Highlights from the Indo-US workshop “Cyanobacteria: molecular networks to biofuels” held at Lonavala, India during December 16–20, 2012

An Indo-US workshop on “Cyanobacteria: molecular networks to biofuels” was held December 16–20, 2012 at Lagoona Resort, Lonavala, India. The workshop was jointly organized by two of the authors, PPW, a chemical engineer and LAS, a biologist, thereby ensuring a broad and cross-disciplinary participation. The main objective of the workshop was to bring researchers from academia and industry of the two countries together with common interests in cyanobacteria or microalgae and derived biofuels. An exchange of ideas resulted from a series of oral and poster presentations and, importantly, through one-on-one discussions during tea breaks and meals. Another key objective was to introduce young researchers of India to the exciting field of cyanobacterial physiology, modeling, and biofuels. PhD students and early stage researchers were especially encouraged to participate and about half of the 75 participants belonged to this category. The rest were comprised of senior researchers, including 13–15 invited speakers from each country. Overall, twenty-four institutes from 12 states of India were represented. The deliberations, which are being compiled in the present special issue, revolved mainly around molecular aspects of cyanobacterial biofuels including metabolic engineering, networks, genetic regulation, circadian rhythms, and stress responses. Representatives of some key funding agencies and industry provided a perspective and opportunities in the field and for bilateral collaboration. This article summarizes deliberations that took place at the meeting and provides a bird’s eye view of the ongoing research in the field in the two countries.