Mark Guiltinan

Director, Plant Institute; J. Franklin Styer Professor of Horticultural Botany; Professor of Plant Molecular Biology

Mark Guiltinan

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

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Most Recent Publications

The Effect of Maternal and Paternal Genotype on seed Lipid Content, Composition, and Thermal Traits in in Clone Cacao Crossings Sca6 x Pa150, in St. Augustine

Evelyn Kulesza, Helene Hopfer, Gregory R. Ziegler, Juan Calle-Bellido, Chelsea Roberts, Pathmanathan Umaharan, Siela N. Maximova, Mark J. Guiltinan, 2025, Tropical Plant Biology

The cacao gene atlas: a transcriptome developmental atlas reveals highly tissue-specific and dynamically-regulated gene networks in Theobroma cacao L

Evelyn Kulesza, Patrick Thomas, Sarah F. Prewitt, Akiva Shalit-Kaneh, Eric Wafula, Benjamin Knollenberg, Noah Winters, Eddi Esteban, Asher Pasha, Nicholas Provart, Craig Praul, Lena Landherr, Claude dePamphilis, Siela N. Maximova, Mark J. Guiltinan, 2024, BMC Plant Biology on p. 601

Accumulation of cadmium in soils, litter and leaves in cacao farms in the North Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia

Daniel Guarín, Javier Martín-López, Zamir Libohova, Jhony Benavides-Bolaños, Siela N. Maximova, Mark J. Guiltinan, John Spargo, Mayesse da Silva, Alejandro Fernandez, Patrick Drohan, 2024, Geoderma Regional

A combination of conserved and diverged responses underlies Theobroma cacao’s defense response to Phytophthora palmivora

N Winters, E Wafula, B Knollenberg, T Hämälä, P Timilsena, M Perryman, D Zhang, L Sheaffer, C Praul, P Ralph, S Prewitt, M Leandro-Muñoz, D Delgadillo-Duran, N Altman, P Tiffin, Siela Maximova, Claude W. dePamphilis, James H. Marden, Mark J. Guiltinan, 2024, BMC Biology on p. 38

Cadmium contamination in cacao farms of Piura, North Peru: A comprehensive assessment of geogenic and anthropogenic sources and implications for future production

Daniel Guarín, Nadia Hamamura, Jesús Cortez, Jhony Benavides, John Spargo, Mark Guiltinan, Siela Maximova, Otilia Acha de la Cruz, Otilia de la Cruz, Patrick Drohan, 2023, Environmental Challenges on p. 100765

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

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

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)

Jhony Benavides, Bolaños 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Protocol: Transient expression system for functional genomics in the tropical tree Theobroma cacao L.

Andrew S. Fister, Zi Shi, Yufan Zhang, Emily E. Helliwell, Siela N. Maximova, Mark J. Guiltinan, 2016, Plant Methods

Tc-MYBPA is an Arabidopsis TT2-like transcription factor and functions in the regulation of proanthocyanidin synthesis in Theobroma cacao

Yi Liu, Zi Shi, Siela N. Maximova, Mark J. Payne, Mark J. Guiltinan, 2015, BMC Plant Biology

Application of glycerol as a foliar spray activates the defence response and enhances disease resistance of Theobroma cacao

Yufan Zhang, Philip Smith, Siela N. Maximova, Mark J. Guiltinan, 2015, Molecular Plant Pathology on p. 27-37

Cadmium phytoextraction by Helianthus annuus (sunflower), Brassica napus cv Wichita (rapeseed), and Chyrsopogon zizanioides (vetiver)

Jhony Benavides, Bolaños Benavides, Patrick Drohan, J. T. Spargo, S. N. Maximova, M. J. Guiltinan, Douglas Miller, 2021, Chemosphere on p. 129086

News Articles Featuring Mark Guiltinan

Nov 22, 2024

Penn State receives replica of historic ceramic vessel from Ecuador government

In recognition of Penn State’s impactful contributions to cacao and chocolate research, the government of Ecuador presented the University and its College of Agricultural Sciences with a replica of an ancient ceramic vessel.

Full Article

Jun 26, 2024

Researchers compile Cacao Gene Atlas to help plant breeders boost chocolate tree

A team led by researchers at Penn State has created a genetic information resource to help plant breeders develop resistant strains of cacao that can be grown sustainably in its native Amazon and elsewhere, such as the tropical latitudes of Central and South America, the Caribbean, Africa and Asia.

Full Article

Jun 06, 2024

Guiltinan named director of the Penn State Plant Institute

Mark Guiltinan, professor of plant molecular biology and J. Franklin Styer Professor of Horticultural Botany, has been named director of the Penn State Plant Institute.

Full Article

Oct 16, 2023

Grants awarded to Penn State faculty for tropical ecosystems research in Belize

Three projects have been awarded seed grants as part of the Penn State-Belize Foundation for Research and Environmental Education Research and Education Initiative to develop agroforestry systems .

Full Article

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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