Profile
Matt Turnbull
Biological Sciences
Associate Professor
Biological Sciences Undergraduate Program Coordinator
864-656-2328
Jordan Hall 228 [Lab]
Jordan Hall 327 [Office]
Educational Background
Ph.D., Entomology, University of Kentucky, 2002
M.A., Biology, College of William & Mary, 1999
B.S., Biology, College of William & Mary, 1994
Research Interests
The Turnbull lab works on viruses that infect and cause pathologies in the most diverse animals on the planet - insects. At this time, we are focused on understanding better the biology of lepidopteran (moth) nudiviruses, particularly the nudivirus HzNV-2. HzNV-2 infects the pest moth Helicoverpa zea and its congener H. armigera, which are terrible pests of corn, cotton, and other crops. HzNV-2 is transmitted horizontally sexually, and is vertically transmitted to offspring, where it can induce sterility. We currently are examining patterns and mechanisms of vertical transmission, infection routes, and cellular and organismal pathologies, while we also are interested in broader aspects of the virus include prevalence and pathology in the field, ecological impacts on the host, and more.
Research Group (Lab)
Jabez Battu (PhD student, Biological Sciences Graduate Program)
Alexis Yoh (MS student, Biological Sciences Graduate Program)
Recent alums: Daniel Howard (MS, Microbiology); Zilan Li (MS, Entomology); Richard Melton (MS, Biological Sciences); Peng Zhang (PhD, Biological Sciences; MS, Entomology)
Courses Taught
BIOL4750, Comparative Physiology
BIOL8450, Understanding Animal Diversity
ENT8700, Insect Physiology and Molecular Biology
Selected Publications
Zhang, P.; Liu, Y.; Li, C.; Stine, L. D.; Wang, P. H.; Turnbull, M. W.; Wu, H.; Liu, Q., Ectopic expression of SARS-CoV-2 S and ORF-9B proteins alters metabolic profiles and impairs contractile function in cardiomyocytes. Front Cell Dev Biol 2023, 11, 1110271.
Zhang, P.; Turnbull, M., Polydnavirus Innexins Disrupt Host Cellular Encapsulation and Larval Maturation. Viruses 2021, 13, (8).
Hasegawa, D. K.; Zhang, P.; Turnbull, M. W., Intracellular dynamics of polydnavirus innexin homologues. Insect Mol Biol 2020, 29, (5), 477-489.
Bilbo, T. R.; Reay-Jones, F. P. F.; Reisig, D. D.; Greene, J. K.; Turnbull, M. W., Development, survival, and feeding behavior of Helicoverpa zea (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) relative to Bt protein concentrations in corn ear tissues. PLoS One 2019, 14, (8), e0221343.
Rhodes, S. A.; Turnbull, M. W.; Chong, J. H., Nitrogen Fertilization of Host Plant Influenced the Nutritional Status and Life History of the Madeira Mealybug (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae). Environ Entomol 2019, 48, (5), 1129-1137.
Zhang, P.; Turnbull, M. W., Virus innexin expression in insect cells disrupts cell membrane potential and pH. J Gen Virol 2018, 99, (10), 1444-1452.
Romero-Carvajal, A.; Turnbull, M. W.; Baeza, J. A., Embryonic Development in the Peppermint Shrimp, Lysmata boggessi (Caridea: Lysmatidae). Biol Bull 2018, 234, (3), 165-179.
Memberships
American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Society for Microbiology
American Society for Virology
Entomology Society of America
Sigma Xi
