Protisto-Biologists Flock to Seville for ECOP-ISOP Scientific Meeting

Joan Strassmann (left) and Avelina Espinosa (right) discussing kin-recognition in unicellular eukaryotes (protists) at a symposium organized for the purpose at the ECOP-ISOP 2015 conference in Seville, Spain.

SEVILLE, SPAIN (EvoLiteracy Sep. 9, 2015) — Organized by ECOP-ISOP, the protistologists’ meetings always surprise me, not only because I must pinch others to remind them that unicellular eukaryotes, or “protists,” are the stars of these annual conferences, but also because like no other scientific gathering, these events attract world specialists who share passion for organisms that look –and are– single celled. That’s it; all distantly –and some more closely– related groups of “unicell” creatures that populate the Earth, and in all environments. The evolutionary concestors of animals, plants and fungi.

I have attended these meetings during the past five years: Kent, UK 2010; Berlin, Germany 2011; Oslo, Norway 2012; and Banff, Canada 2014. I missed the 2013 reunion in Vancouver, Canada, which I had no alternative but to trade it for the World Evolution Summit in the Galapagos.

Plenary session on Cryptic Diversity in Organisms and Organelles, ECOP-ISOP 2015 meeting in Seville, Spain.

The ECOP-ISOP (European Congress of Protistology – International Society of Protistologists) meetings will run September 5-10, 2015, and the sessions will take place at the Reina Mercedes Scientific Campus of the University of Seville. The format will include plenary lectures, symposia, workshops, and posters (mostly by graduate students).

Protistologists are interested in multiple topics in which unicellular organisms (e.g. amoebas, paramecium, euglenas, or trichomonas) are central: ecology, evolution and applications of basic research to medicine, biotechnology and even industry. But the collective goal of these investigators is to understand the extraordinary diversity of these organisms, put it in a broad context and link it to the origin and evolution of multi cellular bionts, carriers of billions of cells, like sponges, bees, humans, elephants or whales. — Guillermo Paz-y-Miño-C for EvoLiteracy — © 2015

The Reina Mercedes Scientific Campus of the University of Seville where the ECOP-ISOP 2015 meeting will take place from September 5th to 10th.

Top: Phylogeny and Evolution presentations just ended, today, September 9th. Bottom: Poster session discussions, a friendly setting for one-on-one (or two) interactions.