Biomedical Sciences Department
Director of Biomedical Science Department
Professor
Biomedical Science Department
315 Padnos Hall
Allendale, Michigan 49401
Phone: 616-331-2393
Fax: 616-331-2090
email: nieuwkot@gvsu.edu
BMS 212 - Introductory Microbiology
BMS 213 - Lab in Microbiology
BMS 312 - Bacterial Genetics
BMS 313 - Bacterial Genetics Laboratory
A.B. - Biology - 1978 - Hope College
Ph.D. - Cellular & Molecular Bio. - 1985 - The University of Michigan
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Nieuwkoop Lab Research
My Lab has been studying for a number of years the bacterium Rhizobium
fredii, which is a soil microbe that is capable of ‘fixing’
atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia. This group of bacteria is very
important for life on earth, in that while dinitrogen composes about 80%
of our atmosphere, most living organism need their nitrogen in a more
usable form, ie ammonia, amino acids etc.
Specifically in the lab, we have been investigating how this group of microbes utilizes amino acids as food sources. This work has led to us cloning a portion of the Rhizobium’s genome and constructing recombinant clones in order analyze this DNA. We have just completed the DNA sequence of this region and have identified a region that contains a drug resistance gene against the antibiotic Kanamycin. We didn’t know that gene was there!
Current work in my lab involves characterizing this resistant gene. This includes doing Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion studies to determine the degree of resistance this gene confers, as well as further subcloning and genetic manipulations to confirm and expand the ‘paper chemistry’ that we’ve identified with our DNA analysis.
I’m always willing to chat about this current project or maybe some other Microbiology/Molecular biology/Microbial genetics projects going on in my lab. Come by during office hours, or make an appointment to come see me.
PUBLICATIONS
Nieuwkoop, A.J., 1985. Regulation of the hutUH Operon of Klebsiella aerogenes by the Catabolite Activator Protein and Cyclic AMP. Diss. The University of Michigan. Ann Arbor: UMI, 1985
Nieuwkoop, A.J., S.A. Boylan, and R.A. Bender. 1984. Regulation of hutUH Operon Expression by the CAP-cAMP Complex in Klebsiella aerogenes. J. Bacteriol. 159:934-939.
Deshmane, N., R. Haugland, A. Hodgson, M. Leavitt, A.J. Nieuwkoop, R. Pastian, P. Russell, M. Schell, K. Sirotkin, J.-S. So, and G. Stacey. 1985. Molecular characterization of the nodulation region from Bradyrhizobium japonicum, p. 128. In (H.J. Evans, P.J. Bottomley, and W.E. Newton ed.) Nitrogen fixation research progress. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.
Stacey, G., L.J. Halverson, A.J. Nieuwkoop, Z. Banfalvi, M.G. Schell, D. Gerhold, N. Deshmane, J.-S. So, and K.M. Sirotkin. 1986. Nodulation of soybean: Bradyrhizobium japonicum physiology land genetics, p. 87-99. In (Ben Lugtenberg ed.) Recognition in microbe-plant symbiotic and pathogenic interactions. Springer-Verlag.
Nieuwkoop, A.J., S. Banfalvi, N. Deshmane, D. Gerhold, M.G. Schell, K.M. Sirotkin, and G. Stacey. 1987. A locus encoding host range is linked to the common nodulation genes of Bradyrhizobium japonicum. J. Bacteriol. 169:2631-2638.
So, J.-S., A.L.M. Hodgson, R. Haugland, M. Leavitt, Z. Banfalvi, A.J. Nieuwkoop, and G. Stacey. 1987. Transposon-induced symbiotic mutants of Bradyrhizobium japonicum, isolation of two gene regions essential for nodulation. Mol. Gen. Genet. 207:15-23.
Stacey, G., A.J. Nieuwkoop, Z. Banfalvi, J.-S. So, N. Deshmane, M.G. Schell, and D. Gerhold. 1987. Molecular genetics of nodulation of soybean by Bradyrhizobium japonicum, p. 197-201. In (D. P. S. Verma and N. Brisson ed.) Molecular genetics of plant-microbe interactions. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.
Banfalvi, Z., A.J. Nieuwkoop, M. Schell, L. Besl, and G. Stacey. 1988. Regulation of Nod Gene Expression in Bradyrhizobium japonicum. Mol. Gen. Genet. 214:420-424.
Nieuwkoop, A.J., S.A. Baldauf, M.E.S. Hudspeth, and R.A. Bender. 1988. Bidirectional promoter in the hut(P) region of the histidine-utilization ( hut ) operons from Klebsiella aerogenes. J. Bacteriol. 170:2240-2246.
Nieuwkoop, A.J. and R.A. Bender. 1988. RNA Polymerase as a Repressor of Transcription in the hut(P) Region of the Klebsiella aerogenes Histidine Utilization Operon. J. Bacteriol. 170:4986- 4990.
Stacey, G., S. Luka, J. Sanjuan, R. Carlson, Z. Banfalvi, A.J. Nieuwkoop,. 1994. NodZ, a unique host-specific nodulation gene, is involved in the fucosylation of the lipo-oligosaccharide nodulation signal of Bradyrhizobium japonicum. J. Bacteriol. 176:620-633.
Burke, R.R., D.D. Heard, and A.J.Nieuwkoop. 1997. Cloning and Expression in Pseudomonas putida of two of the Histidine Utilization Genes from Rhizobium fredii. Current Microbiology 34: 55-60.
