First ever conference session on plant N-terminal protein modifications, SEB Prague July 2015

The "Linking N-terminal modifications to protein function in plants" session at this years SEB meeting in Prague was the perfect opportunity for researchers in this emerging field to get together for the first time. Highlights of the day-and-a-half session included an overview of the breadth of modifications that protein N-termini can undergo by Carmela Giglione, functions and structures for the N-end rule pathway of proteolysis during plant growth and stress responses from our group and from Andreas Bachmair, and new insights into the proteome-wide dynamics of N-terminal acetylation during drought from Markus Wirtz. We also heard about new proteomic and biochemical approaches for studying N-termini from Nico Dissmeyer and Freddie Theoudoulou, and the genetic and chemical basis of N-terminal cysteine oxidation from Francesco Licausi and Emily Flashman. Several students had the opportunity to present their findings, and it was great to see how many people are now focussing their attention on this area of protein biology.