the Enrique Pérez-Payá Young Scientist Prize of the Spanish Biophysical Society, Bruker-Spain NMR Prize, Manuel Losada Young Investigator Prize of the Spanish Cajasol Foundation and Young Investigator Award by the Royal Academy of Sciences of Seville.

Miguel A. De la Rosa Acosta (Meeting Co-Chair) is Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Seville. He develops his research at the Institute of Chemical Research, cicCartuja (Seville), in the field of structural biology and biointeractomics. He is author or co-author of four books, two patents, more than 160 articles in high-quality scientific journals (Nature, Acc Chem Res, PNAS, NAR, Trends Biotech, Structure, Mol Cell Proteomics, JBC, etc.) and numerous contributions for dissemination and opinion of hot topics in science. He has given around 150 conference talks in countries in Europe, America, Asia and Africa. He is an Academic of Number and Vice President of the Royal Seville Academy of Sciences, Academic of the Academy of Sciences of the Region of Murcia, Member of the European Academy, SEBBM Honorary Member and, from 1 January 2020, Editor-in-Chief of FEBS Open Bio journal .

Alejandra Guerra-Castellano (Meeting Scientific Secretary) is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Biointeractomics Unit in the Institute for Chemical Research, cicCartuja (Sevilla). Her research focuses on how post-translational modifications modulate the functionality of the mitochondrial cytochrome c and the assembly of the respiratory supercomplexes. Dr Guerra-Castellano is author and co-author of one book and eight scientific articles in high-impact factor journals such as PNAS, Nature Commun, FEBS Lett and Chem Eur J. She has presented her work in more than 40 national and international conferences, receiving the “Best Oral Communication” award at the XIII Symposium of Young Researchers of the Spanish Royal Society of Chemistry. She has received several awards, including the PhD Special Distinction Award of the University of Seville, Thesis Award of Spanish Royal Society of Chemistry, “Cabildo de Pedro I” Award and “cicCartuja Ebro Foods” Awards. In addition, she leads an outreach project that combines cooking and science, named ‘Molecular Gastronomy’, to bring Biophysics close to the general public.

For more information about the organizers, see https://www.iiq.us-csic.es/en/...

What will be the hot topics at CrossMitoNus?

Mitochondria are key organelles acting as a hub for vital metabolic and signaling processes, including energy transduction and programmed cell death. Indeed, communication between mitochondria and nucleus exists, first described as retrograde signaling between mitochondrial and nuclear genomes. Conversely, mitochondrial factors are now emerging as response elements to cell nucleus performance. Therefore, unravelling the connectivity between biomolecules involved in all this regulatory mitochondria–nucleus crosstalk and its relation to cell fate is nowadays a major challenge. 

A total of 15 lectures, including the opening and closing lectures, will focus on the following topics: Mitochondrial Metabolism, Cell Death Signaling, Networks in Cells and Cancer Biology. To address these hot topics, CrossMitoNus brings together international experts in the field of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Molecular Medicine who will provide a comprehensive and critical view. Find the speaker line-up here: https://crossmitonus2022.iubmb-febs.org/speakers

Moreover, a Round Table is planned to discuss possibilities to organize multilateral collaborations, joint projects, and programs, e.g. using the current EU Framework Programme. The Discussion Session of Concluding Remarks will serve to inform students and discuss with them about the European grants at hand and novel opportunities to apply for them. 

How will you be encouraging interaction between early-career scientists and the experts? 

CrossMitoNus will bring together about 100 PhD students and young postdocs. Several scientific societies, such as IUBMB, FEBS and Spanish National Societies (SBE, GERMN and GEQB), are offering grants to facilitate the participation of these young researchers in the event.

To enhance networking between early-career scientists and the experts, several activities are scheduled in a relaxed atmosphere. Speakers' Corner is one of them, where Invited Speakers will be available for informal discussions and debate at a predefined meeting room at the cicCartuja venue. The Speakers will rotate according to the list of lecturers of the day.

In addition, the Poster Party Sessions aim at promoting exchange of scientific knowledge and ideas by allowing young scientists and students to present their work to a wide audience. Drinks and snacks will be offered during the two poster sessions to facilitate discussions. To encourage young participants to do their best in the presentation of their own research work, one Poster Prize will be awarded. 

What about the social program of CrossMitoNus?

During the meeting, several Social Events will be organized, such as a Get-together Party and a Closing Dinner. The webpage will include links to Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter to help bring our event alive before and during the meeting. 

Event details:

Crosstalk between Nucleus and Mitochondria in Human Disease
22–25 March 2022 │ Seville, Spain
https://crossmitonus2022.iubmb-febs.org/
Abstract Submission Closing: 30 September 2021

This post is an update of an introduction to the event first presented on the FEBS Network in December 2019; due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the event has been postponed.

Top image of post: Journey of cytochrome c to the nucleus. Image created by Antonio Díaz-Quintana.