Genomic tools are becoming essential in molecular and personalized medicine by virtue of their capacity to analyze diversity within the human genome. Whereas genomic variability at the sequence level is manifestly involved in health and diseases of organisms, little is known about the roles that such variability plays in the physical organization of genomes. The theme of this meeting is an exploration of the long-overdue application of biophysical methods in genomics, emphasizing structural and functional aspects of genome and transcriptome dynamics.
Proposed topic areas include extremophile genomes, highly compact genomes, extrachromosomal circular DNAs, circular and micro RNAs, DNA viruses and viroids, and other nucleic-acid and chromatin structures having potential roles in genome regulation.