Department of Microbiology

About the Department

The Department of Microbiology in the College of Biological Sciences at UC Davis has a long and distinguished history, which began in 1952 when the Department of Bacteriology was formed. The Department is home to a diverse faculty whose research reflects the interdisciplinary nature of microbiology. Current faculty members utilize molecular genetics to study the biology of individual microbes and also use microbial and non-microbial models for the study of specific cellular processes, including recombination, stress responses, aging, cancer, DNA repair, and adaptive mutation. Research on various aspects of microbial development, host-microbe interactions, microbial metabolism, gene regulation and genomics are ongoing in a diverse range of bacteria and eukaryotic microbes.

Contact Information

Department of Microbiology
University of California
One Shields Ave
Davis, CA 95616
Phone - (530) 752-2626
Fax - (530) 752-9014

Doug Nelson (Chair)
266 Briggs Hall
dcnelson@ucdavis.edu
(530) 752-6183

Marina Rumiansev (MSO)
354 Briggs Hall
mkrumiansev@ucdavis.edu
(530) 752-7467

Departmental News

The Department of Microbiology welcomes two new Assistant Professors this Fall!

Dr. Lorena Navarro will arrive from the UC San Diego in September.
Dr. Lifeng Xu, from the UC San Francisco, will join the department in November.

In addition, Dr. Chet Price has joined the department as Professor Emeritus following his retirement from the Department of Food Science and Technology.

Recent Publications

Jewell, T., Huston, S.L., Nelson, D.C. (2008). Methylotrophy in freshwater Beggiatoa alba strains. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74: 5575-5578.
Oh, S.D., Lao, J.P., Taylor, A.F., Smith, G.R. and Hunter, N. (2008). RecQ helicase, Sgs1, and XPF-family endonuclease, Mus81-Mms4, resolve aberrant joint molecules during meiotic recombination. Molecular Cell. (in press).
Li, X. and Heyer, W.-D. (2008). Homologous recombination in DNA repair and DNA damage tolerance. Cell Res. 18, 99-113.
Ehmsen, K.T. and Heyer, W.-D. (2008). Mus81-Mms4 is a catalytic, structure-selective DNA endonuclease. Nucleic Acids Res. 36, 2182-2195.
Anderson, P. J., Lango, J., Carkeet, C., Britten, A., Kräutler, B., Hammock, B.D., Roth, J.R. (2008). One pathway can incorporate either adenine or dimethylbenzimidazole as a-axial ligand of B12 cofactors in Salmonella enterica J. Bacteriol. 190:1160-1171
Wrande M., Roth J.R., Hughes D. (2008). Accumulation of mutants in "aging" bacterial colonies is due to growth under selection, not stress-induced mutagenesis. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 105:11863–11868
Wu, Y., Kantake, N., Sugiyama, T., and Kowalczykowski, S.C. (2008). Rad51 protein controls Rad52-mediated DNA annealing. J. Biol. Chem., 283, 14883-92.
Kowalczykowski, S.C. (2008). Structural biology: Snapshots of DNA repair. Nature, 453, 463-466.
Dillingham, M.S., Tibbles, K.L., Hunter, J.L., Bell, J.C., Kowalczykowski, S.C., and Webb, M.R. (2008). A fluorescent single-stranded DNA binding protein as a probe for sensitive, real time assays of helicase activity. Biophys. J. (in press).
Nozawa-Inoue, M., M. Jien, N. S. Hamilton, V. Stewart, K. M. Scow, and K. R. Hristova. (2008). Quantitative detection of perchlorate-reducing bacteria by real-time PCR targeting the perchlorate reductase gene. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74:1941-1944.
Noriega, C. E., R. Schmidt. M. J. Gray. L.-L. Chen, and V. Stewart. (2008). Autophosphorylation and dephosphorylation by solube forms of nitrate-responsive sensors NarX and NarQ from Escherichia coli K-12. J. Bacteriol. 190:3869-3876.
Stewart, V. (2008). The ribosome: a metabolite-responsive transription regulator. J. Bacteriol. 190:4787-4791.

Recent Awards/Fellowships

Kaz Shiozaki named 2008 National Academies Education Fellow in the Life Sciences

Lab Petitions

MIC-102L: MIC-101 or MIC-102L (Fall 2008 Late Petition)


About the Department The Department of Microbiology in the College of Biological Sciences at UC Davis has a long and distinguished history, which began in 1952 when the Department of Bacteriology was formed. The Department is home to a diverse faculty whose research reflects the interdisciplinary nature of microbiology. Current faculty members utilize molecular genetics to study the biology of individual microbes and also use microbial and non-microbial models for the study of specific cellular processes, including recombination, stress responses, aging, cancer, DNA repair, and adaptive mutation. Research on various aspects of microbial development, host-microbe interactions, microbial metabolism, gene regulation and genomics are ongoing in a diverse range of bacteria and eukaryotic microbes.	Contact Information Department of Microbiology University of California One Shields Ave Davis, CA 95616 Phone - (530) 752-2626 Fax - (530) 752-9014 Doug Nelson (Chair) 266 Briggs Hall dcnelson@ucdavis.edu (530) 752-6183 Marina Rumiansev (MSO) 354 Briggs Hall mkrumiansev@ucdavis.edu (530) 752-7467

Departmental News The Department of Microbiology welcomes two new Assistant Professors this Fall! Dr. Lorena Navarro will arrive from the UC San Diego in September. Dr. Lifeng Xu, from the UC San Francisco, will join the department in November. In addition, Dr. Chet Price has joined the department as Professor Emeritus following his retirement from the Department of Food Science and Technology. Recent Publications Jewell, T., Huston, S.L., Nelson, D.C. (2008). Methylotrophy in freshwater Beggiatoa alba strains. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74: 5575-5578. Oh, S.D., Lao, J.P., Taylor, A.F., Smith, G.R. and Hunter, N. (2008). RecQ helicase, Sgs1, and XPF-family endonuclease, Mus81-Mms4, resolve aberrant joint molecules during meiotic recombination. Molecular Cell. (in press). Li, X. and Heyer, W.-D. (2008). Homologous recombination in DNA repair and DNA damage tolerance. Cell Res. 18, 99-113. Ehmsen, K.T. and Heyer, W.-D. (2008). Mus81-Mms4 is a catalytic, structure-selective DNA endonuclease. Nucleic Acids Res. 36, 2182-2195. Anderson, P. J., Lango, J., Carkeet, C., Britten, A., Kräutler, B., Hammock, B.D., Roth, J.R. (2008). One pathway can incorporate either adenine or dimethylbenzimidazole as a-axial ligand of B12 cofactors in Salmonella enterica J. Bacteriol. 190:1160-1171 Wrande M., Roth J.R., Hughes D. (2008). Accumulation of mutants in "aging" bacterial colonies is due to growth under selection, not stress-induced mutagenesis. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 105:11863–11868 Wu, Y., Kantake, N., Sugiyama, T., and Kowalczykowski, S.C. (2008). Rad51 protein controls Rad52-mediated DNA annealing. J. Biol. Chem., 283, 14883-92. Kowalczykowski, S.C. (2008). Structural biology: Snapshots of DNA repair. Nature, 453, 463-466. Dillingham, M.S., Tibbles, K.L., Hunter, J.L., Bell, J.C., Kowalczykowski, S.C., and Webb, M.R. (2008). A fluorescent single-stranded DNA binding protein as a probe for sensitive, real time assays of helicase activity. Biophys. J. (in press). Nozawa-Inoue, M., M. Jien, N. S. Hamilton, V. Stewart, K. M. Scow, and K. R. Hristova. (2008). Quantitative detection of perchlorate-reducing bacteria by real-time PCR targeting the perchlorate reductase gene. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74:1941-1944. Noriega, C. E., R. Schmidt. M. J. Gray. L.-L. Chen, and V. Stewart. (2008). Autophosphorylation and dephosphorylation by solube forms of nitrate-responsive sensors NarX and NarQ from Escherichia coli K-12. J. Bacteriol. 190:3869-3876. Stewart, V. (2008). The ribosome: a metabolite-responsive transription regulator. J. Bacteriol. 190:4787-4791. Recent Awards/Fellowships Kaz Shiozaki named 2008 National Academies Education Fellow in the Life Sciences Lab Petitions MIC-102L: MIC-101 or MIC-102L (Fall 2008 Late Petition)