Application form for InterRidge Student and Postdoctoral Fellowship ...

(f) References:Andrianasolo, E. H., Haramaty, L., Rosario-Passapera, R., Bidle, K., White, E., Vetriani,C., Falkowski, P. & Lutz, R. (2009). Ammonificins A and B, hydroxyethylamine chromanderivatives from a cultured marine hydrothermal vent bacterium, Thermovibrio ammonificans.Journal of natural products 72, 1216-1219.Campbell, B. J., Stein, J. L. & Cary, S. C. (2003). Evidence of chemolithoautotrophy in thebacterial community associated with Alvinella pompejana, a hydrothermal vent polychaete. ApplEnviron Microbiol 69, 5070-5078.Ferrera, I., Longhorn, S., Banta, A. B., Liu, Y., Preston, D. & Reysenbach, A. L. (2007).Diversity of 16S rRNA gene, ITS region and aclB gene of the Aquificales. Extremophiles 11, 57-64.Hügler, M., Huber, H., Molyneaux, S. J., Vetriani, C. & Sievert, S. M. (2007). AutotrophicCO2 fixation via the reductive tricarboxylic acid cycle in different lineages within the phylumAquificae: evidence for two ways of citrate cleavage. Environ Microbiol 9, 81-92.Hugler, M., Wirsen, C. O., Fuchs, G., Taylor, C. D. & Sievert, S. M. (2005). Evidence forautotrophic CO2 fixation via the reductive tricarboxylic acid cycle by members of the epsilonsubdivision of proteobacteria. J Bacteriol 187, 3020-3027.Pérez-Rodríguez, I., Ricci, J., Voordeckers, J. W., Starovoytov, V. and Vetriani, C. (2010).Nautilia nitratireducens sp. nov, a thermophilic, anaerobic, chemosynthetic, nitrate-ammonifyingbacterium isolated from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent on the East Pacific Rise. Intl. J. Syst. Evol.Microbiol 60, 1182-1186.Reed, A.J., Lutz, R.A., and Vetriani, C. (2006). Vertical Distribution and Diversity of Bacteriaand Archaea in Sulfide and Methane-Rich Cold Seep Sediments Located at the Base of theFlorida Escarpment. Extremophiles 10, 199-211.Takai, K., Campbell, B. J., Cary, S. C.& [Enter number of additional authors] otherauthors (2005). Enzymatic and genetic characterization of carbon and energy metabolisms bydeep-sea hydrothermal chemolithoautotrophic isolates of Epsilonproteobacteria. Appl EnvironMicrobiol 71, 7310-7320.Vetriani, C., Jannasch, H.W., MacGregor, B.J., Stahl, D.A., and Reysenbach, A.-L. (1999).Population structure and phylogenetic characterization of marine benthic Archaea in deep-seasediments. Appl Environ Microbiol 65, 4375-4384.Vetriani, C., Speck, M.D., Ellor, S.V., Lutz, R.A., and Starovoytov,V. (2004). Thermovibrioammonificans sp. nov., a thermophilic, chemolithotrophic, nitrate ammonifying bacterium fromdeep-sea hydrothermal vents. Intl. J Syst Evol Microbiol 54, 175-181.Voordeckers, J.W., Do, M., Hügler, M., Ko, V., Sievert, S.M., and Vetriani, C. (2008).Culture dependent and independent analyses of 16S rRNA and ATP citrate lyase genes: acomparison of microbial communities from different black smoker chimneys on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Extremophiles 5, 627-640.

The fellowship in Prof. Vetriani’s lab will strength my current path by giving me the opportunityto apply cutting edge techniques in microbial ecology, including culture-dependent andindependent approaches and state-of-the-art molecular techniques (e.g., in-situ transcriptionalanalyses, high throughput parallel sequencing), Such approaches are routinely used into Prof.Vetriani’s lab and, being exposed to them will be a great opportunity to develop a unique toolsetto use in my future research. Moreover, establishing a good international network withexperienced scientist is fundamental to set future collaborative, interdisciplinary research.Suggested reviewers (2) for the proposal (may not be advisors or mentors of the applicant):

III. BUDGET- Please itemize the estimated costs for which you request assistance. The maximum allowed is $5000 US.We expect costs to include such items as travel to a sponsoring lab in a different country, lodging and livingsubsistence, shipping costs for equipment and samples from a research cruise, and perhaps sample analyses.- Please indicate any cost sharing by the sponsoring institution, e.g., providing a berth on a cruise, provision ofoffice or laboratory space or materials, assistance with paying for sample analyses.- Please provide a brief (one-paragraph) justification of the requested funds.Travel expenses1,000 $USAccommodation expenses2,400 $USLiving expenses1,000 $USHealth Insurance Coverage 600 $USDetails of cost sharing (if applicable):Prof. Vetriani will provide office and laboratory space. Will also provide instruments andfacilities necessary for the analyses and will cover the cost of library construction andsequencing. The rough estimate cost of sample analysis is ca. 15,000 $US which include:- Clone library sequencing (six 96 wells plate*500$/each plate)- 454 Pyrosequencing (half picotiter plate, $8,000)- Clone library TA cloning kit (Invitrogen 500$/25 reactions)- RT-PCR kit (Invitrogen, 1,200$/150 reactions)- Rna extraction kit (Quiagen, 250$/50 reactions)- Disposable laboratory materials and disposal of laboratory waste (2,000$ estimated price)Justification:The estimated costs include travel from Italy to Rutgers University and back and the costassociated with the VISA (ca. 300$US fees). The rental of a near-campus accommodation andrelated expenses such as electricity, water and gas for a three months periods. The livingexpenses include cost of the food and life while in the US. The Health Insurance Coverage,which is a compulsory requirement for visiting student coming to Rutgers University.IV. RECOMMENDATION LETTERSPlease have your current advisor and proposed sponsor (listed in Part I) submit letters ofrecommendation to the InterRidge Coordinator (coordinator@interridge.org) by 31 March 2011.The letter from the advisor must certify that the project is a new addition to or a separate projectfrom the applicant's thesis or postdoctoral research.V. CURRICULUM VITAE- Attached as separate PDF document.Now check you have completed all five sections of this application:I. APPLICATION SUMMARYII. PROPOSALIII. BUDGETIV. RECOMMENDATION LETTERSV. CURRICULUM VITAE (ATTACH SEPARATELY)

Curriculum VitaeDonato Giovannelli Curriculum vitaeUpdated 03/17/2011Donato GiovannelliBorn in Chioggia (VE) the November 9 th , 1983Current address Institute for Marine Science, National Research Council of Italy, AnconaE-mail: donato.giovannelli@gmail.com – d.giovannelli@an.ismar.cnr.itUpdated 03/17/2011EDUCATION AND DEGREE2010 1 th March – Today: PhD student at the Department of Structural and FunctionalBiology of University Federico II, Naples, curriculum in Ecology and Microbiology with aPhD thesis entitled “Role of bacteria and archaea in C and N cycling in extremeenvironments”, tutor Prof. Marco Moracci, co-tutor Dr. Elena Manini. From November 2010to July 2011 is visiting PhD student at the Deep-Sea Microbiology Lab, Rutgers University,New Jersey, USA2007 12 th July: M.Sc. in Marine Biology and Ecology at the Polytechnic University ofMarche with summa cum laudae and honorary mention of the commission with a thesisentitled “Impact of Sunscreens on the hermatypic coral of genus Acropora (Cnidaria,Scleractinia)” under the supervision of Dr Lucia Bongioni2005 15 th July: B.Sc. (Honours) in Marine Biology at the Polytechnic University of Marchewith the highest grade with a thesis entitled “Detossification and antioxidant in fish”,developed at the University of Plymouth under the supervision of Prof Les Jervis and ProfFrancesco Regoli2002 17 th July: Scientific Maturity with the highest grade at the Liceo Classico "Virgilio",Vico del Gargano – FG, ItalyPREVIOUS WORK EXPERIENCES2010 16 th November – July 2011: Visiting PhD student at Deep-Sea Microbiology Lab,Rutgers University, New Jersey – USA under the scientific tutorship of Prof. CostantinoVetriani2010 16 th March – 15 th March 2011: Research fellowship at ISMAR-CNR UO Ancona underthe scientific tutorship of Dr. Elena Manini2009 1 th January – 15 th March 2010: Collaborate with Dr Elena Manini at the CNR-ISMARof Ancona within the project BIOFUN (European Science Foundation EuroDEEPprogramme http://www.eurodeep.net/biofun/)2008 1 st September - 31 th October: contract of autonomous work with CoNISMa(Inter-University Consortium for Marine Science) for the characterisation andanalysis of coral's nubbins in aquaria infection experiments within the EU foundedproject CORALZOO “The development of an SME-friendly European breedingprogram for hard corals”2008 5 th January - 31 th May: contract of collaboration with the Department of MarineScience of the Polytechnic University of Marche for the audio-video editing of thelecture of the master “Eco-governance of wetland in the Adriatic sea”2007 September – December: contract with the CNR (National Council of

Donato Giovannelli Curriculum vitaeUpdated 03/17/2011Research) for the biomonitoring and identification of areas suitable for aquaculturein the Gulf of Manfredonia, Foggia – ITALY.2007 July – Decmber 2008: contract with CoNISMa (Inter-University Consortium forMarine Science) for restoration field activities in the frame of EU funded projectREEFRES “Developing Ubiquitous Restoration Practices for Indo-Pacific CoralReefs”PRIZES AND AWARDS2010 December: Awarded a two year grant (2011 – 2013) as Principal Investigatorfor the PNRA (National Antarctic Research Program of Italy) Young ResearcherProject, “Diversity and functioning of Prokaryotic communities in shallow Antarcticwaters, pre and post ice melting”2010 July: Winner of a ADISU Puglia International exchange student scholarship for6 months stay at the Rutgers University, New Jersey – USA2008 November: ROTARY INTERNATIONAL ANCONA CONERO prize for bestMaster Thesis in Marine Biology and Ecology of Polytechnic University of Marche2004: Socrates-Erasmus one-year student exchange grant between PolytechnicUniversity of Marche and the University of PlymouthSKILLS AND ABILITIESLaboratory techniques and analysisMethods for DNA analysesMolecular analysis techniques: PCR, electrophoresis, real-time PCR and DGGEProkaryotes and viruses enumeration by epifluorescence microscopyAnalysis of prokaryote heterotrophic carbon production by H 3 -leucine incubationAnalysis of extracellular enzymatic activities by spectroscopyIsolation and culturing of aerobic, anaerobic and microaerophilic prokaryotes frommarine sedimentsTechniques of underwater sampling, knowledge on main sampling instruments onboard oceanographic vessel (e.g. box-corer, multi-corer, gravity-corer, rosette-CTD)Coral reef restoration and rehabilitation techniquesTechniques for HPLC analysis of polycyclic hydrocarbon and sunscreensAnalysis of Phase II detoxification in fishesOceanographic cruises and fieldwork campaigns2010 25 th July - 5 th August: takes part to the oceanographic cruise Condor’10 onboard of Portugese R/V Noruega within the project CONDOR in the North Atlanticseamounts of Azores. Scientific leader Dr. L. Bongiorni l.bongiorni@uac.pt2010 11 th June - 27 th June: takes part to the oceanographic cruise MAMBA10 onboard of CNR R/V Urania within the european founded project MAMBA in EasternMediterranean Sea. Scientific leader Dr. Michail Yakimov m.yachimov@iamc.cnr.it2010 29 th April – 17 th May: takes part to the oceanographic cruise BIOFUN’10 on

Donato Giovannelli Curriculum vitaeUpdated 03/17/2011board of CNR R/V Urania within the project BIOFUN (Biodiversity and ecosystemfunctioning in contrasting southern European deep-sea environment) in WesternMediterranean Sea. Scientific leader Dr. Stefano Aliani s.aliani@ismar.cnr.it2010 22 nd March - 8 th April: takes part to oceanographic cruise ARCADIA '10(seARch of Corals banks in the middle ADrIAtic) on board of CNR R/V Urania withinthe EC founded project HERMIONE in Adriatic Sea. Scientific leader Dr. MarcoTaviani m.taviani@ismar.cnr.it2009 13 th - 29 th October: takes part to the oceanographic cruise BIOFUN’09 onboard of CNR R/V Urania within the project BIOFUN (Biodiversity and ecosystemfunctioning in contrasting southern European deep-sea environment) in WesternMediterranean Sea. Scientific leader Dr. Stefano Aliani s.aliani@ismar.cnr.it2009 7 th - 12 th June: collaborate to the fieldwork within the academic course“laboratory of marine ecology” at Porto Cesareo, Lecce ITALY. My duty was tocoordinate a student's group during the fieldwork2009 17-26 th March: takes part to the oceanographic cruise IMPACT 09 on board ofCNR R/V Urania within the EU project HERMIONE (Hotspot Ecosystem Researchon the Men’s Impact ON European seas) on Bari Canyon dense water formation.Scientific leader Dr. Leonardo Langone l.langone@ismar.cnr.it2008 24 th September - 6 th October: takes part to the oceanographic cruise DEEP2on board of IFREMER R/V Europe within the EU project HERMES (HotspotEcosystem Research on the Margins of European Seas) in the Gulf of Lion.Scientific leader Dr. Xavier de Madron demadron@univ-perp.fr2008 11 th - 24 th June: takes part to the oceanographic cruise BIOFUN’08 on boardof CNR R/V Urania within the project BIOFUN (Biodiversity and ecosystemfunctioning in contrasting southern European deep-sea environment) in EasternMediterranean Sea. Scientific leader Dr. Stefano Aliani s.aliani@ismar.cnr.it2008 8 th - 31 th May: collaborate to the fieldwork within the academic course“laboratory of marine ecology” at Porto Cesareo, Lecce ITALY. My duty was tocoordinate a student's group during the fieldwork2008 30 th March - 11 th April: takes part to the oceanographic cruise DEEP1 onboard of IFREMER R/V Europe within the EU project HERMES (HotspotEcosystem Research on the Margins of European Seas) in the Gulf of Lion.Scientific leader Dr. Xavier de Madron demadron@univ-perp.fr2007 5 th October - 4 th November: participate to the fieldwork within the EU projectREEFRES (Developing Ubiquitous Restoration Practices for Indo-Pacific CoralReefs) at St. John Island, Singapore and Bolinao, Philippine Scientific leader Dr. L.Bongiorni l.bongiorni@uac.pt2007 23 th - 27 th July: takes part to the oceanographic cruise MESC 2007 on boardof ConISMa R/V Universitatis within the project MESC (Ecosystems of deep mudvolcanoes), Sicily channel.2007 18 th - 22 th July: participate to the fieldwork sampling activity on board R/VActea for Ecotechsystems project “API areas”2007 27 th May - 16 th June: participate to the fieldwork within the EU projectREEFRES (Developing Ubiquitous Restoration Practices for Indo-Pacific CoralReefs) at St. John Island, Singapore. Scientific leader Dr. L. Bongiorni

l.bongiorni@uac.ptDonato Giovannelli Curriculum vitaeUpdated 03/17/20112007 5 th - 10 th June: collaborate to the fieldwork within the academic course“scientific underwater methods” held by Dr Carlo Cerrano at Capo Palinuro, ITALY.My duty was to coordinate a student's group during the fieldwork. Scientific leaderDr. C. Cerrano c.cerrano@univpm.it2006 3 rd September - 5 th October: participate to the fieldwork within the EU projectREEFRES (Developing Ubiquitous Restoration Practices for Indo-Pacific CoralReefs) at St. John Island, Singapore and Phuket, Thailand. Scientific leader Dr. L.Bongiorni l.bongiorni@uac.pt2006 19 th - 26 th February: participate to the fieldwork to evaluate the impact ofsunscreens in coral reef, Sharm El Sheik, Egypt. Scientific leader Dr. L. Bongiornil.bongiorni@uac.ptLanguagesItalian (mother language)Fluent in EnglishBasic knowledge of French and SpanishSpecial skillsYacht master certificate (sail and motor) – over 5,000 miles sailed across theMediterranean SeaII star certified diver CMAS - over 200 dives for scientific samplings and surveysLifeguard certificate with BLS trainingInformatics skillsUse of principal MS-DOS and Linux operating systemsUse of principal Office Suites and Graphics softwareUse of principal phylogenetic analysis software (SeaView, ClustalW, Phylo_Win,Phylip, NCBI online tools)Use of R statistical languageUse of image analysis software ImageJUse of GIS and Ocean GIS software (GRASS, OceanDataView)Use of professional typesetting language (LaTex2e)TEACHING EXPERIENCE2009 June: coordinator for a student's group fieldwork within the academic course“laboratory of applied marine ecology” at Porto Cesareo, Lecce ITALY2009 January: held a lecture on “Cold seeps and Whale carcass” within thegraduate course programme in Marine Ecology at Polytechnic University of Marche2009 January: coordinator for a student's group fieldwork onboard R/V Actea withinthe academic undergraduate course in Marine Biology at Polytechnic University ofMarche2008 March: held a lecture on ”Restoration e rehabilitation” within the graduatecourse programme in Laboratory of Applied Marine Ecology at PolytechnicUniversity of Marche2008 28 th - 31 th May: coordinator for a student's group fieldwork within the academiccourse “laboratory of applied marine ecology” at Porto Cesareo, Lecce ITALY

PARTICIPATION TO RESEARCH PROJECTSNational projectsDonato Giovannelli Curriculum vitaeUpdated 03/17/20112011 – 2013. Principal Investigator for the PNRA (National Antarctic ResearchProgram of Italy) Young Researcher Project, “Diversity and functioning ofProkaryotic communities in shallow Antarctic waters, pre and post ice melting”2007 - 2009. Participate to the National project VECTOR “Mediterranean deep-seaas source/sink of CO 2 and role in climate change and carbon cycling”2007. Participate to the National project COFIN 2007 MESC “Ecosystems of deepmud volcanoes”International Projects2008 - 2010. Participate to the ESF founded project BIOFUN (BIOdiversity andecosystem FUNctioning in deep seas)2008 – 2010. Participate to the EU founded project HERMIONE (HotspotEcosystem Research on the Men’s Impact ON European seas)2008 - 2009. Participate to the EU founded project CORALZOO (Pathogens ofcorals in European aquaria; FPV1)2007 - 2009. Participate to the EU founded project HERMES (Hotspot EcosystemResearch on the Margins of European Seas; FPV1)2006 - 2008. Participate to the EU founded project REEFRES (DevelopingUbiquitous Restoration Practices for Indo-Pacific Coral Reefs; FPV1)SCIENTIFIC CONGRESSES2010 13 th - 16 th September: Participate to the FEMS congress Extremophiles 2010,Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal2010 26 th - 28 th May: participate to the 3 rd Workshop of the Italian Society forAstrobiology “When Darwin meets Copernicus”, Trieste, Italy2009 18 th - 20 th February: participate to the meeting of scientific committee of TARAOceans project (Oceans diversity and community compositions of planktonicorganisms from viruses to fish larvae) held in Roscoff, France2008 11 th - 13 th November: participate to the World Conference on Biodiversity, heldin Valencia, Spain2008 10 th November: participate et the annual meeting of EuroDEEP programme inValencia, Spain2008 1 st - 3 rd September: participate to the XVIII congress of SitE (Italian society ofEcology) in Parma, Italy2008 19 th - 22 th May: participate to the International Workshop on microbialmetagenomics "MicMetagenome" organized by ESF and EuroDEEP in Taormina,Italy2008 14 th - 16 th April: participate to the 3 rd national meeting of PhD studentscandidates in aquatic science in Trento, Italy2007 1 st - 4 th November: participate at the annual Meeting and at the Workshop inrecovery and restoration of reefs held to the Marine Biological Station in Bolinao,

PhilippineDonato Giovannelli Curriculum vitaeUpdated 03/17/20112007 17 th - 20 th September: participate to the organization of the first join congressAIOL (Italian Association for Oceanography and Limnology) - SitE (Italian Societyfor Ecology) held in Ancona, Italy2007 25 th - 30 th March: participate to the international workshop on “Oxidative stressin marine organisms” held at the Marine Biological Station of Alfred Wegner Institutin Helgoland, Germany2006 3 rd - 5 th September: participate at the annual Meeting and at the Workshop inrecovery and restoration of reefs held at the Marine Biology Centre in Phuket,Thailand2006 3 rd - 7 th July: participate to the XVII congress of AIOL (Italian Association forOceanography and Limnology) held in Naples, ItalyPUBLICATIONS AND ABSTRACTS TO CONGRESSESISI publicationsL. Jervis, L.M. Jervis and D. Giovannelli. (2005). Aligning biochemistry to theinterests of biology students using haloperoxidase to illustrate reactions ofenvironmental and biomedical importance. Bioch and Mol Biol Edu, 33: 293-301R. Danovaro, L. Bongiorni, C. Corinaldesi, D. Giovannelli, E. Damiani, P. Astolfi, L.Greci, A. Pusceddu. (2008). Sunscreens Cause Coral Bleaching by Promoting ViralInfections. Env Health Perspec, 116: 441-447. NOTE: Reviewed by “NationalGeographic”, “Frontiers in Ecology and Environments” and “Nature”,doi:10.1038/news.2008.537Publications submitted or in preparationL. Bongiorni, D. Giovannelli, A. Pusceddu, L. K. Chou, B. Rinkevich and R.Danovaro (2008). Restoration of a highly degraded coral reef by in situ coralintensive farming (Singapore). Submitted.M. Molari, D. Giovannelli, G. D’Errico and E. Manini. (2010). Factor influencingprokaryote distribution in sub-surface coastal sediments of Adriatic Sea. Submitted.L. Bongioni, D. Giovannelli, C. Corinaldesi and R. Danovaro. (2009.) Viralproduction in corals and corals mucus. In prep.L. Bongiorni, D. Giovannelli, A. Pusceddu, L. K. Chou, B. Rinkevich and R.Danovaro. (2009). Rehabilitation of highly degraded coral reefs throughtransplantation of in situ maricultured corals. In prep.D. Giovannelli, V. Starovoytov, E. Manini and C. Vetriani. (2011). Galenamicroaerophila gen. nov., sp. nov., a mesophilic, microaerophilic, chemosynthetic,thiosulfate-oxidizing bacterium isolated from a shallow hydrothermal vent of Milos(Greece). In prep.Posters and communication to congresses2010: International Meeting LaguNet, Mazzara del Vallo, Italy. Poster entitled“Recovery of eutrophicated lagoon sediment through the induction of the in situmicrobial degradation activities: pilot experiment with compost” C. Montagno, D.Giovannelli, M. Molari, G. D’errico and E. Manini

Donato Giovannelli Curriculum vitaeUpdated 03/17/20112008: Meeting EuroDeep, Valencia. Communication entitled "Deep-sea benthicbiodiversity and ecosystem functioning: a first multilayer attempt from viruses tomeiofauna" R. Danovaro, C. Corinaldesi, A. Dell’Anno, C. Gambi, D. Giovannelli,G. Luna, M. Molari, D. Zeppilli, A. Pusceddu, E. Manini2008: Congress SItE, Parma. Poster entitled "Rehabilitation of a highly degradedcoral reefs through transplantation of cultured corals" L. Bongiorni, D. Giovannelli,A. Pusceddu, R. Danovaro2008: Congress SItE, Parma. Communication entitled "Exploring the hiddenbiodiversity of genes in extracellular DNA preserved in marine sediments" C.Corinaldesi, M. Barucca, D. Giovannelli, G. M. Luna, C. Morigi, A. Dell’Anno2008: Congress SItE, Parma. Communication entitled "Viral abundance andproduction in tissue and mucus of the scleractinian corals Acropora" L. Bongiorni,D. Giovannelli, C. Corinaldesi, R. Danovaro2008: National meeting of PhD students and candidates in aquatic science, Trento.Communication and poster entitled "Viral ecology in deep-sea ecosystems: ametagenomic approach" D. Giovannelli2007: Join congress AIOL - SitE, Ancona. Communication entitled “Restoration ofhighly degraded coral reef (Singapore)” L. Bongiorni, D. Giovannelli, A. Pusceddu,R. Danovaro2007: Join congress SitE – AIOL, Ancona. Poster entitled “Confront between notdestructive methods for study benthonic community of hard substrates” C. Cerrano,D. Giovannelli, D. Pica, L. Rocchetti, G. Rossi, G. Di Camillo, L. Valisano, M. Ponti2006: Congress AIOL, Naples. Communication entitled “Effect of sunscreenproducts on the scleractinian coral Acropora sp.” R. Danovaro, C. Corinaldesi, L.Bongiorni, D. Giovannelli, E. Damiani, A. Pusceddu, L. GreciI hereby certify that the information contained above is to the best of my knowledgecorrect.Ancona, 17 th March 2011Donato GiovannelliDonato Giovannelli

Dr. Marco MoracciInstitute of Protein BiochemistryNational Research CouncilVia P. Castellino 11180131 Napoli, ItalyTel. +39-081-6132271Fax: +39-081-6132277E-mail: m.moracci@ibp.cnr.itTO WHOME IT MAY CONCERNI hereby state that the project submitted by Donato Giovannelli for a Fellowship inter-Ridge is anew addition to his PhD thesis perfectly suitable to the topic of his research. I am sure that thistalented young scientist will perform the project successfully with great benefit for his ownscientific background and for the hosting institution.Naples, 21st March 2011Dr. Marco Moracci

Ancona, March 24, 2011To whom it might concernThis letter is to support the application of Donato Giovannelli for the Inter-Ridge Fellowship.The proposed research is a new addition to Giovannelli Ph.D. thesis, and a greatopportunity to travel to a top laboratory abroad, gain knowledge, analyse new samples,learn additional methodology and establish future network with leading scientist in the field.I had the possibility to know and work personally with Donato Giovannelli during his degreein Marine Biology and, then, I followed with research contracts until his PhD work (startedin January 2010), as one of his scientific supervisor. During our collaboration Donatorevealed remarkable abilities in developing new techniques and novel strategies to answerscientific questions. During several scientific discussions, I also had the opportunity toverify his scientific background, the experience in designing experimental protocols, hiscapability in critically analyse and interpret data, and an unusual motivation in doingresearch. He always demonstrated an elevated interest toward ecological problems andhypotheses, and strong tenacity to contribute to the microbiology research.I am sure that his proposed project is a small part of a larger collaborative effort, with greatbenefit for his own background. I am happy to confirm what above and/or to provide anyfurther element that you might consider useful for a positive evaluation of the fellowshipapplication.Please do not hesitate to contact me for any additional query or clarification.Sincerely yours,Elena ManiniDr. Elena ManiniIstituto di Scienze Marine (ISMAR)Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR)I-60100 Ancona, ITALYTel. +39-071-2078859Fax +39-071-55313e.mail: e.manini@ismar.cnr.it

!Dr. Debbie MiltonInterRidge CoordinatorNational Oceanography Centre, SouthamptonUniversity of Southampton Waterfront CampusEuropean WaySouthampton SO14 3ZHUKMarch 31 st , 2011Re.: Letter of support for Mr. Donato GiovannelliDear Dr. Milton,It is a pleasure to write a letter of support for Donato Giovannelli’s application for an InterRidge fellowship. Donato is a PhDcandidate from CNR – ISMAR Ancona, Italy, who contacted me about a year ago expressing his intention to join mylaboratory to work on the microbiology of hydrothermal vents as part of his PhD research. In November, 2010, after securingsufficient funding, Donato traveled from Italy to Rutgers University and joined my laboratory for a few months.I was immediately impressed by Donato’s ability to work independently and think critically. He arrived with his own set ofsamples that he collected during an expedition on the shallow water hydrothermal system of Milos Island, Greece. After justa few weeks, Donato succeeded to isolate a microaerobic, chemolithoautotrophic bacterium that belongs to a new genusand, at the same time, he carried a study to characterize the composition of the microbial communities associated with theMilos vent system using culture-independent approaches. This study will become part of his PhD thesis.Donato is now applying to the InterRidge Fellowship Program to request funds to spend a few more months in my laboratoryin the near future to carry out a study on chemosynthetic microbial biofilms from deep-sea hydrothermal vents. The studythat he is proposing in his application will focus on the active microbial communities that colonize “bare basalt” vents alongthe 9 to 13°N section of the East Pacific Rise (EPR), and the resulting data will be compared to the shallow-water systemdataset.I will be glad to provide Donato with the laboratory space, samples, equipment and supplies, along with my supervision andexpertise, necessary to carry out the proposed project. In my laboratory we store biofilm samples that were collected fromthe EPR during a series of oceanographic expedition, and we maintain a culture collections of over 400 bacteria isolatedfrom deep-sea environments.Donato is a hard working, independent, extremely motivated student and, based on my previous experience with him, I haveno doubts that he will succeed in carrying out the proposed work. I am looking forward to continue to work with Donato.Please do not hesitate to contact me if you need further information.Sincerely,Costantino VetrianiAssociate ProfessorDirector, Microbiology Undergraduate ProgramInstitute of Marine and Coastal Sciences andDepartment of Biochemistry and MicrobiologyRutgers University71 Dudley RoadNew Brunswick, NJ 08901Phone: (732) 932-6555x373 (Office)Fax: (732) 932-6557http://marine.rutgers.edu/deep-seamicrobiology/R U T G E R S, T H E S T A T E U N I V E R S I T Y O F N E W J E R S E Y

Review 1By this project, D. Giovannelli proposes to enlarge the scope of his current PhDresearches on shallow water vent microbial ecology. This comparative approach isinnovative and will likely expand the understanding of fundamental processessupporting the formation and the role of these biofilms, while exploring the specificityof deep-sea vent versus shallow ones. By joining one of the leading laboratory indeep-sea vent microbiology, he will, both, gain expertise on the use of mostadvanced molecular techniques not currently available in his host institution in Italy(pyrosequencing, functional genes expression), and he will be able to work on in situgrown biofilm samples from deep-sea vents (EPR) available in this laboratory. Italy isnot currently involved in the exploration of deep-sea vents, but has severalinternationally recognized research groups on extreme environment biology,biochemistry and ecology. These groups to which the candidate is connected willundoubtedly contribute to enlarge the scientific expertise of the InterRidgecommunity. The project will expand existing the collaboration network of InterRidgein this field. The study will bring long-awaited information on the role of microbialbiofilms in several aspects of vent ecology (larvae settlement) and biogeochemistry(energy transfert and C cycling mechanisms) on ocean spreading centers, of highrelevance to at least 2 of the IR working groups.

Proposal by Donato Giovannelli: Analysis of functional gene transcripts in microbial chemosynthetic biofilms from deep sea hydrothermal ventsI have read the proposal below and think it is good science that fits in well withInterRidge’s scientific priorities. I should say here that this aspect of microbiology isnot my field so my comments are rather general. The fact I did not know ofCostantino Vetriani says it all!The applicant looks to be a very talented and a remarkably experienced sea-goingstudent. The student has already been working in Vetriani’s lab and this applicationlooks more like a natural extension of that than a stand alone project. However, Ithink the exchange of technical skills will be highly beneficial. But I did find section C‘Outline of approach’ a little light. More detail would have helped as the present proseis a little arm waving.Overall I would give it strong support