Matthew Pelletier

Associate Professor of Biology; Chair, Department of Biology

While my formal training is in plant molecular genetics, more recently I have begun to diversify my research. In the summer of 2011, I worked with students and my colleague Kurt Vandock at Houghton to sequence a gene involved in insect development in the model insect Manduca sexta.
In the spring of 2012 I was able to work at Corning during my sabbatical. During this time, I learned cell culture technique by working with human adult stem cells. My research at Corning involved trying to develop surfaces that could control the differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells into specific cell types such as chondrocytes. Jon Figueroa, a Houghton senior, is continuing this research and hopes to submit a publication by the end of the academic year.
In the summer of 2012, I also had the privilege of beginning to work on a genetic disease (propionic acidemia) prevalent in our local Amish population. We worked with the community to use DNA sequencing to attempt to identify individuals who may be carriers of the mutant allele, as well as those who may have the disease but have not been diagnosed. To date we have identified 27 carriers in the population, and we continue to collaborate with The Clinic for Special Children in Strasburg, PA to continue studying this disease. Recently I was able to attend a national conference on the disease and present the results of our research. The next steps will involve more of a focus on treatment of the disease.

Pelletier MK, French LL, Trinidad S, Vandock KP. Sequence and Structure of the Tobacco Hornworm, Manduca sexta, Transhydrogenase Gene. International Journal of Insect Science. 2012, 4:1-6.Pe
Hood, Indriati, Pelletier, M.K., and Winkel B.W. Fine Scale Genetic Mapping of the TT9 Locus of Arabidopsis thaliana (In review with BMC Plant Molecular Biology)
Pelletier, M.K., Burbulis, I.E., and Shirley, B.W. (1999) Disruption of Specific Flavonoid Genes Enhances the Accumulation of Flavonoid Enzymes and End-Products in Arabidopsis Seedlings. Plant Molecular Biology. 40: 45-54
Pelletier, M.K., Murrell, J.R., and Shirley, B.W. (1997) Characterization of Arabidopsis FLS and LDOX Genes: Further Evidence for Differential Regulation of “Early” and “Late” Genes Plant Physiology. 113: 1437-1445
Pelletier, M.K. and Shirley, B.W. (1996) Analysis of Flavanone 3-Hydroxylase in Arabidopsis Seedlings: Coordinate Regulation with Chalcone Synthase and Chalcone Isomerase. Plant Physiology. 111: 339-345