SME / Association / Researcher profile form
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Section 1 - Contact details
Organisation CONSIGLIO PER LA RICERCA E Name LA SPERIMENTAZIONE IN Contact person: (full name) AGRICOLTURA Istituto per la Cerealicoltura Sop Bergamo Organisation CRA ISC Sop Bergamo Title Dr acronym (Abbreviation) Address Via Stezzano 24 First Name Carlotta Postal code 24126 Family Name Balconi City Bergamo Telephone ++39 035 313132 Country Italy Fax ++39 035 316054 www address [email protected] E-mail [email protected]
Section 2 – Type of organisation
If you are an Enterprise
Enterprise Is your Company a YES NO type Private Non profit Small-Medium sized Enterprise (SME)? Public Other if YES, < 10 Number of Employees > 10 and < 50 < 250 According to Article 2 of the annex of Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC of 6 May 2003, which applies from 01 January 2005, an SME (Micro, Small or Medium-sized Enterprise) is an enterprise which: has fewer than 250 employees, has an annual turnover not exceeding 50 million euro, and/or an annual balance-sheet total not exceeding 43 million euro. http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/enterprise_policy/sme_definition/index_en.htm Owned by a non SME: YES NO
Description of the organisation (max 1.000 characters):
If you are an Association
Association SME Industrial Sector of type activity Cultural Civil society Other: Description of the association (max 1.000 characters):
SME / Association / Researcher profile form
If you are a Research Organisation
Research Organisation Research Organisation ( Private Public) type High Education School / University / Institute ( Private Public)
Other, please specify: Description of the organisation (max 1.000 characters):
The peculiar characteristic of the activity at the Maize Section is the integration of basic and applied research, focused on maize breeding, in the frame of national and international research programs. Agronomic trials are performed every year to test both commercial hybrids grown in Italy and new genotypes released by the Institute. The quality of the kernel (protein, starch, oil) and of the silage for forage is routinely tested in the laboratory of chemistry. The Molecular Biology laboratory is devoted to the study of gene regulation in the biochemical processes involved in maize kernel storage protein synthesis, and to describe new molecular markers useful to improve the efficiency of the traditional breeding programs. Cell culture and transfer genes conferring resistance to pathogens, finally, are bieng successfully applied to several crop species.
Section 3 – Sector of interest
Cooperation 2. Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, Biotechnology (Click for choosing the Theme) FP7 Programme Ideas People Capacities 1. Research infrastructures (Click for choosing type of programme) Source-sink relationships in maize plant. Metabolic regulation of genes involved in maize storage protein synthesis. Physiological aspects of Nitrogen Use Further information on Efficiency (NUE) in maize. Analysis of chromosomal endoreduplication in maize the sector of interest (max. 500 characters) endosperm during seed development and its correlation with physiological processes. Mechanisms and genes involved in determining fungal-pathogen resistance in cereal crops. SME / Association / Researcher profile form
- Role of the cob and pedicel-placento-chalazal tissues in the aminoacid supply to the developing endosperm and in the chromosome enodoreduplication in endosperms cells of IHP (Illinois High Protein) and ILP (Illinois Low Protein) maize strains grown "in vitro" and "in vivo". - Nitrogen-induced changes in the metabolism of "in vitro" grown developing endosperms and kernels of "high lysine" and "defective endosperm" maize mutants. - Accumulation and partitioning of nitrogen among plant parts in the IHP and ILP maize strains - Variation in protein fractions and Nitrogen (N) metabolism of developing normal and opaque endosperm mutants of maize Research topic -."In vitro" culture and genetic transformation of rice Italian cultivars according to the work programme - Research associated with the anti-fungal activity of wheat puroindoline proteins - Evaluation of increased tolerance to fungal diseases of rice plants transformed with puroindoline genes. - Fusarium head blight evaluation in wheat transgenic plants expressing the maize b-32 anti-fungal gene - "In vivo" and "in vitro" bioassays for testing maize resistance to "Fusarium verticillioides" and to "Aspergillus flavus" and for controlling fungus growth with maize endosperm Ribosome Inactivating Protein (RIP) b-32. - Screening of maize genotypes for resistance to "Fusarium verticillioides" and to "Aspergillus flavus" through silk and kernel artificial inoculation methods. - Evaluation of the level of micotoxin contamination in maize genotypes under natural and artificial inoculation.
Section 4 - Description of your expertise
Description of the The study of protein and starch metabolic regulation in developing maize kernel expertise employed "in vitro" endosperm and kernel culture methods, molecular biology (max 2.000 characters) analyses (southern-blot, northern-blot, western-blot) and biochemical analyses (storage proteins fractionation and electrophoresis, SDS-PAGE and 2D). Evaluation of "in vitro" methods to define the role of the cob and the pedicel- placento-chalazal tissues in the amino acid supply and in the chromosome endoreduplication level in the developing maize endosperm (the study employed 14-C-labeled -glutamine uptake experiments). The study of accumulation and partitioning of N among plant parts in the High (IHP) and Low (ILP) protein strains of maize, employed the supply of 15-N03- labeled, total nitrogen anlalyses on automated N-analyzer and 15-N-labeled concentration determined with a mass spectrometer. Nitrogen related traits (N-uptake, N translocation, N-efflux from organs, N-harvest index) have been calculated. Analyses of two enzymes N- related, (NR and GS) were conducted on leaf and stalk samples. The variation in protein fractions (SDS-PAGE, Northern blot) and N-enzymatic activities (GS, GOGAT, AS, Asase) were studied in developing normal and in five "high-lysine" SME / Association / Researcher profile form
mutants of maize. An investigation on "in vitro" culture response from somatic and gametic cells and plant regeneration, on 26 italian rice cultivars, was conducted. A study on the effectiveness of wheat puroindolines in enhancing fungal disease resistance in transgenic rice, was done through "in vitro" and "in vivo" pathological tests. A study indicating that maize b-32 was effective as "in vivo" antifungal protein reducing FHB symptoms in wheat lines expressing b-32, was done, through "Fusarium culmorum" single-floret-injection-artificial inoculation method. Screening of maize genotypes for resistance to "Fusarium verticilliodes" and "Aspergillus flavus" through silk and kernel artificial inoculation is under study in co-operation with maize breeders.
Keywords describing 1. Cereal crops fungal protection the expertise offered 2. Plant proteins Antifungal-activity (if needed more than one) 3. Nitrogen Maize Plant metabolism regulation
Section 5 – Your previous experience in FP projects
Former participation in FP European projects? YES NO
If YES Please choose Project title: Quality of life and management of living resource. Technologies for sustainable plant and animal production: building blocks for improvement. Genetic improvement of maize to enhance food safety by introducing resistance to Fusarium moniliforme. (project FP5 - ICA4-CT2000-30033) Acronym: SAFEMAIZE Activities performed Research Demonstration Training Technology Dissemination Management Other:
Please describe briefly Aim of the project: develop improved maize genotypes with increased (max. 700 characters): resistance to Fusarium moniliforme using traditional breeding as well as biotechnology Specific objectives: 1) to characterize Fusarium moniliforme (verticillioides) isolates from Europe and Africa 2) to develop screening methods to evaluate maize genotypes for resistance to the pathogen 3) to evaluate the effect of plant antifungal defence genes against F. moniliforme 4) to use direct evolution by DNA shuffling to develop novel and improved antifungal genes 5) to produce transgenic maize enriched with antifungal genes and evaluate resistance in the field
Section 6 – Expectations SME / Association / Researcher profile form
Term commitment Short (< 1 year) Medium (1 to 3 years) Long (more than 3 years)
Commitment offered Research Demonstration Training Technology Dissemination Management Other: Proposed role in the Coordinator Work package leader Partner project Other role: Expected results for your 1) develop transgenic maize lines expressing anti-fungal proteins 2) analyse at organisation molecular and genetic level the transgenic lines 3) to compare the transgenic (max 500 characters) lines expressing the anti-fungal maize gene b-32 , with maize genotypes displaying resistance against Fusarium taken from germoplasm collections 4) develop reliable and reproducible tools for disease resistance evaluation 5) identification of resistant genotypes among commercial hybrids and inbred lines to be useful for breeding programmes
Section 7 – International cooperation
Are you interested in international cooperation? YES NO
If YES, please specify the Mediterranean area geographical area(s) of Balkan area interest Russia and NIS (Newly independent States) Asia Africa South America Other: North America-Central America
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