VAN ALFEN, Neal K.

Professor of Plant Pathology
Dean, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences
Office Phone: 530-752-5501
FAX: 530-752-5674
E-Mail: nkvanalfen@ucdavis.edu

Biography

B.S. Brigham Young University 1968 Chemistry
M.S. Brigham Young University 1969 Botany
Ph.D. University of California, Davis 1972 Plant Pathology

Area of Specialization

Fungal Molecular Biology

Research

Molecular biology of virus-induced fungal hypovirulence, fungal development, biological role of fungal sex pheromones, biological control in low input systems using fungal viruses. also see http://caes.ucdavis.edu/ourcollege/dean-neal-van-alfen

Selected Publications:

Gobbi, E., G. Firrao, A. Carpanelli, R. Locci, and N. K. Van Alfen. 2003. Mapping and characterization of the polymorphism in mtDNA of C. parasitica: evidence of the presence of an optional intron. Fungal Genetics and Biology 40(3):215-224.

Turina, M., A. Prodi and N. K. Van Alfen. 2003. Role of the Mf1-1 pheromone precursor gene of the filamentous ascomycete Cryphonectria parastica. Fungal Genetics and Biology 40:242-251.

McCabe, P.M. and N. K. Van Alfen. 1999. Secretion of cryparin, a fungal hydrophobin. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 65(12):5431-5435.

McCabe, P.M., P. Pfieffer and N. K. Van Alfen. 1999. The influence of dsRNA viruses on the biology of plant pathogenic fungi. Trends in Micribiology. 7(9):377-381

Secretion of cryparin, a fungal hydrophobin. 1999. McCabe, P.N. and N.K. Van Alfen. Appl. Env. Micro. 65:5431-5433

Viral repression of fungal phereomone precursor gene expression. 1998. Zhang, L., R. Baasiri, and N.K. Van Alfen. Mol. Cell. Biol. 18:953-959.

Transcriptional repression of specific host genes by the mycovirus Cryphonectria hypovirus 1. 1996. Kazmierczak, P., P. Pfeiffer, L. Zhang, and N.K. Van Alfen. J. Virology 70:1137-1142.

A new extracellular laccase of Cryphonectria parasitica is revealed by deletion of Lac1. 1995. Kim, D.H., D. Rigling, L. Zhang, and N.K. Van Alfen. Mol. Plant Microbe-Interact 8:259-266.

Virus-associated down-regulation of the gene encoding cryparin, an abundant cell-surface protein from the chestnut blight fungus, Cryphonectria parasitica. 1994. Zhang, L., D. Villalon, Y. Sun., P. Kazmierczak and N.K. Van Alfen. Gene 139:59-64.