RESEARCH FELLOW francesco.bergese(AT)ipsp.cnr.it publications: Orcid personal details and research activity: People Curriculum Vitae I graduated in Environmental Monitoring, Protection and Restoration at the University of Turin in 2023. I did research on the topic of boreal peatland management at the Swedish Agricultural University in Uppsala, focusing on greenhouse gas emissions and their management under different uses. I participated in a project related to the identification of suitable areas for the application of gypsum for nutrient release reduction in the Baltic Sea and researched methods for determining the stability of soil…
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Cucu Maria Alexandra
RESEARCH FELLOW alexandra.cucu(AT)ipsp.cnr.it publications: Orcid personal details and research activity: People Curriculum Vitae Starting with the PhD thesis in soil science and continuing as Post Doc Research assistant, Dr. Cucu’s research interest mainly developed around Nitrogen (N) cycle and the interaction with Carbon (C) cycle in terrestrial ecosystems and soil organic matter turnover, with special attention on biochemical processes mediated by soil microbial communities, trough the usage of stable isotopes methodologies, in combination with organic matter fractionation techniques and molecular analyses. The research area has brought together microbial with soil…
Read MoreReSet- RNA interference for the control of sap-sucking insect plant pests: Scaphoideus titanus as case study
The ReSet project aims to explore the mechanism of RNAi applied to control phytoplasma insect vectors, endowed with pierce/sucking mouthparts. Research activities will be focused on the leafhopper Scaphoideus titanus (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), main vector of the grapevine Flavescence dorée (FD) phytoplasma. The presence of an effective RNAi mechanism in the organisms under study has already been described and applied in the laboratory by the Research Units involved in the Project. The control of this species currently requires mandatory repeated applications of insecticides in the vineyard, with undesired effects on the…
Read MoreRNAi_PJ-RNA interference to control alien pests by exploring microalgae and cyanobacteria as cost-effective dsRNA producing platforms: the Japanese beetle Popillia japonica as case study
In the present project, RNAi will be explored for the control of the Japanese beetle Popillia japonica (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), an alien quarantine species highly polyphagous that cause severe damages to crops. The management of P. japonica in Italy is under the official control of the National Plant Protection Services and mainly based on applications of chemical insecticides. Therefore, innovative and sustainable alternative strategies are urgently needed. The use of microalgae and cyanobacteria for production and delivery of dsRNA offers the advantage of the direct foliar application of the microorganism avoiding…
Read MoreRNA interference for the control of hemipteran pests causing direct and indirect damages to crops: a case study to define best practices for sustainable and environment-friendly application of RNAi (HEMipteran INTerference, HEMINT)
In the HEMINT Project, RNAi will be explored for the control of two hemipteran species that cause severe damages to crops: the brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), and the leafhopper Scaphoideus titanus (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), main vector of Flavescence dorée (FD) phytoplasmas of grapevine. Both species currently require repeated applications of chemical insecticides for their control, thus disrupting the IPM programs developed in their absence in orchards and vineyards. Therefore, innovative and sustainable alternative strategies are urgently needed. The occurrence of RNAi in the pests under study, already…
Read MoreOttati Sara
RESEARCH FELLOW sara.ottati(AT)ipsp.cnr.it 011.397.7929 publications: Orcid personal details and research activity: People Curriculum Vitae My research interest revolves around the exploration of novel and sustainable strategy for plant protection with a focuses on insect vector of economically-relevant plant diseases. In particular, my work includes: i) the discovery of insect vectors virome in a quest for insect-infecting viruses to be potentially used to counteract plant disease spread; ii) the exploitation of RNA interference to disrupt plant pathogen transmission by the insect.
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