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We are in the third edition of the Planctomycetes-Verrucomicrobia-Chlamydiae (PVC) bacteria Conference. The two previous ones were held in Heidelberg, Germany in March 2013 and in Carmona, Spain in June 2015. This is the forum for experts dealing with these three phyla of organisms. The PVC and related phyla have recently emerged as fascinating subjects for research in evolutionary cell biology, ecology, biotechnology, evolution and human health. This interest is prompted by particular characteristics observed in the PVC superphylum that are otherwise rarely observed in bacteria but are however still poorly described or understood, such as the presence of a complex endomembrane system, or compacted DNA throughout most of the cell cycle. Therefore, the members of the PVC superphylum represent an excellent example of the value of studying bacteria other than 'classical' models. Many features of PVC bacteria are still poorly characterized, including cell biology, molecular mechanisms, membrane organization, phylogeny, diversity, and evolution. With roughly 50% of their proteomes functionally annotated, a fundamental understanding of PVC molecular biology is still far from being achieved. Similarly, the cell biology, membrane organization, compartmentalization, microcompartments, division mode, etc. of these bacteria is still obscure. PVC bacteria also appear to be of special interest for biotechnology, being potential producers of bioactive compounds, or being major actors in the carbon and nitrogen cycles of our earth.
In the last years, more and more data is being gathered on Planctomycetes-Verrucomicrobia-Chlamydiae (PVC) superphylum organisms, which stimulates our curiosity on these incredible bacteria. New organisms have been discovered, genomes disclosed and physiology, ecology and evolution unveiled. What did we learn? What is new? Where and how deep will we go to fully understand these model organisms in the omics era? The scope of the symposium is to facilitate discussion among researchers who recently advanced the field by investigating particular features in PVC-bacteria. The third edition of the PVC bacteria entitled “New model organisms in the omics era” will foster and unify PVC community.
These organisms are already being studied by more than one scientific group in Portugal and we aim to increase the participation of the national scientific community in the study of these exciting microorganisms. A special effort will be done to enroll and attract to the meeting young post graduate students that will be the future forefront in PVC research.