David Bird

Bio

David Bird was born in the “Riverland” wine-producing district of Australia in 1958. He attended the University of Adelaide, and in 1984 received a Ph.D. in Biochemistry. He then spent three years researching C. elegans developmental genetics with Don Riddle in Columbia, Missouri. Following that training, David joined the faculty of the University of California-Riverside, and in 1995 moved to NC State University to join the faculty in Plant Pathology. Dr. Bird sits on numerous university and professional panels and committees, including having served as Chair of the University Research Committee, as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Nematology, and as a member of the Science Advisory Board of Divergence Inc. He currently serves as Director of the NCSU Bioinformatics Research Center and as Director of the university’s Genomic Sciences Graduate Program. In 1996, Bird was named the Stoll-Stunkard Memorial Lecturer by the American Society of Parasitologists, and in 2012, Dr. Bird was named William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor.

Research:

Dr. Bird’s research interests include: nematode biology and development; genome organization and evolution; structure-function relationships; host-parasite interactions; evolution of parasitism; host responses and resistance/susceptibility to pathogens; plant development.

The primary focus of his research group is to understand the mechanisms underlying parasitic interactions between nematodes and plants. David was a pioneer in framing the key questions in the context of nematode and host development. Together with collaborators world-wide, his group has been instrumental in establishing the root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne hapla, as the preeminent genetic system to model less-tractable nematode-host interactions, and as a platform for comparative genomics (www.hapla.org). His current program also emphasizes vaccine development for malaria-like diseases of cats and dogs.

Teaching:

Dr Bird teaches in two classes: PP501, and PP610/810

PP 610/810-006/Special Topics:  1 credit

Five Highly-Cited Publications:

Lohar DP, Schaff JE, Laskey JG, Kieber, JJ, Bilyeu KD and DM Bird. 2004. Cytokinins play opposite roles in lateral root formation, and nematode and rhizobial symbioses. Plant J.,38: 203-214. IF: 6.95. Cited 147 times.

Contrary to what was known about function of the ubiquitous hormone cytokinin, I showed that down regulation of cellular cytokinin is required for lateral root initiation and subsequent cell division.

Opperman CH, Bird DM, Williamson VM. Rohksar DS, Burke M, Cohn J, Cromer J, Diener S, Gajan J, Graham S, Houfek TD, Q Li, Mitros T, Schaff JE, Schaffer R, Scholl E, Sosinski BR, Thomas VP and E Windham.2008. Sequence and genetic map of Meloidogyne hapla: A compact nematode genome for plant parasitism. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (USA), 105: 14802-14807. IF: 9.43 Cited 118 times.

Our complete genome sequence establishes this genetically-tractable parasitic nematode as the reference model to understand plant-parasitism. At 56Mb, this also is the most compact metazoan genome obtained to date.

McCarter JP, Mitreva MD, Martin J, Dante M, Wylie, T, Rao U, Pape D, Bowers Y, Theising B, Murphy C, Kloek AP, Chiapelli B, Clifton SW, Bird DM and R Waterston. 2003. Analysis and functional classification of transcripts from the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita. Genome Biol., 4: R26.1-R26.19. IF: 6.63. Cited 109 times.

The first report of genome-scale analysis of a plant-parasitic nematode. This project defined more than 35,000 distinct genes from 14 nematode species and underpinned obtaining the whole genome sequence.

Scholl EH, Thorne JL, McCarter JP and DM Bird. 2003. Horizontally transferred genes in plant-parasitic nematodes: A high-throughput genomic approach. Genome Biol., 4: R39.1-R39.12. I: 6.6.3. Cited 93 times.

Developed computational tools and confirmed the hypothesis that nematodes acquired genes from bacteria via horizontal gene transfer. This work remains the most definitive evidence for any bacteria-to-animal HGT.

Weerasinghe RR, Bird DM and NS Allen. 2005. Root-knot nematodes and bacterial Nod factors elicit common signal transduction events in Lotus japonicusroot hair cells. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (USA),102: 3147–3152.IF: 9.43. Cited 87 times.

Genetics and cell biology reveal Nem Factor as the first signaling molecule inferred for a plant-parasitic nematode and which defines the primary interaction between host and pathogen.

Area(s) of Expertise

Nematode biology and host-parasite interactions

Publications

• Toward genetic modification of plant-parasitic nematodes: delivery of macromolecules to adults and expression of exogenous mRNA in second stage juveniles , G3-GENES GENOMES GENETICS (2021)
• Bacterial Community Structure Dynamics in Meloidogyne incognita-Infected Roots and Its Role in Worm-Microbiome Interactions , MSPHERE (2020)
• Infection by cyst nematodes induces rapid remodelling of developing xylem vessels in wheat roots , SCIENTIFIC REPORTS (2020)
• A Single, Shared Triploidy in Three Species of Parasitic Nematodes , G3-GENES GENOMES GENETICS (2019)
• Identification of Cytauxzoon felis antigens via protein microarray and assessment of expression library immunization against cytauxzoonosis , CLINICAL PROTEOMICS (2018)
• Disparate gain and loss of parasitic abilities among nematode lineages , PLOS ONE (2017)
• Networks Underpinning Symbiosis Revealed Through Cross-Species eQTL Mapping , Genetics (2017)
• Genetic Drift, Not Life History or RNAi, Determine Long-Term Evolution of Transposable Elements , GENOME BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION (2016)
• Mitochondrial Genome Sequences and Structures Aid in the Resolution of Piroplasmida phylogeny , PLOS ONE (2016)
• PCR amplification of a multi-copy mitochondrial gene (cox3) improves detection of Cytauxzoon felis infection as compared to a ribosomal gene (18S) , VETERINARY PARASITOLOGY (2016)

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