Associate Professor
ningz@sebs.rutgers.edu
848-932-6348
Plant Biology Faculty Page
Lipman Hall
76 Lipman Drive
New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8525
Research Interests
Population and evolutionary biology of fungi and molecular detection of fungal pathogens
I have two primary research interests: population and evolutionary biology of fungi and molecular detection of important plant pathogenetic fungi on turfgrasses. The basic questions we try to address include (1) Why is there so much genetic variation within populations? (2) What are the evolutionary forces that maintain variation in populations? (3) Are there associations between genetic variation and virulence of plant pathogens? (4) How did the plant diseases originate and evolve? (5) What's the phylogenetic relationship between turfgrass pathogens and fungi in other habitats? etc. New pathogens are emerging all the time and many known pathogens are fast evolving due to dramatic climate change, host switching, and frequent transportation by humans. In addition to studying the evolution of fungi, we are interested in developing molecular tools for rapid pathogen detection and identification, such as Pathochip (DNA array technique) and real-time PCR. The application of the new tools will facilitate disease management, plant breeding, and the study of microbial community.
Publications List
Selected Publications
- The application of species criteria in plant pathogenic fungi. Fungal Diversity. 2012, 50:121-133
Cai, L., Giraud, T., Zhang, N., Begerow, D., Cai, G., and Shivas, R. G. - A six-gene phylogeny reveals the evolution of mode of infection in the rice blast fungus and allied species. Mycologia. 2011,
Zhang, N., Zhao, S., and Shen, Q. - Dimeric oligonucleotide probes enhance diagnostic macroarray performance.
J. Microbiological Methods. 2011, 86: 52-61
Njambere, E. N., Clarke, B. B., and Zhang, N. - First Report of Brown Ring Patch Caused by Waitea circinata var. circinata on Poa annua and Agrostis stolonifera in New Jersey. Plant Disease. 2011, 95(1): 78-79
Njambere, E. N., Clarke, B. B., Bonos, S. A., Murphy, J. A., Buckley, R., Tirpak, S. and Zhang, N. - Molecular identification and mycotoxin production of Lilium longiflorum-associated fusaria isolated from two geographic locations in the United States. European J. Plant Pathology. 2011, 131:631-642
Rajmohan, N., Gianfagna, T. J., Meca, G., Moretti, A., and Zhang, N. - TaqMan realtime PCR method for detection of Discula destructiva that causes dogwood anthracnose in Europe and North America. European J. Plant Pathology. 2011, 130:551-558
Zhang, N., Tantardini, A., Miller, S., Eng, A., and Salvatore, N. - The Amsterdam Declaration on Fungal Nomenclature. IMA Fungus. 2011, 2:105-112
Hawksworth, D. L. et al. and Zhang, N.