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Education:

2008	M.Sc. Environmental Health. Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA. Thesis: Whole Genome Amplification as a Pre-PCR Step to Improve Detection of Pathogens in Drinking Water. Advisor: J. Scott Meschke
2004	B.Sc. Environmental Science, summa cum laude. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC. Thesis: Preliminary Assessments of Fecal Contamination via Microbial Indicator Species: Town Creek Marina, Beaufort, North Carolina. Advisor: Rachel T. Noble

Current Research:

 

 

Genetic characterization of Xylella fastidiosa isolates via analysis of environmentally-mediated genes.

Gene expression of Xylella fastidiosa under different concentration of mineral elements.
Infection traits and growth of 'Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus'.

Awards and Fellowships:

• 2013 - Auburn University College of Agriculture Employee of the Year Award
• 2008 - National Science Foundation East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes for U.S. Graduate Students (EAPSI) Award–Singapore
• 2003 - Colley Environmental Award–Carolina Environmental Program (CEP) Morehead City Field Site

Publications:

• Cruz, L.F., J.K. Parker, P.A. Cobine, and L. De La Fuente. 2014. Calcium-enhanced twitching motility in Xylella fastidiosa is linked to a single PilY1 homolog. Appl Environ Microbiol, 2014 Sep 12. pii: AEM.02153-14. [Epub ahead of print].
• Oliver, J.E., S. A. Sefick, J. K. Parker, T. Arnold, P. A. Cobine, and L. De La Fuente. 2014. Ionome changes in Xylella fastidiosa-infected Nicotiana tabacum correlate with virulence and discriminate between subspecies of bacterial isolates. Mol Plant Microbe Interact, 27(10): 1048-1058.
• Parker, J.K., S.R. Wisotsky, E.G. Johnson, F.M. Hijaz, N. Killiny, M.E. Hilf, and L. De La Fuente. 2014. Viability of 'Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus' prolonged by addition of citrus juice to culture medium. Phytopathology, 104(1):15-26.
• De La Fuente, L., J.K. Parker, J.E. Oliver, S. Granger, P.M. Brannen, E. van Santen, and P.A. Cobine. 2013. The bacterial pathogen Xylella fastidiosa affects the leaf ionome of plant hosts during infection. PLoS ONE, 8(5):e62945.
• Parker, J.K., J.C. Havird, and L. De La Fuente. 2012. Differentiation of Xylella fastidiosa strains via multi-locus sequence analysis of environmentally-mediated genes (MLSA-E). Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 78(5):1385-1396.
• Burdman, S., O. Bahar, J.K. Parker, and L. De La Fuente. 2011. Involvement of type IV pili in pathogenicity of plant pathogenic bacteria. Genes, 2(4), 706-735.
• Havird, J.C., J.K. Parker, and B. Connery. 2011. Fishes of the streams of Acadia National Park, Maine. Northeastern Naturalist, 18(2):217-228.
• Parker, J.K., T.-Y. Chang, and J.S. Meschke. 2011. Amplification of viral RNA from drinking water using TransPlex™ whole-transcriptome amplification. Journal of Applied Microbiology, 111(1):216-23.
• Parker, J.K., D. McIntyre, and R.T. Noble. 2010. Characterizing fecal contamination in stormwater runoff in coastal North Carolina, USA. Water Research, 44:4186-4194.

Selected Abstracts/Talks:

• 2013 - Parker, J.K., L.F. Cruz, L.Y. Liu, and L. De La Fuente. Calcium-dependent twitching motility of Xylella fastidiosa correlates with the evolutionary history and gene expression of one PilY1 homolog. Oral Presentation: 99th Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Branch of the American Society for Microbiology, Auburn, AL, Nov. 7-9.
• 2013 - Parker, J.K., S.R. Wisotsky, M.E. Hilf, K.R. Sims, P.A. Cobine, and L. De La Fuente. Increases in 'Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus' viability and investigations of biofilm-like structures in citrus juice medium. Poster Presentation: 3rd International Research Conference on Huanglongbing, Orlando, FL, Feb. 4-8.
• 2012 - Parker, J.K., S.R. Wisotsky, K.R. Sims, M.E. Hilf, and L. De La Fuente. Survival of ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’ in different media over time. Oral Presentation: American Phytopathological Society Annual Meeting, Providence, RI. Phytopathology, 102:S4.90.
• 2011 - Parker, J.K. and L. De La Fuente. Analysis of environmentally-mediated genes of the pathogen Xylella fastidiosa to define relationships between isolates from different plant hosts. Poster Presentation: 111th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, New Orleans, LA, May 21-24.
• 2010 - Parker, J. K., and L. De La Fuente. Xylella fastidiosa genes and phenotypes related to host specificity. Poster Presentation (De La Fuente): Proceedings of the 10th Annual Pierce's Disease Research Symposium, San Diego, CA:147.
• 2010 - Parker, J.K. and L. De La Fuente. Differentiation of Xylella fastidiosa strains via analysis of environmentally-mediated genes. Poster Presentation: American Phytopathological Society Annual Meeting.
• 2008 - Parker, J.K. Application of whole genome amplification to improve metagenomic analysis of microbial communities in activated sludge. Oral Presentation: EAPSI Program, Singapore.
• 2008 - Parker, J.K., T.-Y. Chang, G.A. Cangelosi, and J.S. Meschke. Whole Genome Amplification as a Pre-PCR Step to Improve Detection of Pathogens in Drinking Water. Poster Presentation: American Society of Microbiology General Meeting.
• 2008 - Parker, J.K. Whole Genome Amplification as a Pre-PCR Step to Improve Detection of Pathogens in Drinking Water. Oral Presentation: Student Research Day, University of Washington.