Guy Townsend
Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
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H171 Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Hershey, PA - gxt191@psu.edu
Huck Affiliations
Most Recent Publications
Hierarchical glycolytic pathways control the carbohydrate utilization regulator in human gut Bacteroides
Seth G. Kabonick, Kamalesh Verma, Jennifer L. Modesto, Victoria H. Pearce, Kailyn M. Winokur, Eduardo A. Groisman, Guy E. Townsend, 2025, Nature Communications
Harnessing gut microbes for glycan detection and quantification
Jennifer L. Modesto, Victoria H. Pearce, Guy E. Townsend, 2023, Nature Communications
Bacteria require phase separation for fitness in the mammalian gut
Emilia Krypotou, Guy E. Townsend, Xiaohui Gao, Shoichi Tachiyama, Jun Liu, Nick D. Pokorzynski, Andrew L. Goodman, Eduardo A. Groisman, 2023, Science
Gut colonization by Bacteroides requires translation by an EF-G paralog lacking GTPase activity
Weiwei Han, Bee Zen Peng, Chunyan Wang, Guy E. Townsend, Natasha A. Barry, Frank Peske, Andrew L. Goodman, Jun Liu, Marina V. Rodnina, Eduardo A. Groisman, 2023, EMBO Journal
Dietary sugars silence the master regulator of carbohydrate utilization in human gut Bacteroides species
Victoria H. Pearce, Eduardo A. Groisman, Guy E. Townsend, 2023, Gut Microbes
Erratum: A master regulator of bacteroides thetaiotaomicron gut colonization controls carbohydrate utilization and an alternative protein synthesis factor(mBio 11, 1, e03221-19, 2020, 10.1128/mBio.03221-19)
Guy E. Townsend, Weiwei Han, Nathan D. Schwalm, Xinyu Hong, Natasha A. Bencivenga-Barry, Andrew L. Goodman, Eduardo A. Groisman, 2020, mBio
A master regulator of bacteroides thetaiotaomicron gut colonization controls carbohydrate utilization and an alternative protein synthesis factor
Guy E. Townsend, Weiwei Han, Nathan D. Schwalm, Xinyu Hong, Natasha A. Bencivenga-Barry, Andrew L. Goodman, Eduardo A. Groisman, 2020, mBio
Dietary sugar silences a colonization factor in a mammalian gut symbiont
Guy E. Townsend, Weiwei Han, Nathan D. Schwalm, Varsha Raghavan, Natasha A. Barry, Andrew L. Goodman, Eduardo A. Groisman, 2019, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America on p. 233-238
Erratum: Dietary sugar silences a colonization factor in a mammalian gut symbiont (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (2019) 116 (233–238) DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1813780115)
Guy E. Townsend, Weiwei Han, Nathan D. Schwalm, Varsha Raghavan, Natasha A. Barry, Andrew L. Goodman, Eduardo A. Groisman, 2019, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America on p. 5831
Prioritization of polysaccharide utilization and control of regulator activation in Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron
Nathan D. Schwalm, Guy E. Townsend, Eduardo A. Groisman, 2017, Molecular Microbiology on p. 32-45
Most-Cited Papers
Dietary sugar silences a colonization factor in a mammalian gut symbiont
Guy E. Townsend, Weiwei Han, Nathan D. Schwalm, Varsha Raghavan, Natasha A. Barry, Andrew L. Goodman, Eduardo A. Groisman, 2019, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America on p. 233-238
Multiple signals govern utilization of a polysaccharide in the gut bacterium bacteroides thetaiotaomicron
Nathan D. Schwalm, Guy E. Townsend, Eduardo A. Groisman, 2016, mBio
Bacteria require phase separation for fitness in the mammalian gut
Emilia Krypotou, Guy E. Townsend, Xiaohui Gao, Shoichi Tachiyama, Jun Liu, Nick D. Pokorzynski, Andrew L. Goodman, Eduardo A. Groisman, 2023, Science
Prioritization of polysaccharide utilization and control of regulator activation in Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron
Nathan D. Schwalm, Guy E. Townsend, Eduardo A. Groisman, 2017, Molecular Microbiology on p. 32-45
A master regulator of bacteroides thetaiotaomicron gut colonization controls carbohydrate utilization and an alternative protein synthesis factor
Guy E. Townsend, Weiwei Han, Nathan D. Schwalm, Xinyu Hong, Natasha A. Bencivenga-Barry, Andrew L. Goodman, Eduardo A. Groisman, 2020, mBio
Gut colonization by Bacteroides requires translation by an EF-G paralog lacking GTPase activity
Weiwei Han, Bee Zen Peng, Chunyan Wang, Guy E. Townsend, Natasha A. Barry, Frank Peske, Andrew L. Goodman, Jun Liu, Marina V. Rodnina, Eduardo A. Groisman, 2023, EMBO Journal
Harnessing gut microbes for glycan detection and quantification
Jennifer L. Modesto, Victoria H. Pearce, Guy E. Townsend, 2023, Nature Communications
Dietary sugars silence the master regulator of carbohydrate utilization in human gut Bacteroides species
Victoria H. Pearce, Eduardo A. Groisman, Guy E. Townsend, 2023, Gut Microbes
Erratum: A master regulator of bacteroides thetaiotaomicron gut colonization controls carbohydrate utilization and an alternative protein synthesis factor(mBio 11, 1, e03221-19, 2020, 10.1128/mBio.03221-19)
Guy E. Townsend, Weiwei Han, Nathan D. Schwalm, Xinyu Hong, Natasha A. Bencivenga-Barry, Andrew L. Goodman, Eduardo A. Groisman, 2020, mBio
Erratum: Dietary sugar silences a colonization factor in a mammalian gut symbiont (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (2019) 116 (233–238) DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1813780115)
Guy E. Townsend, Weiwei Han, Nathan D. Schwalm, Varsha Raghavan, Natasha A. Barry, Andrew L. Goodman, Eduardo A. Groisman, 2019, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America on p. 5831
News Articles Featuring Guy Townsend
Dec 11, 2025
Mentorship and communication take center stage at training summit
Huck Institutes’ annual T32 summit underscores benefits of professional development alongside scientific training.
Full Article
Sep 23, 2025
One Health Microbiome Center awards 11 inaugural doctoral training fellows
Fellows represent the first cohort of the National Institutes of Health-supported doctoral training program in microbiome sciences and biotechnology.
Full Article
Jan 05, 2024
The stories that defined 2023 for the One Health Microbiome Center
A list of the top 10 most popular Penn State News articles about the One Health Microbiome Center
Full Article
May 15, 2023
Penn State's renamed One Health Microbiome Center affirms broad expertise
The Microbiome Center in the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at Penn State has announced its renaming to the One Health Microbiome Center (OHMC), the first center in the world to integrate "One Health" with the microbiome sciences.
Full Article
May 01, 2023
Essential mechanism for bacterial gut colonization discovered
New light has been shed on a key event that contributes to the successful colonization of bacteria in the gut of mice, according to a new study from Yale University and Penn State.
Full Article
Sep 24, 2020
Penn State Microbiome Center elects new executive committee
The Penn State Microbiome Center in the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences recently elected six new members to join its executive committee. The new members, along with 11 others who remained on the committee, started their two-year term in July.
Full Article