PhD in Biological Sciences and Applied Biotechnologies

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Supervisor

Curriculum vitae

Phd thesis

Determination of efficacy, active metabolites and ecological impact of Pseudomonas sp. stump treatment against Heterobasidion spp.

Research activities

The genus Heterobasidion (Basidiomycota, Russulales, Bondarzewiaceae) is responsible for the most important root and/or butt rots of conifers in the northern hemisphere. The three european Heterobasidion species, H. abietinum Niemela & Korhonen, H. annosum (Fr.) Bref. sensu stricto (s.s.), and H. parviporum Niemela & Korhonen, have a broad host range, but they cause the greatest damages to Abies alba Mill., Picea abies L. and Pinus spp. There is another alarming species, H. irregulare Garbel. & Otrosina, that is native of North America. It was accidentally introduced in Central Italy during the Second World War in 1944, becoming invasive. This exotic species is widely spread in Pinus pinea forests of Central Italy. Actually, H. irregulare is included in the EPPO A2 List of pests recommended for regulation as quarantine pests. In Europe, the economic losses caused by these fungi have been estimated as high as 790 million Euro per year. The interests on the control of this pathogen are both economical and environmental.

Aims of the project:

• Evaluating the effectiveness of a commercially available bio-fungicide as bio-control agent against the three European species of Heterobasidion spp. and the exotic one. The efficacy of the biological treatments will be tested for all the main hosts, i.e. A. alba, P. abies and P. pinea. The experiments will be carried out both in vitro and in field, i.e. natural forest environment. 
• Understanding the mechanisms of action of the bio-control agent through a combined chemical and genomic approach. An increasing knowledge on the antagonistic activity may be pivotal for patenting. Such comprehension could be also fundamental to define the best commercial formulation of the bio-control agent.
• Defining the eventual ecological side effects and hazards after the application of the bio-control agent in the field.

Publications

Pellicciaro M., Lione G., Giordano L., Gonthier P., 2021. Biocontrol potential of Pseudomonas protegens against Heterobasidion species attacking conifers in Europe. Biological Control, Volume 157, 104583, ISSN 1049-9644. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2021.104583.

Pellicciaro M., Lione G., Ongaro S., Gonthier P., 2021. Comparative efficacy of state-of-the-art and new biological stump treatments in forests infested by the native and the alien invasive Heterobasidion species present in Europe. Pathogens, 10. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10101272.

Pellicciaro M., Padoan E., Lione G., Celi L., Gonthier P., 2022. Pyoluteorin produced by the biocontrol agent Pseudomonas protegens is involved in the inhibition of Heterobasidion species present in Europe. Pathogens, 11. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens11040391.

Publications