Nematode-bacterium symbioses: Crossing kingdom and disciplinary boundaries

One of the most common eukaryote-prokaryote interactions is that between nematodes and bacteria. The range of associations between nematodes and bacteria is incredibly broad, ranging from fortuitous to obligate and from beneficial to pathogenic and occurring in all possible habitats. Numerous researchers worldwide are studying associations between these two groups of organisms, but these scientists occupy many different disciplines, and often do not interact. Not surprisingly these researchers come from diverse backgrounds in medicine and veterinary science, entomology, plant biology, genetics etc., yet to date no common coherent ground exists connecting the science being done in nematode-bacterial interactions despite the fact that advances in each will undoubtedly inform the others. Furthermore, a comparative approach between species pairs, or between different research angles has the power to reveal common underlying themes of nematode-bacterium associations as well as fundamental questions or research topics of symbiosis. For the first time, researchers working on different nematode-bacterium systems were gathered under a unifying theme, a workshop on 'Nematode-Bacterium Symbioses' that was held at the University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona from April 21 to 23, 2007. The goals of this workshop were threefold: 1) Foster interdisciplinary collaborations among scientists; 2) Break down barriers among researchers studying different taxonomic groups of nematode-microbe associations; and 3) Encourage scientists engaged in basic and applied research to explore how cross-talk and networking can enhance and advance science in this field. Keynote speakers presented on a broad range of taxa and topics pertaining to microbe-nematode interactions, including ecto- and endosymbiosis, beneficial symbioses, multitrophic interactions, pathogenesis, host recognition, colonization processes, genetics and genomics.