Assoc. Prof. David Gordon Telephone: 61-2-6125 3552 Facsimile: 61-2-6125 5573 David.Gordon@anu.edu.au

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Main Research Interest
Population biology of micro-organisms

Research Interests
My research focuses on the ecology and evolution of bacteria and their accessory genetic elements. My approach to research integrates mathematical theory with empirical results derived from prospective and experimental studies. My research takes a top-down as well as a bottom-up approach and uses methods and techniques from ecology, evolution, genetics, physiology, biochemistry, and molecular biology. Whilst much of my research is basic research, a significant portion is of applied significance and directly addresses applied problems.   Although there are three main themes to my ongoing and future research these are highly interrelated. Space restrictions preclude me from presenting even a brief overview of what we have accomplished under the banner of these three themes. Rather, I will focus on our future research directions and highlight the applied significance of what we hope to accomplish.

Research Theme 1:  Functional role and evolution of bacteriocins
Research Theme 2: The ecology and evolution of the Enterobacteriaceae
Research Theme 3: The ecology and evolution of plasmids

Recent Students
Honours Program (Research)

Julia Christenson, 2007: Evolution of the association between colicins B and M
Heather Tolley, 2006: Genetic structure and evolution of E coli
Cecilia Batmalle, 2005: Multiple bacteriocin production in  E. coli
Claire O'Brien, 2004: An experimental study of host diet and adaptation in E. coli

M Sc Program (Research)
Shoko Okada, 2000: The thermal niche of enteric bacteria: Host and geographical effects.
Nur'Aini Herawati, 2005: The dynamics of E. coli in the mammalian gut.

PhD Program (completion date)
Sandra Parsons:   The ecology of Salmonella enterica in a population of Sleepy lizards
Lisa Bird, 2007:   Fitness and the evolution of resistance to Bacillus thurengiensis
Allie Mokany, 2006:   Resilience and resistance of emphemeral aquatic ecosystems
Jane Wyer: 2006:   Phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of environmental E. coli
Shoko Okada, 2005:   Ecology and genetic structure of the enteric bacteria, Hafnia alvei
Miranda Sherley, 2002:   Evolution of antibiotic resistance plasmids in enteric bacteria

Recent Publicaitons
Christenson, J.K., Gordon, D.M. 2009. Evolution of colicin BM plasmids: the loss of the colicin B activity gene. Microbiology 155: 1645-1655.

Gordon, D.M. 2009. The potential of bacteriocin-producing probiotics and associated caveats. Future Microbiology 4(8): 941-943.

Clermont, O., Lescat, M., O'Brien, C.L., Gordon, D.M., Tenaillon O., Denamur, E. 2008. Evidence for a human-specific Escherichia coli clone. Environmental Microbiology 10(4): 1000-1006.

Gordon, D.M., Clermont, O., Tolley, H., Denamur, E. 2008. Assigning Escherichia coli strains to phylogenetic groups: multi-locus sequence typing versus the PCR triplex method. Environmental Microbiology 10(10):2484-2496.

Barnes, B., Sidhu, H., Gordon, D.M. 2007. Host gastro-intestinal dynamics and the frequency of colicin production by Escherichia coli . Microbiology 153: 2823-2827.

Jeziorowski, A., Gordon, D.M. 2007. Evolution of Microcin V and Colicin Ia Plasmids in Escherichia coli . Journal of Bacteriology 189: 7045-7052.

62. Power, M. L., Ferrari, B. C., Littlefield-Wyer, J., Gordon, D. M., Slade, M.B. & Veal, D. A . 2006. A naturally occurring novel allele of Escherichia coli outer membrane protein A reduces sensitivity to bacteriophage. Appl Environ Microbiol. 72:7930-7932.

61. Gordon, D. M., and C. L. O'Brien. 2006. Bacteriocin diversity and the frequency of multiple bacteriocin production in Escherichia coli. Microbiology 152:3239-3244 .

60.  Gordon, D. M., E. Oliver, and J. Littlefield-Wyer. 2006. The diversity of Bacteriocins in Gram-negative bacteria. pp 5-18. In Bacteriocins: Ecology and Evolution, M. A. Riley and M.A. Chavan (Eds.) Springer, Berlin

59. Power, M.L., Littlefield-Wyer, J., Gordon, D.M., Veal, D.A. & Slade, M.B. 2005. Phenotypic and genotypic characterisation of encapsulated Escherichia coli isolated from blooms in two Australian lakes.   Environmental Microbiology 7:631-640.

58. Gordon, D.M., Stern, S.E. & Collignon, P.J. 2005.   The influence of the age and sex of human hosts on the distribution of Escherichia coli ECOR groups and virulence traits.   Microbiology 151:15-23.

57. Gordon, D.M. 2004. The influence of ecological factors on the distribution and genetic structure of Escherichia coli . In Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium: cellular and molecular biology , ed. F Neidhardt et al . Washington, D. C.: American Society for Microbiology. [Online.] http://www.ecosal.org ,

56. Dixit, S.M., Gordon, D.M., Wu, X. -Y., Chapman, T., Kailasapathy, K. & Chin, J. -C. 2004. Diversity analysis of commensal porcine Escherichia coli - associations between genotypes and habitat in the porcine gastrointestinal tract. Microbiology 150:1735-1740.

55. Sherley, M, Gordon, D.M. & Collignon, P.J. 2004.   Evolution of multi-resistance plasmids in Australian clinical isolates of Escherichia coli .   Microbiology 150:1539-1546.

54. Barnes, B. & Gordon, D.M. 2004.   Coliform dynamics and the implications for source tracking.   Environmental Microbiology 6:501-509.

53. Gordon, D.M. & Cowling, A. 2003.   The distribution and genetic structure of Escherichia coli in Australian vertebrates: Host and geographic effects. Microbiology 149:3575-3586.

52. Okada, S. & Gordon, D.M. 2003.   Genetic and ecological structure of Hafnia alvei in Australia.   Systematic and Applied Microbiology 26:585-594.

51. Wertz, J.E., Valletta-Goldstone, C., Gordon, D.M. & Riley, M.A. 2003.   A molecular phylogeny of enteric bacteria and implications for a bacterial species concept . Journal of Evolutionary Biology 16:1236-1248.

50. Riley, M.A.   Goldstone, C.M., Wertz, J.E., & Gordon, D.M. 2003.   A phylogenetic approach to assessing the targets of microbial warfare .   Journal of Evolutionary Biology 16:690-697.

49. Sherley, M., Gordon, D.M., & Collignon, P.J. 2003.   Species differences in plasmid carriage in the Enterobacteriaceae. Plasmid 49:79-85.

48. Davis, S.A. & Gordon, D.M. 2002.   The influence of host dynamics on the clonal composition of Escherichia coli populations. Environmental Microbiology 4:306-313.

47. Gordon, D.M., Bauer, S. & Johnson, J.R. 2002 .   The genetic structure of Escherichia coli in primary and secondary habitats.   Microbiology 148:1513-1522.

46. Gordon, D.M. 2001. Col Factors.   In Encyclopedia of Genetics Eds. S. Brenner & J. Miller.   London, Academic Press. pp. 415-416.

45. Okada, S. & Gordon, D.M. 2001.   Host and geographical factors influence the thermal niche of enteric bacteria isolated from Australian mammals.   Molecular Ecology 10 : 2499-2513.

44. Gordon, D.M. 2001. Geographical structure and host specificity in bacteria and the implications for tracing the source of coliform contamination.   Microbiology 147:1079-1085.

43. Sherley, M., Gordon, D.M. & Collignon, P.J. 2000.   Variations in antibiotic resistance profile in Enterobacteriaceae isolated from wild Australian mammals.   Environmental Microbiology 2:620-631.