Research Interests

Our laboratory works on several aspects of microbial physiology and
microbial biochemistry using both bacterial and fungal systems. Ongoing
projects concern: a) yeast-mycelial dimorphism in Candida albicans,
Ceratocystis ulmi, and other dimorphic fungi; b) the role of farnesol in
quorum sensing in fungi; c) biofilms of Candida albicans; d) chlamydospore formation in Candida albicans; and e) microbiology of alkaline lakes. Past and possible projects concern: f) microbial insecticides, especially Bacillus thuringiensis; g) the microbiology of oil fly larvae; h) mechanisms of bacterial detergent resistance; i) a fluorescent modified base in bacteriophage SN-1 from Spaerotilus natans; and j) physiological functions of volatile metabolites in fungi.

Recent Publications

• Semighini, C.P., J.M. Hornby, R. Dumitru, K.W. Nickerson, and S.D. Harris. 2006. Farnesol induced apoptosis in Aspergillus nidulans reveals a possible mechanism for antagonistic interactions between
  fungi. Mol. Microbiol. 59: 753-764.
• 112. Jensen, E.C., J.M. Hornby, K.W. Nickerson, and A.L. Atkin. 2006. Farnesol restores wild-type colony morphology to 96% of Candida albicans colony morphology variants recovered following treatment with mutagens. Genome 49: 346-353.
• 113. Plantz, B.A., J. Sinha, W. Zhang, L. Villarete, K.W. Nickerson, and V.L. Schlegl. 2006. Pichia pastoris fermentation: optimization of energy state and testing a growth associated model. Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 72: 297-305.
• 114. Nickerson, K.W., A.L. Atkin, and J.M. Hornby. 2006. Quorum sensing in dimorphic fungi: farnesol and beyond. (an invited review) Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72: 3805-3813.
• 115. Kebaara, B.W., L.E. Nielsen, K.W. Nickerson, and A.L. Atkin.2006. Determination of mRNA half-lives in Candida albicans using thiolutin as a transcription inhibitor. Genome 49(8): 894-899.
• 116. Navarathna, D.H.M.L.P., J.M. Hornby, N. Krishnan, A. Parkhurst, G.E. Duhamel, and K.W. Nickerson. 2007. Effect of farnesol on a mouse model of systemic candidiasis, determined by use of a DPP3 knockout mutant of Candida albicans. Infection & Immunity, in press.
• 117. Dumitru, R., D.H.M.L.P. Navarathna, C.P. Semighini, C.G. Elowsky, R.V. Dumitru, D. Dignard, M. Whiteway, A.L. Atkin, and K.W. Nickerson. 2007. In vivo and in vitro anaerobic mating in Candida albicans. Eukaryotic Cell 6: 465-472. This paper was selected by the Faculty of 1000, with a rating of 9 as an exceptional, landmark publication.
• 118. Plantz, B.A., K.W. Nickerson, S. Ketchum, and V. L. Schlegel. 2007. Evaluation of metals in a defined medium for Pichia pastoris expressing recombinant beta-galactosidase. Biotechnol. Progress, in press.
• 119. Navarathna, D.H.M.L.P., B. Kebaara, G. Duhamel, and K.W. Nickerson. Urea induction of chlamydospores in Candida albicans explains their kidney localization in a mouse model of candidiasis. Microbiology, submitted.