The First Workshop on the evolution and metabolism of Archaea was hosted by the Department of Ocean Science and Engineering of Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech). Scholars and experts came from research institutions and universities inculding University of Regensburg and Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf in Germany, Sun Yat-Sen University, Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tongji University, SUSTech, and the Institute of Geology of the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences. The meeting was chaired by Professor Zhang Chuanlun of the Department of Ocean Science and Engineering at SUSTech.

Meeting attendees discussed the enormous challenges associated with studying microbial evolution and changes in the Earth’s life system during deep changes between geological periods. Professor Karl O. Stetter from University of Regensburg gave a report on extreme thermophilic microorganisms. Professor Shi Suhua from the School of Life Sciences at Sun Yat-Sen University gave a report called “Convergent evolution among multiple mangrove taxa and their future vulnerability: a genomic perspective.” Professor William F. Martin from Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf talked about “Studying archaeal evolution by posing specific questions to all genes.”

Visiting scholars and SUSTech professors also gave presentations at the Symposium, along with research fellows from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Institute of Geology and the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences.

This conference was a follow up to a roundtable on the evolutionary path from archaea to eukaryotes at the International Conference on Microbial Ecology (ISME17) in Leipzig, Germany, which was organized and chaired by Professor Zhang Chuanlun, Visiting Professor Zhu Ruixin and Research Assistant Professor Fan Lu at SUSTech. Both events are to prepare for the first International Conference on the Geo-Omics of Archaea (ICGOA) to be held in Shenzhen in October 2019, which will be sponsored by SUSTech.