CURRICULUM VITAE - James J. Giovannoni

 

Robert W. Holley Research Center for Agriculture and Health

Tower Road

Cornell University Campus

Ithaca, NY 14850

 

Phone: (607) 847-8531           

FAX: (607) 254-1502             

Email: James.Giovannoni@ars.usda.gov         

 

EDUCATION HISTORY

 

1985 - 1990     Ph.D.   University of California, Berkeley

                                   Molecular and Physiological Plant Biology

1981 - 1985     BS       University of California, Davis, Biochemistry (minor in Philosophy)

 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

 

  2000 -               Research Molecular Biologist, ARS/BTI, Ithaca NY  (10/00 - present)

  1999 - 2000      Director, Center for Nutrition, Health and Food Genomics, Texas A&M

  1997 - 2000      Associate Professor, Department of Horticultural Sciences, Texas A&M

  1992 - 1997      Assistant Professor, Department of Horticultural Sciences, Texas A&M

  1991 - 1992      Post-doctoral Research Associate, NSF/DOE/USDA Plant Science Center, Cornell University

  1990 - 1991      Post-doctoral Research Associate, Department of Plant Breeding and Biometry, Cornell University 

  1985 - 1990      Graduate Research Assistant, University of California, Berkeley

 

RESEARCH

 

The focus of research in our laboratory is molecular and genetic analysis of fruit ripening and related signal transduction systems.  We are investigating the regulation of ripening using tomato as a model system.  Experimental approaches include 1) positional cloning of loci known via mutation to harbor genes necessary for normal fruit development and ripening, 2) isolation of candidate ripening regulatory genes based on expression pattern or relationship to ripening-related signal transduction systems (egs. ethylene, light), and functional analysis in transgenic plants, and 3) development and utilization of tools for functional genomics with current targets of exploration including genome sequencing and genome-wide expression profiling during ripening and as related to fruit quality and nutritional composition.

 

CURRENT FACULTY AFFILIATIONS

Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Research Scientist (10/00 - present)

Department of Plant Biology, Cornell University, Adjunct Professor (5/01 - present)

Department of Horticulture, Cornell University, Adjunct Professor (11/01 - present)

Department of Plant Breeding, Cornell University, Adjunct Professor (5/03 - present)

Department of Horticulture, Texas A&M, Adjunct Professor (10/00 - present)

TEACHING (Texas A&M)

 

Undergraduate:   

   HORT/PPHY/GENE 411     Biotechnology for Crop Improvement      S97, S98, S99, S00

   HORT or GENE or PPHY 485   Independent Study                  - total of 11 students

 

   Graduate:

HORT/PPHY 630     Post-harvest Biology/Physiology/Genetics.           F93, F94, F95, F97 

HORT 681                 Graduate Seminar                                               S96

HORT 685                 Independent Study (graduate students from other

                                     labs interested in learning molecular mapping

                                     who spend a semester in the lab)                      -  total of 6 students

 

BIOPL 742  (Cornell)                                                                         F01

BIOPL 653.1 (Cornell)                                                                       F02, F03, F04

 

Thesis Committees Chaired:

         Texas A&M

            Program                       Degree                         Completed                   Current

            GENE                          M.Sc.                           1                                  0

                                                Ph.D.                           3                                  0

            PPHY                          M.Sc.                           1                                  0

                                                Ph.D.                           3                                  0

            HORT                          M.Sc.                           2                                  0

                                                Ph.D.                           1                                  0

            Cornell

            Plant Biology                Ph.D                            1                                  1 (Plant Biology)

                                                                                                                        2 (Horticulture)

 

 

AWARDS

 

   McKnight Foundation Fellowship.  August 1985 - December 1986 (graduate student).

   Executive Committee for the Biotechnology Research and Education Program Fellowship.     

            January 1988 - April 1990 (graduate student).

   Executive Committee for the Biotechnology Research and Education Program Fellowship. April         

            1990 - August 1990 (post-doctoral).

   NSF/DOE/USDA Plant Science Center Postdoctoral Fellow.  Cornell University. September 1,        

            1991 -September 24, 1992.

 

 

REFEREED PUBLICATIONS

 

Margossian, L., Federman, A., Giovannoni, J., and Fischer, R.  (1988)  Ethylene-regulated expression of a tomato fruit ripening gene encoding a proteinase inhibitor 1 with a glutamic residue at the reactive site.  PNAS USA. 85:8012-8016.

Giovannoni, J., DellaPenna, D., Bennett, A., and Fischer, R.  (1989)  Expression of a chimeric polygalacturonase gene in transgenic rin  (ripening inhibitor)tomato fruit results in polyuronide degradation but not fruit softening.  The Plant Cell. 1:53-63.

DellaPenna, D., Lashbrook, C., Toenjes, K., Giovannoni, J., Fischer, R., and Bennett, A. (1990).  Polygalacturonase isozymes and pectin depolymerization in transgenic rin  tomato fruit.  Plant Physiol. 94:1882-1886.

Giovannoni, J., Wing, R., Ganal, M. and Tanksley, S.  (1991).  Isolation of molecular markers from specific genomic regions through the use of isogenic DNA pools and existing mapping populations.  Nuc. Acids Res.  19:6553-6558.

Penarrubia, L., Kim, R., Giovannoni, J., Kim, S. and Fischer, R.  (1992)  Production of the sweet protein monellin in transgenic plants.  Bio/Technology.  10:561-563.

Tanksley, S., Ganal, M., Prince, J., deVincente, C., Bonierbale, M., Broun, P., Fulton, T., Giovannoni, J., Grandillo, S., Martin, G., Messeguer, R., Miller, J., Miller, L., Paterson, A., Pineda, O., Roder, M., Wing, R., Wu, W., and Young, N.  (1992) High density molecular maps of the tomato and potato genomes.  Genetics.  132:1141-1160.

Churchill, G., Giovannoni, J. and Tanksley, S. (1993)  Pooled-sampling makes high-resolution mapping practical with DNA markers.  PNAS USA.  90:16-20.

Gray, J., Picton, S., Giovannoni, J. and Grierson, D.  (1994)  The use of transgenic and naturally occurring mutants to understand and manipulate tomato fruit ripening.  Plant, Cell and Environment.  17:557-551.

Lanahan, M., Yen, H. Giovannoni, J. and H. Klee  (1994)  The Never-ripe mutation blocks ethylene perception in tomato.  The Plant Cell.  6:521-530.

Oh, B. J., Balint, D. and Giovannoni, J.  (1995) A modified procedure for PCR-based differential display and demonstration of use in plants for isolation of fruit ripening-related genes.  Plant Molecular Biology Reporter  13(1): 70-81

Yen, H.,  Lee, S., Tanksley, S., Lanahan, M., Klee, H. and Giovannoni, J. (1995)  The tomato Never-ripe locus regulates ethylene-inducible gene expression and is linked to a homologue of the Arabidopsis ETR1 gene.  Plant Physiology  107:1343-1353

Giovannoni, J., Noensie, E., Ruezinsky, D., Lu, X., Tracy, S., Ganal, M., Martin, G., Pillen, K. and Tanksley, S.  (1995) Molecular genetic analysis of the ripening-inhibitor and non-ripening loci of tomato: a first step in genetic map-based cloning of fruit ripening genes.  Molecular and General Genetics  248(2): 195-206.

Lu, Xianghuai., Ruezinsky, D. and Giovannoni, J.  (1995)  Rapid isolation of terminal sequences from cloned plant DNA fragments.  Plant Molecular Biology Rep.  13(4): 369-376.

Wilkinson, J., Lanahan, M., Yen, H., Giovannoni, J. and Klee, H.  (1995)  An ethylene-inducible component of signal transduction encoded by Never-ripe.  Science  270:1807-1809.

Pillen, K., Alpert, K., Giovannoni, J., Ganal, M. and Tanksley, S.  (1996)  Rapid and reliable screening of a tomato YAC library exclusively based on PCR.  Plant Molecular Biology Reporter  14(1): 58-67.

Yen, H., Shelton, A., Howard, L. Vrebalov, J. and Giovannoni, J.  (1997) The tomato high pigment  (hp) locus maps to chromosome 2 and influences plastome copy number and fruit quality.  Theoretical and Applied Genetics  95:1069-1079

Alcala, J., Giovannoni, J., Pike, L., and Reddy, S.  (1997) Application of Genetic Bit Analysis for allelic selection in plant breeding. Molecular Breeding  3:495-502

Lashbrook, C., Giovannoni, J., Hall, B., Fischer, R., and Bennett, A.  (1998)  Transgenic analysis of tomato endo-beta-1,4-glucanase gene function.  Role of CEL1 in floral abscission.  The Plant Journal 13:303-310.

Alcala, J., Pike, L., and Giovannoni, J.  (1999) Marker-assisted selection for cytoplasmic male sterility in onion and identification of plastome variants useful for cultivar identification and pedigree analysis. J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci.  124:122-127

Giovannoni, J., Yen, H., Shelton, B., Miller, S., Kannan, P.,  Vrebalov, J.,  Tieman, D.,  Hackett, R., Grierson, D., and Klee, H. (1999) Genetic mapping of ripening and ethylene-related loci in tomato.  Theoretical and Applied Genetics  98:1005-1013

Thompson, A., Barry, C., Jarvis, M., Vrebalov, J., Giovannoni, J., Grierson, D., and Seymour, G.  (1999) Molecular and genetic characterization of a novel pleiotropic tomato-ripening mutant. Plant Physiology 120: 383-389.

Casselman, A., Vrebalov, J. Conner, J., Singhal, A., Giovannoni, J., Nasrallah, M., Nasrallah, J.  (2000) Recombinational analysis of the Brassica S locus.  The Plant Cell  12: 23 - 33.

Giovannoni, J.  (2001) Molecular Regulation of Fruit Ripening.  Annual Review of Plant Physiology and Plant Molecular Biology.  52:725-749.

Barry, C., Fox, E., Yen, H., Lee, S., Ying, T., Grierson, D. and Giovannoni J.   (2001) Analysis of the ethylene response in the epinsastic (epi) mutant of tomato.  Plant Physiology 127:58-66.

Giovannoni J, Payton P, Moore S, White R, Vrebalov J.  (2002) Genetic Control of Fruit Quality and Prospects for Nutrient Modification. HortScience.  37: 453-456

Vrebalov J, Ruezinsky D, Padmanabhan V, White R, Medrano D, DrakeR , Schuch W, Giovannoni J.  (2002) A MADS-box gene necessary for fruit ripening at the tomato ripening-inhibitor (rin) locus.  Science.  296:343-346

Van der Hoeven R,  Ronning C, Giovannoni J, Martin G, Tanksley S. (2002) Deductions about the number, organization and evolution of genes in the tomato genome based on analysis of large expressed sequence tag collection and selective genomic sequencing.  The Plant Cell, 14: 1441-1456

Moore S, Vrebalov J, Payton P, Giovannoni J.  Use of genomics tools to isolate key ripening genes and analyze fruit maturation in tomato. (2002) J. Exp. Botany. 53: 2023-2030.

Leclercq, J., Adams-Phillips, L., Zegzouti, H., Jones, B., Latche, A., Giovannoni, J., Peche, J., and Bouzayen, M. (2002) LeCTR1, a tomato CTR1-like gene, demonstrates ethylene signaling ability in Arabidopsis and novel expression patterns in tomato.  Plant Physiology. 130:1132-1142

Ruperti, B., Bonghi, C., Ziliotto, F., Pagni, S., Rasori, A., Varotto, S., Tunutti, P., Giovannoni, J., and Ramina, A.  (2002) Characterization of a major latex protein (MLP) gene down-regulated by ethylene during peach fruitlet abscission.  Plant Science.  163:265-272

Fei Z, Tang X, Alba R, Payton P, Giovannoni J (2003).  Tomato Expression Database (TED) – An Interactive Management Tool for Tomato Expression Profiling Data. Proc Comp Sys Bioinform 03:424–425.

Basset G, Quinlivan E, Ravanel S, Rébeillé F, Nichols B, Shinozaki K, Seki M, Adams-Phillips L, Giovannoni J, Gregory J and Hanson A. (2004) Folate synthesis in plants: The p-aminobenzoate branch is initiated by a bifunctional PabA-PabB protein that is targeted to plastids.  PNAS USA. 101:1496-1501

Giovannoni J.  (2004) Genetic regulation of fruit development and ripening.  The Plant Cell.  16: S170 -180.

Liu, Y., Roof, S., Ye, Z., Barry, C., van Tuinen, A., Vrebalov, J., Bowler, C., and Giovannoni, J.  (2004) Manipulation of light signal transduction as a means of modifying fruit nutritional quality in tomato.  PNAS USA.  26: 9897-9902

Adams-Phillips, L., Barry, C. and Giovannoni, J.  (2004)  Signal transduction systems regulating fruit ripening.  Trends in Plant Science.  9: 331-338

Adams-Phillips, L., Barry, C., Kannan, P., Leclercq, J., Bouzayen, M., and Giovannoni, J.  (2004) Evidence that CTR1-mediated ethylene signal transduction in tomato is encoded by a multigene family whose members display distinct regulatory features.  Plant Molec. Biol.  54:387-404

Alba, R., Fei, Z., Payton, P., Liu, Y., Moore, S., Debbie, P., Gordon, J., Rose, J., Martin, G., Tanksley, S., Bouzayen, M., Jahn, M., and Giovannoni, J.  (2004)  ESTs, cDNA microarrays, and gene expression profiling: tools for dissecting plant physiology and development.  Plant Journal. 39:697-714.

Rose, J., Bashir, S., Giovannoni, J., Jahn, M., and Saravanan, S.  (2004) Tackling the plant proteome: Practical approaches, hurdles and experimental tools.  Plant Journal. 39:715-733..

Fei, Z., Tang, X., Alba, R., White J., Ronning, C., Martin, G., Tanksley, S. and Giovannoni, J.  (2004)  Comprehensive EST analysis of tomato and comparative genomics of fruit ripening.  Plant Journal. 40:47-59.

Basset, G., Ravanel, S., Quinlivan, E., White, R., Giovannoni, J., Rébeillé, F., Nichols, B., Shinozaki, K., Gregory, J. and Hanson, A.  (2004)  Folate synthesis in plants: the last step of the p-aminobenzoate branch is catalyzed by a plastidial aminodeoxychorismate lyase.  Plant Journal.  40:453-461.

Barry, C., McQuinn, R., Thompson, A., Seymour, G., Grierson, D. and Giovannoni, J.  (2005) Ethylene insensitivity conferred by the Green-ripe (Gr) and Never-ripe 2 (Nr-2) ripening mutants of tomato.  Plant Physiology.  138:267-275.

Li, C., Liu, G., Schilmiller, A., Lee, G., Jayanty, S., Sageman, C., Vrebalov, J., Giovannoni, J. and Howe, G.  (2005) Role of -Oxidation in Jasmonate Biosynthesis and Systemic Wound Signaling in Tomato.  Plant Cell.  17:971-986.

Mueller LA, Tanksley SD, Giovannoni JJ, Van Eck J, Stack S, Choi D, Kim BD, Chen M, Cheng Z, Li C, Ling H, Xue Y, Seymour G, Bishop G, Bryan G, Sharma R, Khurana J, Tyagi A, Chattopadhyay, D, Singh NK, Stiekema W, Lindhout P, Jesse T, Lankhorst RK, Bouzayen M, Shibata D, Tabata S, Granell A, Botella MA, Giuliano G, Frusciante L, Causse M, and Zamir D  (2005) The Tomato Sequencing Project, the first cornerstone of the International Solanaceae Project (SOL). Comp Funct Genom, 6:153-158.

Giovannoni, J.J. and El-Rakshy, S. 2005. Genetic Regulation of tomato fruit ripening and development and implementation of associated genomics tools. Acta Hort. 682:63-72

Ponce-Valadez, M., Watkins, C.B., Moore, S. and Giovannoni, J.J. 2005. Differential gene expression analysis of strawberry cultivar responses to elevated CO2 contrations during storage using a tomato cDNA microarray. Acta Hort. 682:255-262

Moore, S., Payton, P., Wright, M., Tanksley, S., and Giovannoni, J.  (2005)  Utilization of tomato microarrays for comparative gene expression analysis in the Solanaceae.  J. Ex. Botany.  In press.

Alba, R., Payton, P., Fei, Z., McQuinn, R., Debbie, P., Martin, G., Tanksley, S. and Giovannoni, J. Transcriptome and selected fruit metabolite analysis reveal multiple points of ethylene regulatory control during tomato fruit development.  Plant Cell   In press

 

 

 

 

REVIEWS and CHAPTERS

 

Bennett, A., DellaPenna, D., Fischer, R., Giovannoni, J., and Lincoln J.  (1989)  Tomato Fruit Polygalacturonase: Gene Regulation and Enzyme Function.  In Biotechnology and Food Quality.  (Shain-Dow Kung, ed.)  University of Maryland Press. p167-180.

Giovannoni, J., DellaPenna, D., Lashbrook, C., Bennett, A., and Fischer, R.  (1990)  Expression of a chimeric polygalacturonase gene in transgenic rin (ripening inhibitor) tomato fruit.  In Plant Gene Transfer (Lamb, C. and Beachy, R. eds.) New York: Alan R. Liss, Inc. p81-100.

Giovannoni, J., DellaPenna, D., Lashbrook, C., Bennett, A., and Fischer, R.  (1990)  Expression of a chimeric polygalacturonase gene in transgenic rin  tomato fruit.  In Horticultural Biotechnology (Bennett, A. ed.)  Alan R. Liss, Inc.

Giovannoni, J., DellaPenna, D., Bennett, A., and Fischer, R.  (1991)  Polygalacturonase and Tomato Fruit Ripening.  Horticultural Reviews.  Vol. 13 p67-103.

DellaPenna, D. and Giovannoni, J.  (1991)  Regulation of gene expression in ripening tomatoes.  In Plant Biotechnology Series,  Volume 2: Factors Governing Plant Gene Expression.  (Grierson, D. ed.)  Glasgow, Scotland:  Blackie and Son Limited.  pp. 182-216.

Giovannoni, J. (1993) Molecular biology of fruit development and ripening.  In Methods in Plant Molecular Biology. (Bryant, J. ed.) Academic Press.  Vol. 10: 253-287.

Giovannoni, J and Yen, H. (1997)  Ethylene Signal Transduction.  Trans. Malaysian Soc. Plant Physiol. 6:1-8.

Giovannoni, J. Molecular genetic analysis of ethylene-regulated and developmental components of tomato fruit ripening.  (1997) In Biology and Biotechnology of the Plant Hormone Ethylene.  (Kanellis, A. ed.).  Kluwer Academic Publishers. p133-140.

Giovannoni, J., Kannan, P., Lee, S., and Yen, H. (1998) Genetic approaches to manipulation of fruit development and quality in tomato.  In Genetic and Environmental Manipulation of Horticultural Crops.  (Cockshull, K. ed.)  CAB International Publishers. p 1-15.

Giovannoni, J., Fox, E., Kannan, P., Lee, S., Padmanabhan, V., and Vrebalov, J.  (1999) Analysis of gene expression and mutants influencing ethylene responses and fruit development in tomato.  In Biology and Biotechnology of the Plant Hormone Ethylene II.  (Kanellis, A. ed.)  Kluwer Academic Publishers. p 119-127.

Moore, S., Payton, P. and Giovannoni, J.  (2002)  DNA microarrays for gene expression analysis.  In: Practical Approach: Molecular Plant Biology Vol. 2.  (P. Gilmartin and C. Bowler, Eds)  Oxford University Press.  p65 - 76.

McCaskill A R, and Giovannoni J.  (2002) Use of molecular markers for fruit crop improvement.  In:  Molecular Techniques in Crop Improvement (S.Mohan Jain, DS Brar and BS Ahloowalia eds.)  Kluwer Academic Publishers, The Netherlands, p 283-297.

Adams-Phillips, L., Alba, R., Barry, C., and Giovannoni, J. (2003) Genomics of ethylene signal transduction in tomato.  In: Biology and Biotechnology of the Plant Hormone Ethylene (Vendrel, M. et al. eds.). IOS Press, Amsterdam.  p 131-136.

Giovannoni J. (2004) Plant genetic modification: gene isolation.  In: Handbook of Plant Biotechnology Vol 1. (P. Cristou, H. Klee Eds.) Wiley and Sons, Ltd.  p  65-68

Fox E, Giovannoni J. Genetic control of fruit ripening.  In: Genetic Improvement of Solanaceous Crops, Vol. 1: Tomato ( M.K. Razdan, A. Mattoo Eds.), Science Publishers Inc.  In press

 

 

 

PATENTS

 

Issued:

Endo-1,4-B-Glucanase Genes and Their Use in Plants.  US Patent No. 5,168,064  issued December 1, 1992; Patent No. 5,328,999 issued July 12, 1994.  Co-inventors: Bennett, A., Fischer, R., Giovannoni, J. and Lashbrook, C.

 

Constructs for expression of monellin in plant cells.  US Patent No. 5,234,834 issued August 10, 1993.   Co-inventors: Cho, J., Fischer, R., Giovannoni, J., Kim, R., Kim, S. and Penarrubia, D.

 

RIN gene for use in manipulation of fruit quality and ethylene response. US Patent No. 6,787,687 issued  September 7, 2004.  Co-Inventors: Giovannoni, J., Tanksley, S., Padmanabhan, V., Vrebalov, J., Ruezinsky, D., and White, R.

 

NOR gene for use in manipulation of fruit quality and ethylene response. US Patent No. 6,762,347 issued July 13, 2004.  Co-Inventors: Giovannoni, J., Tanksley, V., Vrebalov, J., and Noensie, E.