Prevention, monitoring and control of plant pathogens are the key for food safety and security

Development of molecular diagnostic techniques (PCR, real time PCR, LAMP, microPCR, microLAMP) for various pathogens, i.e. Magnaporthe oryzae on rice and Fusarium oxysporum on lettuce. Development of innovative techniques for mycotoxin detectionv (LC-MS, nanosensors, microELISA). Mycotoxin biodegradation (microorganisms), decontamination and detoxification (roasting, drying, ozone, cold plasma). Efficacy of biocontrol agents, essential oils and thermotherapy for postharvest disease control of fruit and vegetables. Study of the genetic and chemical mechanisms of plant resistance to diseases. Genome sequencing of plant pathogens, mycotoxigenic fungi and biocontrol agents. Study of the field aerial mycobiome and of the microbiome of various through HTS techniques (metabarcoding).Prevention and monitoring of mycotoxins and mycotoxigenic fungi: ochratoxins produced by Aspergillus carbonarius, aflatoxins produced by A. flavus and A. parasiticus, mycotoxins produced by Fusarium spp., patulin, griseofulvin and verrucosidin produced by Penicillium spp..

• Innovative portable tools for the detection of aflatoxigenic isolates of Aspergillus sect. Flavi in agricultural soils. Progetto PRIN finanziato dal MIUR (2023-2025)
• PNRR, Missione 4, Componente 2, Investimento 1.4, Centro Nazionale per le Tecnologie dell’Agricoltura (AGRITECH), Spoke 9 (2022-2025)
• PNRR, Missione 4, Componente 2, Investimento 3.1, Strengthening the MIRRI Italian Research Infrastructure for Sustainable Bioscience and Bioeconomy (SUS-MIRRI.IT) (2022-2025)
• MILK-ZERO - Effetti della gestione delle produzioni nell'azienda zootecnica sulla presenza di contaminanti nei prodotti lattiero-caseari: Studio di una filiera a residuo zero in Piemonte. Progetto finanziato da Regione Piemonte (2022-2023)
• StopMedWaste - Innovative Sustainable technologies TO extend the shelf-life of Perishable MEDiterranean fresh fruit, vegetables and aromatic plants and to reduce WASTE. Progetto finanziato dall’Unione Europea attraverso il programma PRIMA (2020-2024)
• VIVIBIOMI - Dal VIgneto al VIno: BIO-protezione tramite l’utilizzo di MIcrorganismi selezionati. Progetto finanziato da Fondazione CRT (2020-2022)
• CleanFruit - Standardization of innovative pest control strategies to produce zero residue fruit for baby food and other fruit produce. Progetto EITFOOD finanziato da EIT (2020)
• LAMP per Fusarium fujikuroi su riso: un sistema innovativo e rapido di diagnosi per la difesa e lo sviluppo della risicoltura piemontese. Progetto finanziato da Fondazione Giovanni Goria e Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Torino (2020)
• NATURE - A gnotobiotic-based approach to unravel the role of the plant microbiome and develop synthetic communities increasing plant growth and stress tolerance. Progetto PRIN finanziato dal MIUR (2019-2023)
• SMART APPLE - Tecnologie innovative e SMART per la produzione sostenibile di mele. Progetto finanziato da Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Cuneo (2019-2022)
• Validation of diagnostic tests to support plant health – VALITEST (Grant Agreement 773139) Progetto Horizon 2020 finanziato dall’Unione Europea (2018-2021)

• Garello M., Piombo E., Prencipe S., Schiavon G., Berra L., Wisniewski M., Droby S., Spadaro D. (2023) Fruit microbiome: a powerful tool to study the epidemiology of dry lenticel rot and white haze – emerging postharvest diseases of apple. Postharvest Biology and Technology, 196, 112163.
• Piombo E., Abdelfattah A., Droby S., Wisniewski M., SpadaroD., Schena L. (2021). Metagenomics approaches for the detection and surveillance of emerging and recurrent plant pathogens. Microorganisms, 9 (1), 188.
• Prencipe S., Valente S., Nari L., Spadaro D. (2023) - A quantitative real-time PCR assay for early detection and quantification of Ramularia mali, an emerging pathogen of apple causing dry lenticel rot. Plant Disease, 107(5), 1399-1407.
• Sanna M., Spadaro D., Gullino M.L., Mezzalama M. (2021) Optimization of a Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification assay for on-site detection of Fusarium fujikuroi in rice seed. Agronomy, 11, 1580.
• Valente S., Piombo E., Schroeckh V., Meloni G.R., Heinekamp T., Brakhage A.A., Spadaro D. (2021) CRISPR-Cas9-based discovery of the verrucosidin biosynthesis gene cluster in Penicillium polonicum. Frontiers in Microbiology, 12, 660871.

ARO, Volcani Center, Bet Dagan (Israel)
Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Pechino (China)
Centre for Genomic Regulation, Barcellona (Spain)
FERA, York (UK)
IATA-CSIC, Valencia (Spain)
Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology - Hans Knoell Institute - HKI, Jena (Germany)
Meiji University, Tokyo (Japan)
Newcastle University (UK)
Pasteur Institute of Iran, Teheran (Iran)
Research Development Institute for Plant Protection, Bucarest (Romania)
Thammasat University, Bangkok (Thailand)
United States Department of Agriculture (USA)
Universidad de Cuyo, Mendoza (Argentina)
University of Edinburgh (UK)
University of Liège (Belgium)
University of Lleida - IRTA (Spain)
University of Reading (UK)
University of West Indies (Trinidad e Tobago)
University of Zagreb, Zagabria (Croatia)
Wageningen University and Research Centre (the Netherlands)
Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute (the Netherlands)