Claude dePamphilis

Director of the Center for Parasitic and Carnivorous Plants; Huck Distinguished Chair in Plant Biology and Evolutionary Genomics; Professor of Biology

Claude dePamphilis

Research Summary

Genomics, bioinformatics, and molecular evolution. Origin and diversification of flowers and developmental pathways. Comparative genomics of plants, organelles, and plant gene families. Genomics, evolution, and functional biology of parasitic plants.

Huck Graduate Students

Huck Affiliations

Links

News Articles Featuring Claude dePamphilis

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.

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Sep 27, 2021

Your occasional storage digest with Elastic, MemVerge, an amazing funding round, and more

There’s a strong focus on data querying and analysis in this week’s digest. Data querying has been improved by Elastic enhancing its search products. A US research institute is using MemVerge’s virtual memory to speed plant DNA analysis. And data warehouse data feeder Fivetran has pulled off an amazing funding round.

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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.

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Jun 30, 2021

Claude dePamphilis named Huck Chair in Plant Biology and Evolutionary Genomics

Claude dePamphilis, Penn State Professor of Biology, has been named the Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Distinguished Chair in Plant Biology and Evolutionary Genomics by the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences.

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Jul 15, 2020

Ecology Institute announces grant recipients

The Ecology Institute has awarded 11 proposals from across the University as part of its Flower Grant program, including five projects submitted by faculty at Commonwealth Campuses.

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Feb 11, 2020

Local genetic adaption helps sorghum crop hide from witchweed

Sorghum crops in areas where the agricultural parasite striga, also known as witchweed, is common are more likely to have genetic adaptations to help them resist the parasite, according to new research led by Penn State scientists.

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Dec 17, 2019

Agricultural parasite avoids evolutionary arms race, shuts down genes of host

A parasitic plant has found a way to circumvent an evolutionary arms race with the host plants from which it steals nutrients, allowing the parasite to thrive on a variety of agriculturally important plants. The parasite dodder, an agricultural pest found on every continent, sends genetic material into its host to shut down host defense genes.

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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.

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Nov 20, 2019

Eleven Eberly faculty featured as highly cited researchers in 2019 by Clarivate

Eleven researchers from the Eberly College of Science have been recognized as "highly cited" by the Clarivate Analytics Web of Science Group. The 2019 Highly Cited Researchers list features researchers who have demonstrated considerable influence through publication of multiple works that have been cited by a significant number of their peers during the last decade.

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Jul 24, 2019

Natural GMOs: Parasitic plants steal host DNA to siphon off needed resources

Some parasitic plants steal genetic material from their host plants and use the stolen genes to more effectively siphon off the host’s nutrients. A new study led by researchers at Penn State and Virginia Tech reveals that the parasitic plant dodder has stolen a large amount of genetic material from its hosts, including over 100 functional genes.

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Jul 22, 2019

Parasitic plants use stolen genes to make them better parasites

Some parasitic plants steal genetic material from their host plants and use the stolen genes to more effectively siphon off the host’s nutrients. A new study led by researchers at Penn State and Virginia Tech reveals that the parasitic plant dodder has stolen a large amount of genetic material from its hosts, including over 100 functional genes.

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Apr 19, 2019

NIH Trainees Juan Cerda and Catherine Douds Receive NSF-GRFP Honorable Mentions

Juan Cerda and Catherine Douds, both members of NIH-sponsored training programs overseen by the Huck Institutes, were recognized for their promising research ideas.

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