REACHING NEW HEIGHTS IN UTAH
SIGHT AND L IFE | VOL. 28 (2) | 2014
Reaching New
Heights in Utah
17th International Symposium on Carotenoids,
29 June–4 July 2014
George Britton
The University of Liverpool (retired), Liverpool, UK
The International Symposium
on Carotenoids reached new
heights (some 7,000 ft., or
2,000 m) when the 2014 meeting was held in the Utah mountains. This was the seventeenth in
a series of meetings held every three years since 1966, and the
fifth time that the Symposium has been held in the USA. The conference venue was the Grand Summit Hotel at Canyons Resort,
Park City. All participants stayed in the Resort; having everyone
together was a great catalyst for interactions.
The main business of the Symposium opened on Monday
morning with an official welcome by the President of The International Carotenoid Society, Hideki Hashimoto, and the Conference
Organizer, Paul Bernstein, followed by plenary lectures by Richard Cogdell (UK) (“Excited times” with carotenoids) and XiangDong Wang (USA) (Carotenoids and chronic disease prevention
via the interaction with SIRT1). Tuesday to Thursday also each
began with two plenary lectures, presented respectively by Emily
Chew (Lutein and zeaxanthin supplementation and cognitive
function testing in the age-related eye disease study 2 [AREDS2]);
Earl Harrison (Carotenoid metabolism in animals including humans: formation, occurrence and function of apocarotenoids);
Loredana Quadro (The role of β-carotene and its asymmetric
cleavage enzyme during mammalian embryogenesis); Jozsef Deli
Delegates outside the conference venue in the spectacular Utah mountains.
85
86
REACHING NEW HEIGHTS IN UTAH
Conference organisers Paul and Ann Bernstein,
who staged a hugely successful event.
(Isolation and analysis of carotenoids from Zechmeister till today); Eleanore Wurtzel (Engineering carotenoids: a multi-dimensional puzzle yet to be solved); and Antonio Melendez Martinez
(The “invisible carotenoids” phytoene and phytofluene).
The Scientific Sessions covered a broad range of topics
including ‘Photochemistry, Photophysics and Photosynthesis’,
‘Carotenoids in the Eye’, ‘Carotenoid Metabolism and Function’,
‘Epidemiology, Genetics and Nutrition’, and ‘Food and Biotechnology’. There were 70 oral presentations, along with 87 poster
presentations that were displayed for the full week.
to study carotenoid absorption and uptake were described. Because it is better absorbed than β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin
can provide substantial amounts of vitamin A, and some β-,
κ-carotenoids found in certain tropical fruits were shown to be
cleaved efficiently by the BCO1 enzyme, and hence to have provitamin A value. Attention is being directed to the roles of BCO1
and BCO2 in relation to development and metabolic control,
quite distinct from their importance in cleaving β-carotene into
vitamin A. This work was highlighted in talks by Johannes von
Lintig, Bill Blaner, Loredana Quadro and others.
Delia Rodriguez Amaya presented an evaluation of food
composition tables and the analytical methods used to produce
them, and highlighted the effects of cooking and processing.
Other presentations described the search for new carotenoid
sources, analytical methods for evaluating the bioconversion
of β-carotene, and the use of GM and traditional improvement
methods to increase or modify the carotenoid content and composition of crop plants – for example, to increase the provitamin A content of certain important foods.
“Molecular genetics studies
are revealing details of
the biosynthesis of carotenoids”
Increasingly powerful molecular genetics studies are leading to the elucidation of intricate details of the biosynthesis of
carotenoids and their metabolites that are functionally active
as regulatory substances in plants. This work was headlined by
“The scientific program
highlighted exciting developments”
The scientific program highlighted exciting developments.
For example, the xanthophylls in the human macula – lutein and
zeaxanthin – also play an important role in the development of
the infant brain and in the maintenance of cognitive function in
the elderly. This topic was explored in talks by leading researchers Elizabeth Johnson, Martha Neuringer, John Erdman and Billy
(Randy) Hammond. Several scientists presented on the health
benefits of carotenoids and the prevention/alleviation of cancer
and other chronic diseases.
There was not so much traditional chemistry as in previous
meetings, but many presentations described interdisciplinary
studies that emphasized the importance of chemistry in studies
of biological systems and phenomena.
In studies of bioavailability, refinements of model systems
No fewer than 87 poster presentations were on view at
the 17th International Symposium on Carotenoids.
SIGHT AND L IFE | VOL. 28 (2) | 2014
Antonio Melendez (left) and George Britton share a joke
after receiving their ICS Awards.
the plenary lecture of Elli Wurtzel, with important contributions
from other leading researchers.
Several awards were given at the meeting. Awards for distinguished research and a lifetime of dedicated service to the
carotenoid field went to Harry Frank of the University of Connecticut, USA (Otto Isler Award for Chemistry), George Britton
of the University of Liverpool, UK (Trevor Goodwin Award for
Biochemistry), and Xiang-Dong Wang of Tufts University Medical
School, USA (Norman Krinsky Award for Nutrition and Disease
Prevention). A new award, the George Britton Award for Young
Investigator, was presented to Antonio J Melendez Martinez
(University of Sevilla, Spain) ‘For exceptional contributions to
the principles and advancement of the carotenoid field through
research and international networking.’ President’s Awards for a
lifetime of special service to the carotenoid field were given to
Kurt Bernhard (Switzerland), Richard Bone (USA), Harold Furr
(USA) and Wolfgang Schalch (Switzerland). The prize for best
poster presentation was awarded to Bruna Paola M Rafacho.
REACHING NEW HEIGHTS IN UTAH
Other prizes/commendations went to Vanesa Mendez, YounKyung Kim, Rachel Kopec and Darwin Ortiz. For the first time,
there were also prizes for young speakers. The prize for best
Young Speaker was won by Blanche Ip, and other prizes were
given to Joana Corte-Real, Joshua Smith and Rachel Moran.
The abstracts of all presentations are published in an edition
of Carotenoid Science, thanks to the Japanese Society for Carotenoid Research, and all speakers have been invited to submit
manuscripts for publication in a special edition of Archives of
Biochemistry and Biophysics, edited by Paul Bernstein, Harry
Frank and Fred Khachik.
The International Carotenoid Society accepted a proposal by
Manfred Eggersdorfer on behalf of a group of Swiss carotenoid
scientists to host the eighteenth International Symposium on
Carotenoids in Lucerne, Switzerland in July 2017. A cordial invitation is extended to anyone with an interest in carotenoids to
attend this major event; regular attendees are already looking
forward to it. The ICS web site (www.carotenoidsociety.org) will
provide further information as this becomes available. The Symposium flag was handed by Paul Bernstein to Hideki Hashimoto,
who then passed it on to Manfred Eggersdorfer.
The Utah meeting attracted 217 participants from 33 countries. Their dedication, enthusiasm and ingenuity ensured that
the highest scientific standards were maintained. Incoming ICS
President John Landrum presented gifts of appreciation to the
retiring President, Hideki Hashimoto, and to the organizers, Paul
and Ann Bernstein, for their tireless work to make the seventeenth conference such a success.
Farewell to the mountains of Utah, and on to Lucerne!
Correspondence:
Professor George Britton,
53 Forest Road, Meols, Wirral, Merseyside CH47 6AT, UK.
E-mail: [email protected]
87