H Frederik Nijhout, Professor  

H Frederik Nijhout

Education:
Ph. D., Harvard University, 1974

Office Location: BioSci: 322
Office Phone: 919-684-4223
Email Address: hfn@duke.edu
Web Page: http://www.biology.duke.edu/nijhout/

Specialties:
Developmental Biology
Evolution
Genetics
Organismal Biology and Behavior
Genomics

Research Categories: Developmental physiology/development and evolution

Research Description: Fred Nijhout is broadly interested in developmental physiology and in the interactions between development and evolution. He has several lines of research ongoing in his laboratory that on the surface may look independent from one another, but all share a conceptual interest in understanding how complex traits arise through, and are affected by, the interaction of genetic and environmental factors. 1) The control of polyphenic development in insects. This work attempts to understand how the insect developmental hormones, ecdysone and juvenile hormone, act to control alternative developmental pathways within a single individual. His studies and those of his students have dealt with the control of sequential polyphenism in metamorphosis, of alternate polyphenisms in caste determination of social insects and the many seasonal forms of insects. 2) The regulation of organ and body size in insects. Ongoing research deals with the mechanism by which insects asses their body size and stop growing when they have achieved a characteristic size. Other studies deal with the control of growth and size of imaginal disks. This work is revealing that the control of body and organ size does not reside in any specific cellular or molecular mechanism but that it is a systems property in which cellular, physiological and environmental signals all contribute in inextricable ways to produce the final phenotype. 3) The development and evolution of color patterns in Lepidoptera. Ongoing research attempts to elucidate the evolution of mimicry using genetic and genomic approaches. 4) The development, genetics and evolution of complex traits. Complex traits are those whose variation is affected by many genes and environmental factors and whose inheritance does not follow Mendel’s laws. In practice this involves understanding how genetic and developmental networks operate when there is allelic variation in their genes. This work attempts to reconstruct complex traits through mathematical models of the genetic and developmental processes by which they originate, and uses these models to study the effects of mutation and selection. Currently metabolic networks (e.g. folate metabolism) are being used to develop a deeper understanding of the functional relationships between genetic variation and trait variation, and of the mechanisms by which genetic and environmental variables interact to produce phenotypes. More on web page: http://www.biology.duke.edu/nijhout/

Representative Publications   (search)

  1. Suzuki Y, Nijhout HF, Constraint and developmental dissociation of phenotypic integration in a genetically accommodated trait, Evolution & Development, vol. 10 (November, 2008), pp. 690-699 .
  2. Nijhout, HF, Size matters (but so does time), and It's OK to be different, Developmental Cell, vol. 15 (October, 2008), pp. 491-492 .
  3. Nijhout HF, Reed M, Ulrich C., Mathematical models of one-carbon metabolism, Vitamins and Hormones, vol. 79 (September, 2008), pp. 45-82 .
  4. Ulrich CM, Reed MC, Nijhout HF, : Modeling folate, one-carbon metabolism, and DNA methylation, Nutrition Reviews, vol. 8 (August, 2008), pp. : S27-S30 .
  5. Ulrich CM, Neuhouser M, Liu A, Boynton A, Gregory JF, Shane B, James SJ, Reed MC, Nijhout HF., Mathematical modeling of folate metabolism: Predicted effects of genetic polymorphisms on mechanisms and biomarkers relevant to carcinogenesis, Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention, vol. 17 (July, 2008), pp. 1822-1831 .
  6. Reed MC, Thomas R, Pavisic J, Nijhout HF, James SJ, Ulrich CM., A mathematical model of glutathione metabolism, Theoretical Biology and Medical Modelling, vol. 5 no. 8 (July, 2008), pp. doi:10.1186/1742-4682-5-8  [abs].
  7. Nijhout, HF, : Developmental phenotypic landscapes, Evolutrionary Biology, vol. 35 (June, 2008), pp. 100-103 .
  8. Suzuki Y, Nijhout HF, Genetic basis of adaptive evolution of a polyphenism by genetic accommodation, Journal of Evolutionary Biology, vol. 21 (January, 2008), pp. 57-66 .
  9. Nijhout HF, Reed MC, A mathematical model for the regulation of juvenile hormone titers, J. Insect Physiology, vol. 54 (January, 2008), pp. 255-264 .
  10. Leduc, D., Escartin, F., Nijhout, H.F., Reed, M.C., Liebl, U., Skouloubris, S. and Myllykallio, H., Flavin-dependent thymidylate synthase ThyX activity: Implications for the folate cycle in bacteria., J. Bacteriol., vol. 189 (2007), pp. 8537-8545 .
  11. Reed R.D., Chen P.H. and Nijhout, H.F., Cryptic variation in butterfly eyespot development: the importance of sample size in gene expression studies, Evolution & Development, vol. 9 (2007), pp. 2-9 .
  12. Nijhout, H.F, Smith, W.A. Schachar, I, Subramanian, S., Tobler, A. and Grunert, L.W., The control of growth and differentiation of the wing imaginal disks of Manduca sexta., Dev. Biol., vol. 302 (2007), pp. 569-576 .
  13. Shingleton, A.W., Frankino, W.A., Flatt, T., Nijhout, H.F. and Emlen, D.J., Size and shape: the developmental regulation of static allometry in insects., BioEssays, vol. 29 (2007), pp. 536-548 .
  14. Brandon, R.N. and Nijhout, H.F., The empirical non-equivalence of genic and genotypic models of selection: A decisive refutation of genic selectionism and pluralistic genic selectionism., Philosophy of Science, vol. 73 (2007), pp. 277-297 .
  15. Bowsher, J.H. and Nijhout, H.F., Evolution of novel abdominal appendages in a sepsid fly from histoblasts, not imaginal discs., Evolution & Development, vol. 9 (2007), pp. 347-354 .
  16. Anderson, D., Mattingly, J., Nijhout, H. F., and Reed, M.C., Propagation of fluctuations in biochemical systems, I. Linear SSC networks., . Bull. Math. Biol., vol. 69 (2007), pp. 1791-1813 .
  17. Suzuki, Y. and Nijhout, H.F, Genetic basis of adaptive evolution of a polyphenism by genetic accommodation., J. Evol. Biol. (in press) (2007) .
  18. Nijhout, H.F. and Reed, M.J., A mathematical model for the regulation of juvenile hormone titers., J. Insect Physiol. (in press) (2007) .
  19. Nijhout, H.F., Reed, M.C. and Ulrich, C.M., A day in the life of cell metabolism., Biological Theory (in press) (2007) .
  20. Suzuki, Y. and Nijhout, H.F., Evolution of a polyphenism by genetic accommodation., Science, vol. 311 (2006), pp. 650-652 .
  21. Nijhout, H. F., Reed, M., Anderson, D., Mattingly, J., James, S. J., and Ulrich, C. M., Long-range allosteric interactions between the folate and methionine cycles stabilize DNA methylation rate., Epigenetics, vol. 1 no. 2 (2006), pp. 81-87 .
  22. Boyles, A.L. Billups, A.V., Deak, K.L., Siegel, D.G., Mehltretter, L., Slifer, S.H. Bassuk, A.G., Kessler, J.A., Reed, M.C. Nijhout, H.F. George, T.M., Enterline, D.S., Gilbert, J.R., Speer, M.C., and the NTD Collaborative Group., Neural tube defects and folate pathway genes: family-based association tests of gene–gene and gene–environment interactions., Environ. Health Perspect., vol. 114 (2006), pp. 1547-1552 .
  23. Reed, M.C., Nijhout, H.F., Neuhouser, M.L., Gregory J.F. III., Shane, B., James, S.J., Boynton, A. and Ulrich, C.M., A mathematical model gives insights into nutritional and genetic aspects of folate-mediated one-carbon metabolism., J. Nutr., vol. 136 (2006), pp. 2653-2661 .
  24. Ulrich , C.M., Nijhout , H.F. and Reed, M.C., Mathematical modeling: epidemiology meets systems biology., Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev., vol. 15 (2006), pp. 827-829 .
  25. Veitia, R. and Nijhout, H.F., The robustness of the transcriptional response to alterations in morphogenetic gradients., BioEssays, vol. 28 (2006), pp. 282-289 .
  26. Nijhout, H.F., Davidowitz, G. and Roff, D.A., A quantitative analysis of the mechanism that controls body size in Manduca sexta., Journal of Biology, vol. 5 no. 16 (2006), pp. 1-16 .
  27. H.F. Nijhout, Stochastic gene expression: dominance, thresholds and boundaries., in Dominance and Haploinsufficiency, edited by Veitia, R.A. (2006), pp. 61-75, Landes Press .
  28. Nijhout HF, Reed MC, Lam S-L,Shane B, Gregory JF, and Ulrich CM., In silico experimentation with a model of hepatic mitochondrial folate metabolism., Theoretical Biology and Medical Modelling, vol. 3 (2006), pp. 40ff .
  29. Nijhout, H.F., Maini, P.K., Madzvamuse, A., Wathen, A. and Sekimura, T., Pigmentation pattern formation in butterflies --Experiments and models., Comptes Rendus Biologies, vol. 328 (2003), pp. 717-727 .
  30. Davidowitz, G. Roff, D.A. and Nijhout, H.F., A physiological perspective on the response of body size and development time to simultaneous directional selection., Integr. Comp. Biol., vol. 45 (2005), pp. 525-531 .
  31. Wheeler, D.E. and Nijhout, H.F., A perspective for understanding the modes of juvenile hormone action as a lipid signaling system., BioEssays, vol. 25 (2003), pp. 994-1001 .
  32. B.A.Edgar and H.F. Nijhout, Growth and cell cycle control in Drosophila, in Cell Growth: Control of Cell Size, Cold Spring Harbor Monographs, edited by M.N. Hall, M.Raff and G. Thomas (2004), pp. 23-83, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press .
  33. H.F. Nijhout, On the association between genes and complex traits., J. Invest. Dermatol., vol. 8 (2003), pp. 162-163 .
  34. Yang AS, Martin CH, Nijhout HF, Geographic variation of caste structure among ant populations, CURRENT BIOLOGY, vol. 14 (2004), pp. 514-519 .
  35. H.F. Nijhout, The control of body size in insects., Developmental Biology, vol. 261 (2003), pp. 1-9 .
  36. Moczek AP, Nijhout HF, Trade-offs during the development of primary and secondary sexual traits in a horned beetle, AMERICAN NATURALIST, vol. 163 (2004), pp. 184-191 .
  37. H.F. Nijhout, The importance of context in genetics, American Scientist, vol. 91 (2003), pp. 416-423 .
  38. Davidowitz G, D'Amico LJ, Nijhout HF, The effects of environmental variation on a mechanism that controls insect body size, EVOLUTIONARY ECOLOGY RESEARCH, vol. 6 (2004), pp. 49-62 .
  39. Nijhout, H.F., Berg, A.M. and Gibson, W.T., A mechanistic study of evolvability using the mitogen activated protein kinase cascade., Evolution & Development, vol. 5 (2003), pp. 281-294 .
  40. H.F. Nijhout, M.C.Reed, P.Budu and C., A mathematical model of the folate cycle: New insights into folate homeostasis, Journal of Biological Chemistry, vol. 279 (2004), pp. 55008-55016 .
  41. Moczek, A.P. and Nijhout, H.F., Rapid evolution of a polyphenic threshold., Evolution & Development, vol. 5 (2003), pp. 259-268 .
  42. Reed, M.C., Nijhout, H.F., Sparks, R. and Ulrich, N., A mathematical model of the methionine cycle, J. Theoret. Biol., vol. 226 (2004), pp. 33-43 .
  43. H.F. Nijhout, The development and evolution of adaptive polyphenisms., Evolution & Development, vol. 5 (2003), pp. 9-18 .
  44. Nijhout, H.F. and G. Davidowitz., Developmental perspectives on phenotypic plasticity, canalization, and fluctuating asymmetry., in Developmental Instability: Causes and Consequences, edited by M. Polak (2003), pp. 3-13, MIT Press .
  45. Davidowitz, G., D’Amico. L.J. and H.F. Nijhout., Critical weight in the development of insect body size., Evolution & Development, vol. 5 (2003), pp. 188-197 .
  46. H.F. Nijhout, Polymorphic mimicry in Papilio dardanus: mosaic dominance, big effects and origins., Evolution & Development, vol. 5 (2003), pp. 579-592 .
  47. H.F. Nijhout, The control of growth, Development, vol. 130 (2003), pp. 5863-5867 .
  48. H.F. Nijhout, Gradients, diffusion and genes in pattern formation, in Origination of Organismal Form, edited by G. Müller and S. Newman, (2003), MIT Press .
  49. Koch, P.B. and H.F. Nijhout, The role of wing veins in colour pattern development in the butterfly Papilio xuthus (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae)., European Journal of Entomology, vol. 99 (2002), pp. 67-72 .
  50. H.F. Nijhout, The nature of robustness in development., BioEssays, vol. 24 (2002), pp. 553-563 .
  51. H.F. Nijhout, Genetic regulatory networks., in Encyclopedia of Evolution. (2002), Oxford University Press. .
  52. Nijhout, H.F. and Grunert, L.W., Bombyxin is a growth factor for wing imaginal disks in Lepidoptera, Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., vol. 99 (2002), pp. 15446-15450 .
  53. Nijhout, H.F. and G. Davidowitz., Developmental perspectives on phenotypic plasticity, canalization, and fluctuating asymmetry., in Developmental Instability: Causes and Consequences, edited by M. Polak (2002), Oxford University Press .
  54. Moczek, AP and HF Nijhout, Developmental mechanism of threshold evolution in a polyphenic beetle, Evolution & Development, vol. 4 (2002), pp. 252-264 .
  55. H.F. Nijhout, The ontogeny of phenotypes, in Cycles of Contingency, pp.129-140, edited by S oyama, P Griffiths and R Gray (2001), MIT Press .
  56. Moczek, AP and HF Nijhout, A method for sexing third instar larvae of the genus Onthophagus Latreille (Coleoptera Scarabeidae), Coleopt. Bull. (2001) .
  57. H.F. Nijhout, Origin of butterfly wing patterns, in The Character Concept in Evolutionary Biology, pp.511-529, edited by GA Wagner (2001), Academic Press .
  58. Gilchrist, MA and HF Nijhout, Non-linear developmental processes as sources of dominance, Genetics, vol. 159 (2001), pp. 423-432 .
  59. Shafiei, M, AP Moczek, and HF Nijhout, Food availability controls the onset of metamorphosis in the dung beetle Onthophagus taurus (Cleoptera: Scarabeidae), Physiol. Entomol, vol. 26 (2001), pp. 173-180 .
  60. Emlen, DJ and HF Nijhout, Hormonal control of horn length dimorphism in Onthophagus taurus (Coleoptera: Scarabeidae): a second critical period of sensitivity to juvenile hormone, J. Insect Physiol., vol. 47 (2001), pp. 1045-1054 .
  61. Browder, MH, LJ D'Amico and HF Nijhout, The Role of Low Levels of Juvenile Hormone Esterase in the Metamorphosis of Manduca sexta., J. Insect Science, vol. 1 no. 11 (2001), pp. 1-5 .
  62. D' Amico, LJ, G Davidowitz and HF Nijhout, The developmental and physiological basis of body size evolution in an insect, Proc. Roy. Soc. London, vol. B 268 (2001), pp. 1589-1593 .
  63. McDonald, AK and HF Nijhout, The effect of environmental conditions on mating activity of the Buckeye butterfly, Precis coenia, J. Res. Lepidopt., vol. 35 no. 22-28 (2000) .
  64. Emlen, DJ and HF Nijhout, The development and evolution of exaggerated morphologies in insects., Ann. Rev. Entomol., vol. 45 (2000), pp. 661-708 .
  65. Miner, AL, AJ Rosenberg and HF Nijhout, Control of growth and differentiation of the wing imaginal disks of Precis coenia (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae), J. Insect Physiol., vol. 46 (2000), pp. 251-258 .

Duke Biology Box 90338 Durham, NC 27708 Phone: 919-660-7372 Fax: 919-660-7293