Siela Maximova

Research Professor of Plant Biotechnology Co-Director, Endowed Program in the Molecular Biology of Cocoa

Siela Maximova

Research Summary

Molecular basis of plant-pathogen and plant-endophyte interactions. Biotechnology of tree crops. Development of sustainable energy crops.

Huck Graduate Students

Huck Affiliations

Publication Tags

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Cacao Theobroma Cacao Genes Arabidopsis Transcription Factors Gene Expression Genomics Leaves Phytophthora Cadmium Evaluation Colombia Infection Genotype Seeds Chocolate Proanthocyanidins Tissues Flavonoids Flowering Synthesis Genome Tropical Plants Salicylic Acid Somatic Embryogenesis

Most Recent Publications

Evaluation of cacao projects in Colombia: The case of the rural Productive Partnerships Project (PAAP)

A Gil, M Brennan, Mark A. Brennan, Jr., A Chaudhary, Siela N. Maximova, 2023, Evaluation and Program Planning on p. 102230

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

Soil and plant genomics survey of Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta Region, Colombia

Z Libohova, J.M. Martín-López, M da Silva, C Lagoueyte, J Cruz, P Drohan, Siela Maximova, M Guiltinan, M.G. Ferruzzi, Daniel Guarin, P Reich, C Kome, Y.P. Zapata, G Gallego-Sánchez, C Quintero, C Botero, Noah Winters, M Robotham, 2021,

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

Antiradical Activity of Hydrolysates and Extracts from Mollusk <i>A. broughtonii</i> and Practical Application to the Stabilization of Lipids.

O Tabakaeva, W Piekoszewski, T Kalenik, Siela Maximova, A Tabakaev, D Poleshyk, L Proniewicz, 2020, Foods (Basel, Switzerland)

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Theobroma cacao B3 domain transcription factor TcLEC2 plays a duel role in control of embryo development and maturation

Yufan Zhang, Adam Clemens, Siela N. Maximova, Mark J. Guiltinan, 2014, BMC Plant Biology on p. 106

Dynamic changes in pod and fungal physiology associated with the shift from biotrophy to necrotrophy during the infection of Theobroma cacao by Moniliophthora roreri

Bryan A. Bailey, Jayne Crozier, Richard C. Sicher, Mary D. Strem, Rachel Melnick, Marcelo F. Carazzolle, Gustavo G.L. Costa, Gonçalo A.G. Pereira, Dapeng Zhang, Siela Maximova, Mark Guiltinan, Lyndel Meinhardt, 2013, Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology on p. 84-96

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

News Articles Featuring Siela Maximova

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

Sep 14, 2023

Penn State-led team to study climate-threatened Colombian Paramos’ soil microbes

Estelle Couradeau will lead an international team researching how climate change will affect soil microbes in the ecologically fragile and important Paramos ecosystem in Colombia’s Andes Mountains.

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 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

Nov 06, 2019

Global Faculty Fellow will create connections between Penn State and Colombia

Siela Maximova, research professor of plant biotechnology, has been named a Global Faculty Fellow in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences and a Land Grant University U.S.-Colombia Fulbright Scholar.

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

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

Sep 15, 2018

Searching for Chocolate’s Roots, and Enemies, in Colombia’s Wilderness

A newfound peace has spurred the hunt for disease-resistant wild cacao within the nation’s borders.

Full Article