The first US-Japan meeting on error-prone DNA synthesis, Maui, Hawaii, December 20-21, 2004

The first US-Japan meeting on “error-prone DNA synthesis” convened at the Maui Prince Hotel, from December 20 through December 21, 2004. In keeping with the traditions of US-Japan conferences, the meeting was small and intimate, and comprised of 22 participants: 11 from Japan, 10 from the United States, and one from Israel. The program featured platform presentations from each of the participants, with considerable time for discussion of topics related to each of the themes of the meeting. The following pages present an introduction to the unanswered questions on error-prone DNA synthesis. These questions were the dominant themes that permeated the extensive discussions. Edited abstracts of each of the presentations, organized into primary topic themes, are presented.