The Eighth International Conference on Methods in Protein Sequence Analysis on July 1 - 6, 1990 was attended by nearly 400 protein chemists. Illumination of recent advances in methodology was facilitated by 24 hours per day of daylight, although the midnight sun persistently hid behind rain clouds. The unique location did not distract from intensive scientific sessions, and the format of the meeting facilitated informal interactions.
The varied topics of the meeting included: assignment of disulfide bonds, determination of posttranslational modifications, removal of blocked amino-termini, carboxyl-terminal sequencing, solid phase sequencing, comparisons of various electroblotting substrates and use of sequence databases. Workshops and exhibits also introduced current instrumentation. One highlight of the meeting was an MS session which documented the recent dramatic advances in the field. This session led many to ponder when that expensive HPLC diode array detector should be replaced with a far more expensive mass spectrometer.
The Thursday evening ABRF session was well attended and productive. Audree Fowler summarized the organization and purpose of ABRF Ronald Niece presented results from past surveys which defined the capacities and types of analyses performed by core facilities. Lowell Ericsson described results from ABRF amino acid analysis samples over the past several years. David Speicher concluded the formal presentations by summarizing results from the Sequence Subcommittee.
Following the lectures, a panel discussion was moderated by Audree Fowler which addressed the question "Are core facilities unique to the U. S. and
Canada, and how can ABRF be useful to your facility". The international panel included: Diane Black, Strasbourg, France; Ake Engstrom, Uppsala, Sweden; Friedrich Lottspeich, Martinsried/ Munchen, FRG; Richard Simpson, Melbourne, Australia; Nicholas Totty, London, U. K.; and JoeI Vandekerckhove, Gent, Belgium.
Most panelists and several members of the audience felt that the majority of protein chemistry laboratories in Europe are less service oriented than the average facility in the U.S. It is more common for analyses to be performed as a collaborative arrangement rather than as a paid service, although most panelists felt the situation in other countries is changing toward the perceived U S. arrangement. The sequence and amino acid analysis samples were perceived as especially valuable features of ABRF.
Questions and comments from the audience included a comment from Brigette Wittmann-Liebold regarding the possibility that maybe it would be advantageous to charge for services rather than undertaking them as strict collaborations since the additional income could be used for better reagents and related expenses which would lead to better results. Other discussion emphasized the fact that facilities in the U.S. are quite heterogeneous and some facilities have largely collaborative orientations while others are largely or completely fee-for-service oriented.
Many protein chemists in attendence requested reprints of past ABRF studies and expressed interest in participating in future sequence and amino acid analysis studies. More than 70 scientists picked up copies of our first newsletter and about 40 requested membership information.
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Created: 10th August 1995
Last modified: 10th August 1995