Mark Guiltinan
J. Franklin Styer Professor of Horticultural Botany; Professor of Plant Molecular Biology; Director, Endowed Program in the Molecular Biology of Cocoa

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422 Huck Life Sciences
University Park, PA - mjg9@psu.edu
- 814-863-7957
Research Summary
Plant functional genomics, metabolomics and biotechnology. Identification of key genes for disease resistance and important traits in the tree crop Theoboma cacao, the Chocolate tree.
Huck Graduate Students
Huck Affiliations
- Bioinformatics and Genomics
- Plant Biology
- Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Biosciences
- Plant Institute
- Center for Biorenewables
Links
Publication Tags
These publication tags are generated from the output of this researcher. Click any tag below to view other Huck researchers working on the same topic.
Genes Cacao Theobroma Cacao Genome Phytophthora Gene Expression Genotype Arabidopsis Chocolate Flavonoids Cadmium Genomics Tissues Flowering Disease Resistance Proteins Transcription Factors Phytophthora Megakarya Polymers Light Demography Phytophthora Palmivora Salicylic Acid Fungi LeavesMost Recent Publications
Transcriptomic analyses of cacao flavonoids produced in photobioreactors
Adriana M. Gallego, Luisa F. Rojas, Wilmar G. Valencia, Lucía Atehortúa, Aura I. Urrea, Andrew S. Fister, Mark J. Guiltinan, Siela Maximova, Natalia Pabón-Mora, 2021, BMC Genomics
Inter-species functional compatibility of the Theobroma cacao and Arabidopsis FT orthologs: 90 million years of functional conservation of meristem identity genes
S. F. Prewitt, A. Shalit-Kaneh, S. N. Maximova, M. J. Guiltinan, 2021, BMC Plant Biology
Genomic structural variants constrain and facilitate adaptation in natural populations of Theobroma cacao, the chocolate tree
Tuomas Hämälä, Eric K. Wafula, Mark J. Guiltinan, Paula E. Ralph, Claude W. dePamphilis, Peter Tiffin, 2021, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Cadmium phytoextraction by Helianthus annuus (sunflower), Brassica napus cv Wichita (rapeseed), and Chyrsopogon zizanioides (vetiver)
B Benavides, Jhony Benavides, Patrick Drohan, J. T. Spargo, S. N. Maximova, M. J. Guiltinan, Douglas Miller, 2021, Chemosphere on p. 129086
Widely distributed variation in tolerance to Phytophthora palmivora in four genetic groups of cacao
Andrew Fister, Mariela Leandro-Muñoz, Dapeng Zhang, James H. Marden, Peter Tiffin, Claude dePamphilis, Siela Maximova, Mark J. Guiltinan, 2020, Tree Genetics and Genomes
Gene Expression Modularity Reveals Footprints of Polygenic Adaptation in Theobroma cacao
Tuomas Hämälä, Mark J. Guiltinan, James H. Marden, Siela N. Maximova, Claude dePamphilis, Peter Tiffin, 2020, Molecular Biology and Evolution on p. 110-123
Clovamide, a Hydroxycinnamic Acid Amide, Is a Resistance Factor Against Phytophthora spp. in Theobroma cacao
Benjamin Knollenberg, Guo-Xing Li, Joshua D. Lambert, Siela N. Maximova, Mark J. Guiltinan, 2020, Frontiers in Plant Science on p. 617520
Metabolomic profile of cacao cell suspensions growing in blue light/dark conditions with potential in food biotechnology
Adriana M. Gallego, Luisa F. Rojas, Héctor A. Rodriguez, Conrado Mora, Lucía Atehortúa, Aura I. Urrea, Mark J. Guiltinan, Siela N. Maximova, Emmanuel Gaquerel, Martha Zuluaga, Natalia Pabón-Mora, 2019, Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture on p. 275-294
Resistant and susceptible cacao genotypes exhibit defense gene polymorphism and unique early responses to Phytophthora megakarya inoculation
Désiré N. Pokou, Andrew S. Fister, Noah Winters, Mathias Tahi, Coulibaly Klotioloma, Aswathy Sebastian, James H. Marden, Siela N. Maximova, Mark J. Guiltinan, 2019, Plant Molecular Biology on p. 499-516
Transcriptomic analyses of cacao cell suspensions in light and dark provide target genes for controlled flavonoid production
Adriana M. Gallego, Luisa F. Rojas, Oriana Parra, Héctor A. Rodriguez, Juan C. Mazo Rivas, Aura Inés Urrea, Lucía Atehortúa, Andrew S. Fister, Mark J. Guiltinan, Siela N. Maximova, Natalia Pabón-Mora, 2018, Scientific Reports
Most-Cited Papers
Transient expression of CRISPR/Cas9 machinery targeting TcNPR3 enhances defense response in theobroma cacao
Andrew S. Fister, Lena Landherr, Siela N. Maximova, Mark J. Guiltinan, 2018, Frontiers in Plant Science
Pervasive effects of a dominant foliar endophytic fungus on host genetic and phenotypic expression in a tropical tree
Luis C. Mejía, Edward A. Herre, Jed P. Sparks, Klaus Winter, Milton N. García, Sunshine A. Van Bael, Joseph Stitt, Zi Shi, Yufan Zhang, Mark J. Guiltinan, Siela N. Maximova, 2014, Frontiers in Microbiology
Proanthocyanidin synthesis in Theobroma cacao: Genes encoding anthocyanidin synthase, anthocyanidin reductase, and leucoanthocyanidin reductase
Yi Liu, Zi Shi, Siela Maximova, Mark J. Payne, Mark J. Guiltinan, 2013, BMC Plant Biology
Enhanced somatic embryogenesis in Theobroma cacao using the homologous BABY BOOM transcription factor
Sergio L. Florez, Rachel L. Erwin, Siela N. Maximova, Mark J. Guiltinan, Wayne R. Curtis, 2015, BMC Plant Biology
Genome and secretome analysis of the hemibiotrophic fungal pathogen, Moniliophthora roreri, which causes frosty pod rot disease of cacao: Mechanisms of the biotrophic and necrotrophic phases
Lyndel W. Meinhardt, Gustavo Gilson L. Costa, Daniela P.T. Thomazella, Paulo José P.L. Teixeira, Marcelo F. Carazzolle, Stephan C. Schuster, John E. Carlson, Mark J. Guiltinan, Piotr Mieczkowski, Andrew Farmer, Thiruvarangan Ramaraj, Jayne Crozier, Robert E. Davis, Jonathan Shao, Rachel L. Melnick, Gonçalo A.G. Pereira, Bryan A. Bailey, 2014, BMC Genomics
Phytophthora megakarya and Phytophthora palmivora, Closely Related Causal Agents of Cacao Black Pod Rot, Underwent Increases in Genome Sizes and Gene Numbers by DifferentMechanisms
Shahin S. Ali, Jonathan Shao, David J. Lary, Brent A. Kronmiller, Danyu Shen, Mary D. Strem, Ishmael Amoako-Attah, Andrew Yaw Akrofi, B. A.Didier Begoude, G. Martijn ten Hoopen, Klotioloma Coulibaly, Boubacar Ismaël Kebe, Rachel L. Melnick, Mark J. Guiltinan, Brett M. Tyler, Lyndel W. Meinhardt, Bryan A. Bailey, 2017, Genome Biology and Evolution
Biodegradable polyphosphazenes containing antibiotics: Synthesis, characterization, and hydrolytic release behavior
Zhicheng Tian, Yufan Zhang, X Liu, Chen Chen, Mark J. Guiltinan, Harry R. Allcock, 2013, Polymer Chemistry on p. 1826-1835
Characterization of a stearoyl-acyl carrier protein desaturase gene family from chocolate tree, theobroma cacao L
Yufan Zhang, Siela N. Maximova, Mark J. Guiltinan, 2015, Frontiers in Plant Science on p. 1-12
The salicylic acid receptor NPR3 is a negative regulator of the transcriptional defense response during early flower development in Arabidopsis
Zi Shi, Siela Maximova, Yi Liu, Joseph Verica, Mark J. Guiltinan, 2013, Molecular Plant on p. 802-816
Theobroma cacao L. pathogenesis-related gene tandem array members show diverse expression dynamics in response to pathogen colonization
Andrew S. Fister, Luis C. Mejia, Yufan Zhang, Edward Allen Herre, Siela N. Maximova, Mark J. Guiltinan, 2016, BMC Genomics
News Articles Featuring Mark Guiltinan
Aug 16, 2021
Study of structural variants in cacao genomes yields clues about plant diversity
An exhaustive and painstaking comparison of the genomes of multiple strains of the cacao tree by a team of researchers has provided insights into the role genomic structural variants play in the regulation of gene expression and chromosome evolution, giving rise to the differences within populations of the plant.
Full Article
Dec 23, 2020
Discovery of chemical clue may lead to solving cacao's black pod rot mystery
The finding of relatively high levels of the antimicrobial compound clovamide in the leaves of a disease-resistant strain of cacao has significant implications for breeding trees that can tolerate black pod rot, according to Penn State researchers who conducted a novel study.
Full Article
Dec 11, 2019
New way to identify disease-resistant genes in chocolate-producing trees
Chocolate-producing cacao trees that are resistant to a major pathogen were identified by an international team of plant geneticists. The NSF-funded finding points the way for plant breeders to develop trees that are tolerant of the disease.
Full Article
Dec 06, 2019
Novel way to ID disease-resistance genes in chocolate-producing trees found
Chocolate-producing cacao trees that are resistant to a major pathogen were identified by an international team of plant geneticists. The findings point the way for plant breeders to develop trees that are tolerant of the disease.
Full Article
Oct 24, 2019
These Kids Have Come 500 Miles To Do Science And Make A Difference
The road between Arauquita, relatively near Colombia’s border with Venezuela, and the nation’s capital in Bogota stretches over 800 kilometers (500 miles), but for one week in October, a special group bridged that gap in more ways than one.
Full Article
Jun 19, 2019
Gene editing could save Ghana’s cocoa from extinction, scientists say
A new study warns that climate change could drive Ghana’s cocoa (cacao) industry to extinction — a fate that scientists say could be reversed through gene editing.
Full Article
Apr 02, 2019
Guiltinan, Maximova receive the 2019 Kopp International Achievement Award
Mark Guiltinan, professor of plant molecular biology, and Siela Maximova, research professor of plant biotechnology, both in the College of Agricultural Sciences, are the recipients of Penn State's 2019 W. LaMarr Kopp International Achievement Award.
Full Article
Feb 14, 2019
Pink LEDs And Cacao Plants: Touring A Plant Science Greenhouse
These luminescent laboratories aren’t something out of a science fiction novel — they’re glowing examples of plant science research being conducted in the heart of campus.
Full Article