Third International Conference 'the Molecular life of diatoms:Convergent approaches between biogeochemistry and genomics to better understand and model biogeochemical cycles'Internal

More than 180 scientists and students from an array of countries were hosted at the Molecular Life of Diatoms conference in Seattle, USA, including 57 participants from European institutions. International researchers discussed their findings and how to advance knowledge in the diatom biology field. The conference contributed to the establishment of new interdisciplinary links between ecology and genomics/metagenomics, and evolutionary and life history factors. Dynamic presentations, poster sessions and discussions took place to further the science and facilitate future collaborations in the diatom research community.

This provided a platform for molecular biologists to put their questions in an ecological context and for environmental scientists to become familiar with the flexible and highly diverse biological responses of diatoms and their underlying mechanisms and constraints. The format of the conference was designed to foster interactions and enhance collaborations between scientists and across national boundaries. The diatom molecular community is rapidly expanding.