| Department: |
Dipartimento di Agraria |
| Location and Contacts: |
c/o Dipartimento Agraria
Feo di Vito
89122 Reggio Calabria
Tel. +39 0965 801255
Fax +39 0965 312827
www.gesaf.unirc.it |
| Area (mq): |
80 |
| Rooms: |
2 |
| Director: |
Leonardo Schena |
| Mail: |
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| Technical Responsible: |
Maria Giulia Li Destri Nicosia |
| Sito web: |
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| Full Professors: |
() |
| Associate Professors: |
Giovanni Enrico Agosteo (AGRI-05/B)
()
Leonardo Schena (AGRI-05/B) |
| Researchers: |
Maria Giulia Li Destri Nicosia (AGRI-05/B)
() |
| PhD graduates: |
Ahmed Abdelfattah,
Anna Fontana,
Silvia Scibetta,
Sonia Pangallo,
Claudia Straquadanio.
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| PhD students: |
Giuseppe Micali,
Imen Belgacem
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| Research fellows: |
Ahmed Abdelfattah |
| Project-based collaborators: |
Anna Maria Cichello,
Giovanna Leo
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Principal aims
The laboratory research activities in the plant defense field, affecting the quality and yield of agricultural production, as well as environment protection and human health. These activities are implemented through the monitoring and study of diseases that are already or may become a threat to crops health, in particular Mediterranean crops, including phythophthora spp. and Armillaria, olive leprosy, peacock's eye and plant virus and viroids, in particular on citrus, vine, olive and vegetables crops. Much attention is also paid to the development of alternative means of fight versus field and post-harvest diseases (fungi, bacteria and viruses), based mainly on the use of microbial populations and substances derived by vegetal and natural extracts The fight against mycotoxigenic fungi falls into this reseach line.
Research activities
Plant Pathology Laboratory has been operating in the Calabrian territory for more than twenty years and is equipped with skills and equipment that allow to carry out advanced analysis including the characterization and biological and/or molecular diagnosis of pathogens and useful microorganisms. The main topics concern:
- Biological-molecular characterization of Phythophthora spp. in agrarian and forestal ecosystems;
- Study of the genetic diversity of Phytophthora species through molecular analysis (metagenomic analysis, SSR, SNP)
- Study of the biology and ecology of causal agents of olive leprosy;
- Development of plant defense systems versus main diseases (fungi, bacteria, viruses), environmentally friendly and safe for agricultural operators and consumers. In this context different means of control are experimented under experimental and commercial conditions, including mainly plant extracts, antagonist microorganisms and organic and inorganic salts;
- Study of plant microbiome both with conventional mycological analysis tools and with advanced molecular analysis (metagenomic analysis);
- Development and application of molecular diagnostics for the diagnosis of important phytopathogenic fungi in the Mediterranean environment;
- Monitoring and characterization of the citrus fruitlessness virus;
- Diagnosis and characterization of viral agents included quarantine pathogens lists
- Application of micro-propagation and virus recovery techniques for grapevines, olive trees and main fruit-tree crops of interest for Calabrian agriculture.
- Monitoring and characterization of viruses and virus-like of grapevine
- Monitoring and characterization of olive virus.
- Monitoring and characterization of horticultural species viruses (tomato, pepper, hot pepper, onion)
- Study of plant-pathogen interactions, in particular plant viruses/vegetable crops, in the accumulation of secondary metabolites of nutraceutical interest
- Development of specific molecular diagnostic protocols (Molecular hybridization, Polymerase chain reaction-PCR, ReatlTime-PCR) for the main viral pathogens reported in Calabria and/or present in the Alert List EPPO A1 / A2
- Virological metagenomic analysis of plant samples
- Sequencing of viral genomes
- Health certification for grapevine, olive trees and other fruit trees (laboratory accreditation).
International relationships
James Hutton Institute in Scozia; United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in California e West Virginia (USA); University of Western Sydney (Australia); University of Berkeley (USA); The Volcani Center (Israel); University of California (USA); Phytophthora Research Centre (Czech Republic), IGM, Université Paris-sud (Francia), Food and Environmental Research Agency (FERA) – York (UK)
Smart Specialisation Strategy Calabria (S3 Calabria)
Agroalimentare / Food Farming
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LS9_5 - Agriculture related to crop production, soil biology and cultivation, applied plant biology |
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LS9_5 - Agriculture related to crop production, soil biology and cultivation, applied plant biology |
| Giovanni Enrico Agosteo |
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LS9_5 - Agriculture related to crop production, soil biology and cultivation, applied plant biology |
| Leonardo Schena |
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LS9_5 - Agriculture related to crop production, soil biology and cultivation, applied plant biology |
| Maria Giulia Li Destri Nicosia |
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LS9_5 - Agriculture related to crop production, soil biology and cultivation, applied plant biology |
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LS9_5 - Agriculture related to crop production, soil biology and cultivation, applied plant biology |
