OPTIMUS PRIME pursues the use of bioresources (including natural compounds and soil microorganisms) as seed priming treatments to improve resilience of widespread commercial varieties and local adapted landraces of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L. Mill) to the combination of water deficit, high temperatures and the incidence of two important tomato pests. Specifically, OPTIMUS PRIME will investigate i) the priming effect of different natural products and biological (AMF and PGPB) agent combinations against the concurrent incidence of high temperatures, water deficit and attack of Tuta absoluta and Tetranychus evansi on commercial tomato…
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Studio dei mezzi di contenimento di specie aliene invasive nelle aste fluviali afferenti al Consorzio di Bonifica 3 Medio Valdarno
In collaboration with “Consorzio di Bonifica 3 Medio Valdarno”, the public authority in charge of rivers maintenance and flood management, we started in 2020 a pilot study to identify suitable means of invasive alien speciesRoberto DantiSe containment without the use of herbicides, with the aim of providing management protocols applicable in the regional and supra-regional context. The study will focus in particular on Ailanthus altissima and on the so-called “Japanese knotweed”, a group of exotic species of the genus Reynoutria = Fallopia. For A. altissima, the possibility of applying bio-control…
Read MoreVirome NGS analysis of pests and pathogens for plant protection (VIROPLANT)
The aim of VIROPLANT is to apply NGS technology and empirical biological experiments to develop new environmentally friendly virus-based control strategies to manage bacterial, fungal and insect vector-transmitted diseases (phytoplasmas and viruses) as well as insect pests. VIROPLANT will create a database of new viruses (and virus derived biotechnological products) to increase the arsenal for the control of plant diseases caused by the most important biotic stresses. Different NGS and bioinformatics approaches will be applied to explore the virome diversity, including latent infections that can be potentially exploited for new…
Read MorePRIN 2017: A multidisciplinary approach to gain sustainable improvement of rice productivity through the co-cultivation with the fern Azolla and its cyanobacterial symbiont
This project focuses on the development of a sustainable innovative way to enhance the productivity of rice (Oryza sativa) under resource-limiting, sub-optimal environmental conditions. The research activity aims at investigating the co-cultivation of rice with Azolla spp., an aquatic pteridophyte that has co-evolved with Anabaena azollae, a symbiotic nitrogen fixing cyanobacteria inhabiting the fern leaflets. The benefits of Azolla spp. have been already well documented through decades of agronomic studies. However, the nature of molecular interactions, particularly the effects of volatile organic compounds (VOC)released by Azolla–Anabaena on rice remain unknown…
Read MoreMicrobial uptakes for sustainable management of major banana pests and diseases (MUSA)
The MUSA project (UE Call H2020-SFS-2016-2017, Sustainable Food Security – Resilient and resource-efficient value chains, topic SFS-11-2016) aims at achieving a sustainable intensification of banana and ensete cultivation in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Canary Islands and the Caribbean, through the identification, development and implementation of IPM methods based on beneficial microorganisms. The Project proposes the use of microbial consortia and banana germplasm, studying the phenotypic and molecular reactions of plants to different biotic stresses (phytoparasitic nematodes, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense and Cosmopolites spp.). The results include data obtained by screening,…
Read MorePhage search in insect vector microbiome (Phaser)
The aim of PHASER is to study the presence of bacteriophages in four insect vectors of important plant diseases, using both an innovative, based on RNAseq analysis, and a traditional, based on microscopic observations, approach. The chosen insects are the phytoplasma vectors Scaphoideus titanus and Euscelidius variegatus, and the virus vectors Thrips tabaci and Frankliniella occidentalis. The project will widen the knowledge of the microbiome of these important plant pests and will pose the basis for the development of microbe-based strategies for their containment, to reduce the use of chemical…
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