David Backhouse
Senior Lecturer (Convenor, Botany), Faculty of Arts and Sciences, School of Environmental and Rural Sciences
Qualifications
BSc PhD (NSW)
Contact
| Email: | dbackhou@une.edu.au |
| Room: | Agronomy (W23) , Room 245 |
| Phone: | 02 6773 2341 (or +61 2 6773 2341 overseas) |
| Fax: | 02 6773 3238 |
Areas of Teaching
I teach mycology (the biology of fungi) and plant pathology in the following courses:
BOTY370 Fungi, Plants and the Environment
AGRO311 Plant Protection
I also coordinate BIOL120 and contribute to teaching in other Botany units
Research interests
My main research interests are in the ecology of soil fungi and in the epidemiology and management of plant diseases caused by soilborne fungi. I did my PhD on the biology of Botrytis species. This was followed by a postdoc at the University of Auckland working on biological control of onion white rot, and another postdoc at the University of Sydney working on the effects of farming practices on the health of wheat root systems. Since joining UNE in 1998 I have had funded research and supervised postgraduate projects on topics including:
- Epidemiology and management of crown rot of wheat
- Population genetics of Fusarium species from cereals
- Effects of climate on the geographical distribution of fungi and plant diseases
- Fungal-plant interactions in soilborne diseases
- Biological control of soilborne diseases
Recent Publications
Refereed journal articles
Singh, D.P., Backhouse, D. and Kristiansen, P. (2009) Interactions of temperature and water potential in displacement of Fusarium pseudograminearum from cereal residues by fungal antagonists. Biological Control 48, 188-195.
Coumans, J.V.F., Poljak, A., Raftery, M.J., Backhouse, D. and Pereg-Gerk, L. (2009) Analysis of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) root proteomes during a compatible interaction with the black root rot fungus Thielaviopsis basicola. Proteomics 9, 335-349.
Kawaguchi, M., Taji, A., Backhouse, D. and Oda, M. (2008) Anatomy and physiology of graft incompatibility in solanaceous plants. Journal of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology 83, 581-588.
Akinsanmi, O.A., Backhouse, D., Simpfendorfer, S. and Chakraborty, S. (2008) Mycelial compatibility reactions of Australian Fusarium graminearum and F. pseudograminearum isolates compared with AFLP groupings. Plant Pathology 57, 251-261.
Panjehkeh, N., Backhouse, D. and Taji, A. (2007) Flower colour is associated with susceptibility to disease in the legume Swainsona formosa. Australasian Plant Pathology 36, 341-346.
Akinsanmi, O.A., Chakraborty, S., Backhouse, D. and Simpfendorfer, S. (2007) Passage through alternative hosts changes the fitness of Fusarium graminearum and Fusarium pseudograminearum. Environmental Microbiology 9, 512-520.
White, I.R. and Backhouse, D. (2007) Comparison of fungal endophyte communities in the invasive panicoid grass Hyparrhenia hirta and the native grass Bothriochloa macra. Australian Journal of Botany 55, 178-185.
Huang, L-D. and Backhouse, D. (2006) Analysis of chitinase isoenzymes in sorghum seedlings inoculated with Fusarium thapsinum or F. proliferatum. Plant Science 171, 539-545.
Akinsanmi, O.A., Backhouse, D., Simpfendorfer, S. and Chakraborty, S. (2006) Pathogenic variation of Fusarium isolates associated with head blight of wheat in Australia. Journal of Phytopathology 154, 513-521.
Akinsanmi, O.A., Backhouse, D., Simpfendorfer, S. and Chakraborty, S. (2006) Genetic diversity of Australian Fusarium graminearum and F. pseudograminearum. Plant Pathology 55, 494-504.
Backhouse, D. (2006) Forecasting the risk of crown rot between successive wheat crops. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 46, 1499-1506.
Donovan, N.J., Backhouse, D. and Burgess, L.W. (2006) Enhanced suppression of Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici by retention of residues in a cereal cropping system. Australasian Plant Pathology 35, 43-48.
Huang, L.-D. and Backhouse, D. (2005) Induction of defence responses in roots and mesocotyls of sorghum seedlings by inoculation with Fusarium thapsinum and F. proliferatum, wounding and light. Journal of Phytopathology 153, 522-529.
Book chapters
Backhouse, D. and Thinlay (2009). Principles and methods for sustainable disease management in rainfed agricultural systems. In : Tow, P., Cooper, I., Partridge, I. and Birch, C. (eds.) Rainfed Farming Systems. Springer: Dordrecht.
Smiley, R.W., Backhouse, D., Lucas, P. and Paulitz, T. (2009). Diseases which challenge global wheat production - root, crown, and culm rots. In: Carver, B.F. (ed.) Wheat: Science and Trade. Wiley-Blackwell: Ames, IA. pp. 125-154.