Michelle MacLellan

Teaching Interests

• General Microbiology & Microbial Physiology
• Molecular Biology & Genetics
• Applied Microbiology (environmental, agricultural, and food systems)
• Plant Pathology (with emphasis on bacterial diseases)
• Food Safety & Foodborne Microbiology
• Microbial Genomics, Bioinformatics, and Omics Applications
• Microbial Forensics & Biosecurity

Research Interests

My research program centers on Microbial Forensics and Biosecurity, with a strong foundation in plant-associated and food-associated bacterial pathogens and applied microbiology. My work integrates molecular biology, bacteriology, comparative genomics, and phenotypic assays to understand pathogen identity, evolution, and risk across agricultural and food systems. 

Selected Publications

• Mei Zhao, Michelle Maclellan, Sujan Paudel, Ronald Gitaitis, Brian Kvitko, and Bhabesh Dutta. Characterization of Pseudomonas alliivorans Strains Isolated from Georgia, USA: Insights into Genomic Diversity and Pathogenicity in Onions. Appl Environ Microbiol 91:e01643-25. https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.01643-25.

• Jhon Jairo Giraldo-González, Sara Coromoto Suárez-Acevedo, Adriano Ferrasa, Roberto Hirochi Herai, Michelle Mendonca Pena, Elkin Fernando Rodas-Mendoza and Jesus Aparecido Ferro. In silico Analysis of the Transcriptional Defense Dynamics of Resistant and Susceptible Citrus Varieties Against Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri. European Journal of Plant Pathology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10658-025-03127-9.
  
  
• Kiersten R. Fullem; Michelle P. MacLellan; Fanny B. Iriarte; Mousami Poudel; Sarah Capik; Keith Dedonder; James L. Bono; Dayna M. Harhay; Gregory P. Harhay; Erica M. Goss; Neha Potnis; Gerald V. Minsavage; Jeffrey B. Jones; Mathews L. Paret. From cantaloupe to cattle: Pseudomonas alabamensis sp. nov. described from diseased cantaloupe (Cucumis melo) foliage and a bovine (Bos taurus) nasopharynx. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. https://doi.org/10.1099/ijsem.0.006848.

• Pena, Michelle M, Bhandari, R., Bowers, R.M., Weis, K., Newberry, E., Wagner, N., Pupko, T., Jones, J.B., Woyke, T., Vinatzer, B.A., Jacques, M.-A., Potnis, N., 2024. Genetic and Functional Diversity Help Explain Pathogenic, Weakly Pathogenic, and Commensal Lifestyles in the Genus Xanthomonas. Genome Biol. Evol. 16, evae074. https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evae074.

• Pena, Michelle M., Martins, T.Z., Teper, D., Zamuner, C., Alves, H.A., Ferreira, H., Wang, N., Ferro, M.I.T., Ferro, J.A., 2024. EnvC Homolog Encoded by Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri Is Necessary for Cell Division and Virulence. Microorganisms 12, 691. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12040691.

• Fullem, K.R., Pena, M.M., Potnis, N., Goss, E.M., Minsavage, G.V., Iriarte, F.B., Holland, A., Jones, J.B., Paret, M.L., 2024b. Unexpected Diversity of Pseudomonads Associated with Bacterial Leaf Spot of Cucurbits in the Southeastern United States. Plant Dis. 108, 592–598. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-06-23-1081-SR.

• Ramamoorthy, S., Pena, M., Ghosh, P., Liao, Y.-Y., Paret, M., Jones, J.B., Potnis, N., 2024. Transcriptome profiling of type VI secretion system core gene tssM mutant of Xanthomonas perforans highlights regulators controlling diverse functions ranging from virulence to metabolism. Microbiol. Spectr. 12, e02852-23. https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.02852-23.

• Wagner, N., Alburquerque, M., Ecker, N., Dotan, E., Zerah, B., Pena, M.M., Potnis, N., Pupko, T., 2022. Natural language processing approach to model the secretion signal of type III effectors. Front. Plant Sci. 13, 1024405. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.1024405.

• Bueno, D., Pedrolli, D.B., Martins, P.M.M., Bocchini, D.A., Moraes, K.C.M., Facincani, A.P., Ferro, J.A., Varani, A.M., Pena, M.M., Ferreira, H., 2021. Riboswitch theo/metE as a Transcription Regulation Tool for Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri. Microorganisms 9, 329. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9020329.

• Pena, M.M., Teper, D., Ferreira, H., Wang, N., Sato, K.U., Ferro, M.I.T., Ferro, J.A., 2020. mCherry fusions enable the subcellular localization of periplasmic and cytoplasmic proteins in Xanthomonas sp. PLOS ONE 15, e0236185. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0236185.

For a full list of publications please refer to ‪Michelle MacLellan - ‪Google Scholar