L. DAVID KUYKENDALL Microbiologist
Ph.D., 1976, in Microbiology (major), Genetics & Biochemistry (minor subjects), School of Agriculture & Life Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC.
Employed by the USDA's Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD, since 1977, Dr. L. David Kuykendall long investigated the ecology, genetics and taxonomy of microbes that interact with plants, especially those that fix nitrogen and boost agricultural productivity, profitability and sustainability in legumes. Specifically, for at least twenty-five years, his research focused on developing an understanding, with the hope of improving, the symbiosis naturally formed between soybean plants and the Gram-negative, slowing-growing, rod-shaped bacterium called "Bradyrhizobium japonicum."
In 1991 Dr. Kuykendall and his collaborator Dr. William J. Hunter of Ft. Collins, CO, were granted a U.S. patent for a unique genetically-improved soybean-nodulating B. japonicum strain constructed so that it significantly improves both seed quality and yield. In 1992 Dr. Kuykendall and his collaborators effectively published the proposal for renaming the so-called “B. japonicum DNA homology group II” strains B. elkanii to honor Professor Gerald Elkan, Dave’s thesis advisor at North Carolina State University, who led a team of researchers who established the differing DNA homology groups in 1981. Dr. Kuykendall joined the Molecular Plant Pathology Laboratory in 1997 and has since focused his research on plant molecular genetics and genomics aimed at improving disease resistance.
Strain TA11NOD+, also popularly termed the “USDA strain” has been applied to as much as two-thirds of the approximately 75 million acres devoted to soybean production, thus improving the profitability and sustainability of U.S. agriculture. This highly environmentally friendly accomplishment has also helped to offset an international trade deficit. In 2002, Drs. Kuykendall and Hunter received an agency Superior Technology Transfer Award, and, moreover, they were awarded a Federal Laboratories’ Consortium Award, one of 26 nationally. The nationally recognized accomplishment led to their receiving Letters of Commendation from the U. S. Secretary of Agriculture. On November 10, 2004 Drs. Kuykendall and Hunter were internationally recognized by being named Tech Museum Award Laureates, Environment (Intel).
Recent Publications:
Kuykendall, LD, J Shao and K Trimmer. A Nest of LTR Retrotransposons Adjacent the Disease Resistance-Priming Gene NPR1 in B. vulgaris L. U.S. Hybrid H2O. International Journal of Plant Genomics 2009, Article ID 576742.
Kuykendall, LD, J. Shao and T. Murphy. Conserved microsynteny of NPR1 with genes encoding a signal calmodulin-binding protein and a CK1- class protein kinase in B. vulgaris and two other eudicots. International Journal of Plant Genomics, vol. 2008, Article ID 391259, 8 pages, 2008.
Kuykendall, LD and WJ Hunter. Carbohydrate release and ethane formation during necrosis induced Erwinia betavasculorum. Current Microbiology 56: 128-133, 2008.
Kuykendall, LD. J. Shao and K. Trimmer. Coe1, a DNA transposon within a LTR retrotransposon in B. vulgaris L. International Journal of Plant Genomics 2008. Article ID 360874.
Kuykendall, LD, TS Murphy, J Shao and JM McGrath. Nucleotide sequence analyses of a sugar beet genomic NPR1- class disease resistance gene. Journal of Sugar Beet Research 44: 35-49, 2007.
Hunter, W. J. and Kuykendall, L. D. 2007. Reduction of selenite to elemental red selenium by Rhizobium sp. strain B1. Current Microbiology 55, 344-349.
Hunter, W. J., L. D. Kuykendall, and D. K. Manter. 2007. Rhizobium selenireducens sp. nov.: A selenite reducing α-Proteobacteria isolated from a bioreactor. Current Microbiology. 55:455–460.
Hunter, W. J. and Kuykendall, L. D. 2006. Identification and characterization of an Aeromonas salmonicida (syn Haemophilus piscium) strain that reduces selenite to elemental red selenium. Current Microbiology 52:305-309.
Kuykendall, L.D. and E.T. Wang. 2005. Genus Sinorhizobium. In: Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology, 2nd Edition, 2nd Volume. George Garrity, (Ed.). Springer-Verlag, New York, NY, pp. 358-361
Hunter, W. J. and Kuykendall, L. D. 2005. Removing selenite from groundwater with an in situ biobarrier: laboratory studies. Current Microbiology 50:1-7.
Kuykendall, L. D. and Dazzo, F.B. 2005. Allorhizobium. In Brenner, Krieg, Staley and Garrity (Editors), The Alpha-, Beta-, Delta- and Epsilonproteobacteria, The Proteobacteria, Part C, Bergey’s Manual of Systematic Bacteriology, 2nd. Ed., Vol. 2, Springer, New York, NY, pp. 345-346.
Kuykendall, L. D. 2005 Genus Azorhizobium. In Brenner, Krieg, Staley and Garrity (Editors), The Alpha-, Beta-, Delta- and Epsilonproteobacteria, The Proteobacteria, Part C, Bergey’s Manual of Systematic Bacteriology, 2nd. Ed.,Vol. 2, Springer, New York, NY, pp. 505-506.
Kuykendall, L.D. 2005. Genus Bradyrhizobium, family Bradyrhizobiaceae. In: Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology, 2nd Edition, 2nd Volume. George Garrity, (Ed.) Springer-Verlag, New York, NY, pp. 438-443.
Chen, W. X., E.T. Wang, and L.D. Kuykendall. 2005. Genus Mesorhizobium, Family Photobacteriaceae. In: Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology, 2nd Edition, 2nd Volume. George Garrity, (Ed.) Springer-Verlag, New York, NY, pp. 403-408.,
Kuykendall, L.D., J.M. Young, E. Martinez-Romero, A. Kerr, and H. Sawada. 2005. Genus Rhizobium, a highly divergent genus in a revised family, the Rhizobiaceae. In: Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology, 2nd Edition, 2nd Volume. George Garrity, (Ed.) Springer-Verlag, New York, NY, , pp. 324-340.
Hunter, W.J. and L.D. Kuykendall. 2004. Determination of dimethylselenide and dimethyldiselenide by gas chromatography-photoionization detection. Journal of Chromatography 1038:295-297.
Kuykendall, L.D. and R. G. Upchurch. 2004. Expression in sugar beet of the introduced cercosporin toxin export gene CFP from Cercospora kukuchii, the causative organism of purple seed stain in soybean. Biotechnology Letters 26:723-727.
Kuykendall, L.D., T. M. Stockett, and J.W. Saunders. 2003. Rhizobium radiobacter conjugation and callus-independent shoot regeneration used to introduce the cercosporin export gene cfp from Cercospora into sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.). Biotechnology Letters 25: 739-744.
Kuykendall, L.D., Stockett, T.M. 2003. Transformation of sugar beet with CFP to improve Cercospora leaf spot resistance. In: Proceedings of the First Joint Meeting of the International Institute for Beet Research and the American Society of Sugar Beet Technologists. San Antonio, TX, International Institute for Beet Research, Brussels, Belgium, pp. 883-886.
Young, J.M., L.D. Kuykendall, E. Martinez Romero, A. Kerr, and H. Sawada. 2003 Classification and nomenclature of Agrobacterium and Rhizobium- a reply to Farrand, van Berkum and Oger. International Journal of Systematic Evolutionary Microbiology. 53: 1689-1695.
Sawada, H., L.D. Kuykendall and J.M. Young. 2003. Changing concepts in the systematics of nitrogen-fixing legume symbionts. Journal of General and Applied Microbiology (Japan) 49:155-179.
Dutta, S.K., G.P. Hollowell, F.M. Hashem, and L.D. Kuykendall. 2003. Enhanced bioremediation of soil containing 2, 4-dinitotoluene by a genetically modified Sinorhizobium meliloti. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 35: 667-675.
Xiaojia, Hu, J. Mulan, L. Shengyi, and L.D.Kuykendall. 2002. Selection and cloning genes from bacteria antagonistic of Slerotinia sclerotiorum. Journal of Agricultural Biotechnology (China) 10: 39-40.
Young, J., L.D. Kuykendall, E. Martinez-Romero, A. Kerr, and H. Sawada. 2001. A revision of Rhizobium Frank 1889, with an emended description of the genus, and the inclusion of species of Agrobacterium Conn 1942 and Allorhizobium De Lajudie et al 1998. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiol. 51:89-103.
Rogel, M.A., I. Hernandez-Lucas, L.D. Kuykendall, D.L. Balkwill, and E. Martinez-Romero. 2001. Nitrogen-fixing nodules with Ensifer adhaerens harboring Rhizobium tropici symbiotic plasmids. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 67:3264-3268.
Kuykendall, L.D., F.M. Hashem, R.B. Dadson, and G.H. Elkan. 2000. Nitrogen Fixation. In: Joshua Lederberg and Martin Alexander (Eds). Encyclopedia of Microbiology. Academic Press, New York, NY. Volume 1, pp. 492-505.
Kuykendall, L.D. 2000. Beneficial bacteria from the rhizosphere of sugar beet. In: Sugar Journal, July issue. (Invited popular article)