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Nematode Evolution Laboratory
Brigham Young University

640 WIDB
Provo, UT 84602
(801) 422-8723

Bishwo Adhikari (Sampling in Taylor Valley)

Bishwo Adhikari
Graduate Student
Biology Department
401 WIDB
Provo, UT 84602
(801) 422-8723
adhikaribn@byu.net

Biography:
I am from the Himalayan country of Nepal and have been at Dr. Byron J. Adams’ Nematode Evolution lab since January 2006. I am studying the stress biology of Antarctic and entomopathogenic nematodes using different molecular approaches.

Academic Background:
Graduate Student in the Department of Biology
Brigham Young University, Utah, USA
January 2006 to present
Major Advisor: Dr. Byron J. Adams

Postgraduate International Nematology course (PINC)
University of Gent, Belgium
MS in Nematology, 2004

Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science (IAAS) Tibhuvan University
Rampur, Nepal
BS in Agriculture, 1998

Current Projects:
Currently I am working on the stress biology of Antarctic nematode Plectus murrayi Nematodes of the Antarctic McMurdo Dry Valleys are part of a community of organisms that are living in one of the harshest environments on Earth and desiccation is a significant challenge to them. Nematodes like P. murrayi which can survive anhydrobiosis as well as freezing temperature; have the adaptations necessary to slow the rate of water loss. Though the morphological and physiological mechanisms governing anhydrobiosis in Antarctic nematodes are well studied, the knowledge of molecular mechanisms is severely lacking. I am using a comprehensive approach to the study of the molecular mechanisms of P. murrayi by constructing cDNA libraries, identifying differentially expressed transcripts of desiccated nematodes by subtractive hybridization and testing the functionality of these stress related genes using gene knockout methods. I am now been working with almost 2500 expressed sequenced tags (ESTs) of P. murrayi and analyzing them using different bioinformatics tools for Blasting, mapping, annotation, statistical analysis and visualization. Preliminary results reveal that P. murrayi uses a suite of global stress tolerance response genes that are triggered by desiccation.

I am also interested in studying the stress tolerance (hot and cold desiccation) ability of the entomopathogenic nematodes Heterorhabditis bacteriophora. H. bacteriophora is an entomopathogenic nematode (EPN) mutually associated with the enteric bacterium, Photorhabdus luminescens, used globally for the biological control of insects. The dauer stage of these nematodes also called the infective stage (infective juvenile; IJ) infect and kill a wide range of insect species. Little is known about the behavioral, biochemical, and molecular events in nematodes that lead to physiological responses to stress conditions that enable dauer larvae and IJs to survive exposure to environmental extremes. So, I am using a number of molecular approaches to study the genes playing important roles during stressed conditions, validate the expression of these genes at different conditions, and check the functionality of these genes using gene silencing techniques. Knowledge on the molecular mechanisms of stress tolerance of these nematodes will be helpful to improve the shelf-life of the beneficial nematodes and ultimately to increase the longevity and infectivity against pests.

Published papers:

Ansari, M. A., Adhikari, B. N., Ali, F., and Moens, M. 2008. Susceptibility of Hoplia philanthus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) larvae and pupae to entomopathogenic nematodes (Rhabditida: Steinernematidae, Heterorhabditidae). Biological Control 47: 315-321. (Joint First author)

Adhikari, B.N, Wall, D.H., and Adams, B.J. 2009. Desiccation survival in an Antarctic nematode: molecular analysis using expressed sequenced tags. BMC Genomics, 10:69. doi:10.1186/1471-2164-10-69 (Highly accessed)

Adhikari, B.N., Wall, D.H., and Adams, B.J. Effect of acclimation on gene transcription, desiccation and freeze survival of an Antarctic nematode Plectus murrayi. Under review. Journal of Experimental Biology.

Adhikari, B.N., Lin, C-Y., Grewal, P.S., Ciche, T.A., Bai, X., Dillman, A. R., Chaston, J. M., Shapiro-Ilan, D. I., Bilgrami, A. L., Gaugler, R., Sternberg, P. W., and Adams, B.J. 2009. Transcriptional profiling of trait deteriration in insect parasitic nematode Heterorhabditis bacteriophora. BMC Genomics (In prep).

Published Symposium Abstracts:
Adhikari, B.N., Ayres, E., Simmons, B.L., Wall, D. H., and Adams, B. J. 2007. A study of the molecular mechanisms of desiccation tolerance in Antarctic Dry Valley nematodes using Expressed sequenced tags (ESTs). Journal of Nematology 39 (1): 102

Invited talk:

Adhikari, B.N., Wall, D.H., and Adams, B.J. 2008. Desiccation survival in an Antarctic nematode: molecular analysis using expressed sequenced tags. July 13-18, 2008, Brisbane, Australia.

Presentations:
Adhikari, B.N., Ansari, M.A., Adams, B.J., and Moens, M. 2006. Susceptibility of Hoplia philanthus to different entomopathogenic nematodes. American Society for Microbiology, Intermountain Branch Annual Meeting, March 18, 2006, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah.

Adams, B.J., Powers, T.O., Baldwin, J., Mullin, P., Subbotin, S.A., Ragsdale, E., Adhikari, B.N., Peat, S.M., and Dillman, A. R. 2007. A phylogenetic framework for phylum Tylenchida. USDA All scientist Meeting/Gordon Research Conference on Plant Herbivore Interactions, Feb 18-23, 2007, Crowne Plaza, Ventura, California.

Adhikari, B.N., Ayres, E., Simmons, B.L., Wall, D.H., and Adams, B.J. 2007. A study of the molecular mechanisms of desiccation tolerance in Antarctic nematodes using expressed sequenced tags (ESTs). Soil Ecological Society Meeting, April 29-May 2, 2007, Moab, Utah.

Adhikari, B.N., Ayres, E., Simmons, B.L., Wall, D.H., and Adams, B.J. 2007. A study of the molecular mechanisms of the desiccation tolerance in Antarctic Dry Valley nematodes using expressed sequenced tags (ESTs). Society of Nematologists and American Phytopathological Society Joint Meeting, July 28-Aug 2, 2007, San Diego, California.

Adhikari, B.N., Ansari, M.A., Ali, F., Adams, B.J., and Moens, M. 2007. Biological control of Hoplia philanthus with entomopathogenic nematodes. 40th Annual meeting of Society for Invertebrate Pathology, Aug 12-16, 2007, Quebec, Canada.