PhD school of Agriculture Science and Biotechnology – Udine

PhD school of Agriculture Science and Biotechnology – Udine University - Italy
University of Udine
Presentation of the PhD school of Agriculture Science and Biotechnology (ASB)
[September 13, 2012]
Main areas of research
AGRICULTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY : markers, genetic maps and marker-assisted selection,
biotechnology of phytopathogens, genetic transformation, in-vitro culture, somatic embryogenesis
and hybridization, bioenergetics and biomembranes, plant stress physiology, plant nutrition,
genome structure and function, metagenomics gene expression, in situ hybridization.
ANIMAL PRODUCTION : animal feeding and nutrition, dietetics and hygiene of feeds, low input
livestock systems, livestock systems for high quality foods, animal biodiversity, genetic and
reproduction.
PLANT PROTECTION : plant defence against pests, molecular aspect of pathogenesis in fungal,
phytoplasma and viruses diseases, signals and responses during host-pathogen interaction, diversity
of plant pathogens.
Educational aims:
- The first educational objective of the doctoral school is to develop the student to have a
critical shift towards the analysis of research problems and to equip them to find the conceptual
and methodological means for problem solving
- To stimulate the students in acquiring expertise in managing research tools, protocols and
processes. Safety principles in research laboratory are also considered important in the
background of young researchers.
- To stimulate students to become familiar with basic research tools, information
communication technologies, and software for online literature research. English language
mastery is achieved through attendance of advanced courses, overseas training or internship and
attendance of meetings and seminars.
- To encourage research team work and interactions with other researchers, lab mates,
technicians and visiting scientists. Students have to present reports on their activity and this helps
their communication ability and facilitates the exchange of experiences.
Employment perspectives:
- researchers in university departments or in public non-university organisations;
- researcher or highly specialised technician in companies, which operate in agricultural
biotechnology or in the furnishing of products for the agricultural sector
List of main labs with research topics offered for thesis
Animal genetic & molecular biology
team leaders : prof. Bruno Stefanon, full professor of animal genetic, Prof. Giuseppe Stradaioli,
associate professor of animal reproduction
topics offered for thesis
GWAS for breeding and selection in pigs and dairy cows
Discovery of biomarkers for new phenotype in dairy cows (stress response, residual feed intake,
carbon footprint)
Characterization of microbiome and immune response in dairy cows (host-microbial interplay)
Fertility and Reproduction in cows
Mechanisms of action of nutragenomic foods in human and dogs, combining organ specific cell
cultures with NGS techniques
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PhD school of Agriculture Science and Biotechnology – Udine University - Italy
Studying the mechanisms of dairy cow hypo fertility and the role of stress by means of expression
profiling (RNA-seq) of oocytes and ovarian follicle’s cells (supervisor prof. Giuseppe Stradaioli).
Animal nutrition & feeding
team leaders : prof. Piero Susmel and prof. Mauro Spanghero, full professors of animal nutrition
topics offered for thesis
Innovative rumen fermentation in vitro systems to improve feed efficiency and mitigate the
environmental pollution
Prediction of nutritive value of feed resources for ruminants
Perspectives of microencapsulation techniques to improve nutritional efficiency and health status in
ruminants.
Dietary strategies to reduce environmental impact in cattle.
Apiculture & parasitology
team leader : dr. Francesco Nazzi, senior researcher of applied entomology
topics offered for thesis
Ecology of Ixodes ricinus L. and its role as a vector of human diseases.
Pathogens and parasites of Apis mellifera L. and their role in colony collapse.
Entomology & pest control
team leader : prof. Pietro Zandigiacomo, associate professor of applied entomology
topics offered for thesis
Agronomic practices and grapevine pest control.
Biodiversity of the agroecosystem and grapevine pests biocontrol.
Epidemiology, diagnosis & plant pathogen characterization
team leader : prof. Nazia Loi, associate professor of plant pathology
topics offered for thesis
Biocontrol of psyllid phytoplasma-vector
Biocontrol of root pathogens
Farming systems & product quality
team leader : prof. Edi Piasentier, full professor of animal husbandry
topics offered for thesis
Grazing management of dairy cows and milk/cheese quality
Beef quality from organic method
Sheep and goat breeding in marginal areas
Perceived quality of local/PDO products
Field crop breeding
team leader : prof. Gian Paolo Vannozzi, full professor of agronomy
Fish disease & immunology
team leader : prof. Marco Galeotti, full professor of veterinary pathology
topics offered for thesis
Etiology and pathogenesis of fish diseases
Insights on sea bass (D. labrax) antimicrobial peptides (AMPs)
Role of immunostimulants and plant extracts in the prevention of fish infectious diseases
Fruit development & ripening
team leader : prof. Giannina Vizzotto, associate professor of pomology
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PhD school of Agriculture Science and Biotechnology – Udine University - Italy
topics offered for thesis
ABA signaling in disease resistance and quality of apple
Fruit genetics & breeding
team leader : prof. Raffaele Testolin, full professor of pomology
Analysis of genome structural variants in fruit crops by mapping reads of individual genomes
produced through Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) platforms
Comparative analysis and evolution of gametophytic self-incompatibility in Rosaceae
Mapping gender and quantitative traits in kiwifruit
Positional cloning of disease resistant genes in grape (in cooperation with the Viticulture team)
Pyramiding resistance genes in apple
Genomics & genetics
team leader : prof. Michele Morgante, full professor of genetics
topics offered for thesis
Reconstructing the pan genome of maize
Reconstructing the pan genome of grapevine
Mechanisms that generate somatic variation in plant genomes
Functional significance of the dispensable genome
Analysis of epigenomic variation in plants
Whole genome analysis of consequences of domestication in the cherry genome
Microscopy & plant-pathogen interactions
team leader : dr Rita Musetti, senior researcher of plant pathology
topics offered for thesis
Role of the phloem proteins and other occlusion systems during phytoplasma colonization in the
host plants.
Phytoplasma diseases and ‘recovery’ phenomena: physiological and molecular bases.
Fungal endophytes as biocontrol agents/ resistance inducers against phytoplasmas.
Nanobiotechnology based diagnostics & tools for plants
team leader : prof. Giuseppe Firrao, full professor of plant pathology
topics offered for thesis
Development of DNA origami based nanodetectors.
Cellular sensors to enhance early responses to biotic and abiotic stress.
Detection of movement of nanoparticles in plant tissues.
Signal modulation through controlled plasmon resonance.
Plant nutrition
team leader : prof. Roberto Pinton, full professor of soil chemistry
topics offered for thesis
Physiological and molecular bases of nutrient efficiency in plants: release of root exudates and
sulphate acquisition).
Increasing the food quality and yield of ready-to-eat products via improvement of the nutrient
content of growth media.
Ground breaking methods to study the mechanisms of mobilization and acquisition of trace metals
in the soil-plant system.
Dissecting the mechanisms of plant response to stress by means of expression profiling (RNA-seq)
of specific cell types.
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PhD school of Agriculture Science and Biotechnology – Udine University - Italy
Plant physiology & biochemistry
team leader : prof. Angelo Vianello, full professor of plant biochemistry
topics offered for thesis:
Programmed cell death in grape cell cultures in relation to their capacity to produce anthocyanins.
Purification and characterization of flavonoid transporters in grape.
Oxidative stress in recalcitrant seeds.
Evolutionary relationships of permeability transition in mitochondria from plants and other
organisms.
Effects of light irradiance on plant organs stored at low temperature.
Recombinant DNA technologies
team leader : prof. Stefano Marchetti, associate professor of plant genetics
topics offered for thesis
Transcriptional pattern of artificial promoters in view of their use in molecular farming of plants.
Regulatory effects on transgene expression exerted by leader composition and structure.
Codon usage and DNA structure in the design of artificial coding sequences.
Production of antibodies and antibodies fragments in plants.
Production of human lysosomal enzymes in plants.
Viticulture
team leader : prof. Enrico Peterlunger, full professor of viticulture
topics offered for thesis
Water relations and secondary metabolites of grapes
Grapevine genome organisation and functioning
Grapevine breeding for resistance to downy and powdery mildew
Canopy management for grape quality
Vegetable crops & greenhouses
team leader : dr. Luisa Dalla Costa, senior researcher of horticulture
topics offered for thesis
Conservation agriculture: effect on crop yield, crop nutrition, plant completion with weeds,
nutrients leaching in vegetable crops.
Onion and other Allium crops: interesting local landraces in Friuli.
Phaseolus germplasm lines maintained at the University of Udine Genebank (BaGAV, FAO code:
ITA368), evaluated in multi-location field trials for yield and quality traits.
Leaf vegetables: a comparison among agronomic techniques such as traditional soil cultivation,
organic practice, biodynamic cultivation and soilless culture.
Main steps in the evaluation of the research activity of the PhD candidates :
Intermediary evaluation :
- First year: state of art, literature research, experimental outline
- Second year: preliminary experimental results
- Third year: advanced experimental results
Admission to final examination :
- pre-evaluation of the thesis by two reviewers external to Udine University
- evaluation by the PhD school Collegium
Final examination :
- thesis evaluated by the Thesis Committee composed by members external to Udine
- thesis defended in public in the presence of the Thesis Committee
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PhD school of Agriculture Science and Biotechnology – Udine University - Italy
More useful info:
websites:
http://www.uniud.it/dipartimenti/disa/index_phd
http://www.uniud.it/ricerca/finanziamenti/dottorato/Informazioni_generali?lingua=eng
Area servizi per la ricerca, Udine University
vicolo Florio 4, 33100 – Udine - Italy
e-mail: dottorato.rice@uniud.it
Raffaella Medeot +39 0432 556377
Angela Coccetta +39 0432 556371
Stefano Piccini +39 0432 556383
Coordinator:
Prof. Mauro Spanghero
Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
Via Sondrio, 2/A
33100 UDINE (Italy)
Fax.nr. ++ 0432 – 558199 Tel. nr. ++ 0432 – 558193
e-mail : mauro.spanghero@uniud.it
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