Curriculum vitae - Istituto per la Protezione Sostenibile delle Piante

Curriculum Name: Antonietta Mello Place and date of birth: Lecce, 10-­‐04-­‐1962 Telephone: 011-­‐6705966 Antonietta Mello is Researcher at the Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection (IPSP) of the Italian National Research Council c/o the University of Turin, and admitted to the professional profile of Senior Researcher. After her Laurea degree in Biological Sciences at the University of Lecce, she worked by one year fellowship at the Glasgow University where she studied the activity of plant membrane enzymes and the primary structure of "in vitro" synthesised polymer. In 2001 she became Researcher at the Plant Protection Institute (IPP) after a five years position at Centro di Studio sulla Micologia del Terreno. Her main research has been focused on the biodiversity of ectomycorrhizal fungi and the development of diagnostic tools for the identification of edible fungal species in all the phases of their life cycle. Currently she is addressed to the exploitation of the environmental microbiology through the metagenomics in the aim of relating soil microorganisms with factors such as fruiting bodies productivity. She is also involved in the genomics of mycorrhizal fungi and in the comparative genomics of Pezizomycetes within a European Consortium. Stages § 2010 Visiting Researcher at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA, in the lab of Prof Gary Anderson § 2006 Stage in the lab of Prof. Jim Prosser c/o School of Biological Sciences, at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, for a training in the SIP technique § 2004 Stage in the lab of Witse de Boer c/o Department of Plant-­‐Microorganism Interactions, Centre for Terrestrial Ecology, Institute of Ecology, Heteren, The Netherlands, for training in the DGGE technique § 1995 Stage for the training in Biotechnology at Istituto Sperimentale per il Tabacco S.O.P., Lecce Courses attended § 2014 Statistics Course at Life Learning Center in Torino, Italy § 2005 TRACE360° Course on the food traceability in Milan, Italy § 2000 Bioinformatics-­‐accessibility to databases” at University School for Biothecnology, Torino § 1993 English Course at the Anniesland College, Glasgow, Scotland, for the First Certificate in English Projects Referent of the following projects: § “Tuber magnatum genome sequencing”; “Analysis of the rhizosphere: study of microbiological soil biodiversity in natural Tuber magnatum Pico trufflegrounds”; “Tuber melanosporum truffle-­‐ground soil card”; “Monitoring Tuber indicum in Piedmont trufflegrounds” funded by the Piedmont Region (2006-­‐2011) § “Enhancement of symbiotic fungi of Sardinia as essential elements of genetic diversity and as tools to increase the development of forest plants such as cork oaks” funded by Experimental Institute for the Cork of the Sardinia region (2001-­‐2005) Involved in the following projects: § FIRB 2012 “Evaluation of biological invasions effects in model systems on plant defenses and interactions with other organisms” (2012-­‐2014) § “The life style of Tuber melanosporum by using genomics and post-­‐genomics approaches” in the project funded by MIUR (PRIN2007) titled “FUNGENTm: A functional genomics platform for the black truffle Tuber melanosporum, a symbiotic fungus producing highly valuable fruitbodies” (2008-­‐2010) § Project CIPE 2004 titled “Molecular-­‐genetic analysis for the quality and safety of the product truffle", funded by the Piedmont Region (2005-­‐2007) § “Tuber: biotechnology of mycorrhization” and “Biotechnology of edible ectomycorrhizal fungi: from agro-­‐forestry to agro-­‐food applications” funded by the National Research Council and 10 Italian Regions (1992-­‐1999) Invitation at Congresses and Accademia § Chair in the 1st International Conference on truffle research, Vic, Barcellona, 9-­‐12 Marzo 2014. §
Seminar upon invitation on the present regulation about the collection, cultivation and business of truffles: towards a new legislation in the Satellite event 3rd Workshop on “The culture and characteristics of black truffle”, March 8th, 2014, at the University of Vic – Central University of Catalonia, Vic (Barcelona), Catalonia, Spain. §
Seminar upon invitation of the Accademia dei Georgofili on 18-­‐03-­‐2010, titled "Un genoma di nicchia per tracciare il tartufo: dalla rizosfera alla tavola" as part of the Conference on Frontiers in molecular traceability and food safety. §
Invited speaker at MicroEnGen-­‐IV: 4th SCOPE (Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment) Workshop on Microbial Environmental Genomics in Changsha, China, 2008. §
Invited speaker in a Round Table at the International Symposium on Microbial Ecology (ISME)-­‐11 in Vienna 2006. §
Referee for the Journals: Molecular Ecology, Fungal Biology, Environmental Microbiology, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Journal of Biotechnology, PLOS ONE, New Phytologist, Mycorrhiza, Phytopathologia Mediterranea, World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology, ISME Journal, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, FEMS Microbiology Letters, The Open Mycology Journal, Silva Fennica, Microbiological Research. §
Evaluator of National and International Projects §
Tutor of Ph.D. plan in Biology and Applied Biotechnology at Dipartimento Scienze della Vita e Biologia dei Sistemi, University of Torino, External Supervisor of thesis in Science and Technology for Cultural Heritage, in Plant Biology and in Agricultural and Plant Biotechnologies §
Seminars and classes on the environmental microbiology in Winter Shools and Courses §
Since 2014 Responsible of CNR research line “Basi genetiche, epigenetiche e molecolari della biodiversità degli organismi che interagiscono con le piante” §
Since 2013 Member of Consulta for heritage of Piedmont truffles. §
Since 2013 Member of the Territorial Group and of the Commission for Analysis and Feasibility Shared in the CNR project BIOTTASA for the technology transfer. §
Since 2011 Responsible of module “Effetti della micorrizazione sulle qualità organolettiche di prodotti simbolo dell’ “Italian food”: dai pomodori ai tartufi” within CNR research line “Qualità delle filiere alimentari tipiche del Nord Italia mediante piattaforme tecnologiche integrate”. §
Since 2007 Member of the French-­‐Italian Consortium for the Tuber melanosporum and the Tuber magnatum genomes sequencing Achievements Patent N.1408735 conceded on 03-­‐07-­‐2014, for industrial invention, titled "Inneschi oligonucleotidici, procedimenti e kit per la rivelazione specie-­‐specifica di Tuber magnatum Pico mediante PCR". Collaborations Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA; Julius Kühn-­‐Institut Federal Research, Braunschweig, Germany; Ecogenomics of Interactions' Lab UMR "Interactions Arbres/Micro-­‐
Organismes" INRA-­‐Nancy, France; Georg-­‐August Universitaet Goettingen, Molecular Phytopathology and Mycotoxin Research, Goettingen, Germany Publications § Balestrini R, Mello A (2015) Truffle research in the post-­‐genomics era. Review. Food Analytical Methods. In press. § Zampieri E, Guzzo F, Commisso M, Mello A, Bonfante P, Balestrini R (2014) Gene expression and metabolite changes during Tuber magnatum fruiting body storage. Current Genetics DOI 10.1007/s00294-­‐014-­‐0434-­‐1. § Mello A, Zampieri E, Balestrini R (2014) Ectomycorrhizal Fungi and Their Applications (Chapter 16). In: N.K. Arora (ed.), Plant Microbes Symbiosis: Applied Facets, Springer India. In press. § Mello, A., Ding, G.C., Piceno, Y.M., Napoli, C., Tom, L.M., De Santis, T.Z., Andersen, G.L., Smalla, K., Bonfante, P. (2013). Truffle brûlés have an impact on the diversity of soil bacterial communities. PLoS One 8(4) e61945 (10pp). ISSN:1932-­‐6203. § Orgiazzi, A., Bianciotto, V., Bonfante, P., Daghino, S., Ghignone, S., Lazzari, A., Lumini, E., Mello, A., Napoli, C., Perotto, S., Vizzini, A., Bagella, S., Murat, C., Girlanda, M. (2013). 454 pyrosequencing analysis of fungal assemblages from geographically distant, disparate soils reveals spatial patterning and a core mycobiome. Diversity 5(1) 73-­‐98. ISSN:1424-­‐
2818. § Perotto, S., Angelini, P., Bianciotto, V., Bonfante, P., Girlanda, M., Kull, T., Mello, A., Pecoraro, L., Perini, C., Persiani, A.M., Saitta, A., Sarrocco, S., Vannacci, G., Venanzoni, R., Venturella, G., Selosse, M.A. (2013). Interactions of fungi with other organisms. Plant Biosystems 147(1) 208-­‐218. ISSN:1126-­‐3504. § Gonthier P., Luchi N., Petrucco T.E., Balestrini R., Colazza S., Faccoli M., Garbelotto M., Guarino S., Giordano L., Guglielmo F., Lione G., Loreto F., Mello A., Michelozzi M., Pepori A.L., Santini A., Sillo F., Vizzini A. and Zampieri E. (2013). Investigating the effects of invasive fungal plant pathogens and phytophagous insects on native plants, pathogens, phytophagous insects and symbionts: toward an holistic understanding of biological invasions. Acta Phytopathologica Sinica 43 (Suppl.), 264-­‐265. ISSN: 0412-­‐0914. § Gonthier P., Luchi N., Petrucco T.E., Balestrini R., Colazza S., Faccoli M., Garbelotto M., Guarino S., Giordano L., Guglielmo F., Lione G., Loreto F., Mello A., Michelozzi M., Pepori A.L., Santini A., Sillo F., Vizzini A. and Zampieri E. (2013). DEFINE: a multidisciplinary research project to investigate the effects of exotic plant pathogenic fungi and insects on native ecosystems. Journal of Plant Pathology, 95(S4), 46. § Vita, F., Lucarotti, V., Alpi, E., Balestrini, R., Mello, A., Bachi, A., Alessio, M., Alpi, A. (2013). Proteins from Tuber magnatum Pico fruiting bodies naturally grown in different areas of Italy. Proteome Science 11 7 (13pp). ISSN:1477-­‐5956. § Mello, A. (2012). State of the art of the research on Boletus edulis. In: Zambonelli, A., Bonito, G.M. (eds.), Edible Ectomycorrhizal Mushrooms: Current Knowledge and Future Prospects. Springer, Berlin 73-­‐81 (Soil Biology, 34). ISBN: 9783642338229. § Rizzello, R., Zampieri, E., Vizzini, A., Autino, A., Cresti, M., Bonfante, P., Mello, A, (2012). Authentication of prized white and black truffles in processed products using quantitative real-­‐time PCR. Food Research International 48(2) 792–797. ISSN:0963-­‐
9969. § Zampieri, E., Mello, A. (2012). The unravelled truffle secrets. Mushroom Research 21(1) 1-­‐9. ISSN:0972-­‐4885. § Zampieri, E., Rizzello, R., Bonfante, P., Mello, A. (2012). The detection of mating type genes of Tuber melanosporum in productive and non productive soils. Applied Soil Ecology 57 9–15. ISSN:0929-­‐1393 § Mello, A., Napoli, C., Murat, C., Morin, E., Marceddu, G., Bonfante, P. (2011). ITS-­‐1 versus ITS-­‐2 pyrosequencing: a comparison of fungal populations in truffle-­‐grounds. Mycologia 103(6) 1184-­‐1193. ISSN:0027-­‐5514. § Splivallo, R., Ottonello, S., Mello, A., Karlovsky, P. (2011). Truffle volatiles: from chemical ecology to aroma biosynthesis. New Phytologist 189(3) 688–699. ISSN:0028-­‐
646X § Martin, F., Kohler, A., Murat, C., Balestrini, R., Coutinho, P.M., Jaillon, O., Montanini, B., Morin, E., Noel, B., Percudani, R., Porcel, B., Rubini, A., Amicucci, A., Amselem, J., Anthouard, V., Arcioni, S., Artiguenave, F., Aury, J.M., Ballario, P., Bolchi, A., Brenna, A., Brun, A., Buée, M., Cantarel, B., Chevalier, G., Couloux, A., Da Silva, C., Denoeud, F., Duplessis, S., Ghignone, S., Hilselberger, B., Iotti, M., Marçais, B., Mello, A., Miranda, M., Pacioni, G., Quesneville, H., Riccioni, C., Ruotolo, R., Splivallo, R., Stocchi, V., Tisserant, E., Viscomi, A.R., Zambonelli, A., Zampieri, E., Henrissat, B., Lebrun, M.H., Paolocci, F., Bonfante, P., Ottonello, S., Wincker, P. (2010). Périgord black truffle genome uncovers evolutionary origins and mechanisms of symbiosis. Nature 464(7291) 1033-­‐1038. ISSN:0028-­‐0836. § Mello, A., Bonfante, P. (2010). Un genoma di nicchia per tracciare il tartufo: dalla rizosfera alla tavola. I Georgofili. Quaderni 2010(5) 35-­‐45. ISSN:1826-­‐2759. § Mello, A., Miozzi, L., Vizzini, A., Napoli, C., Kowalchuk, G., Bonfante, P. (2010). Bacterial and fungal communities associated with Tuber magnatum-­‐productive niches. Plant Biosystems 144(2) 323–332. ISSN:1126-­‐3504. § Napoli, C., Mello, A., Borra, A., Vizzini, A., Sourzat, P., Bonfante, P. (2010). Tuber melanosporum, when dominant, affects fungal dynamics in truffle grounds. New Phytologist 185(1) 237-­‐247. ISSN:0028-­‐646X . § Zampieri, E., Mello, A., Murat, C., Bonfante, P. (2010). Characterization of a Tuber magnatum truffleground: from soil microrganism profiles to Tuber detection. In: Atti del 3° Congresso Internazionale di Spoleto sul Tartufo: Spoleto, 25-­‐28 novembre 2008. Comunità Montana Monti Martani Serano e Subasio, Spoleto 114-­‐115. ISBN: 9788890512209. § Zampieri, E., Murat, C., Cagnasso, M., Bonfante, P., Mello, A. (2010). Soil analysis reveals the presence of an extended mycelial network in a Tuber magnatum truffle-­‐ground. FEMS Microbiology Ecology 71(1) 43-­‐49. ISSN:0168-­‐6496 § Zampieri, E., Murat, C., Mello, A., Cagnasso, M., Bonfante, P. (2010). Use of beta-­‐tubuline as a DNA barcode to identify Tuber sp. In: Atti del 3° Congresso Internazionale di Spoleto sul Tartufo: Spoleto, 25-­‐28 novembre 2008. Comunità Montana Monti Martani Serano e Subasio, Spoleto 97. ISBN: 9788890512209. § Vizzini, A., Zotti, M., Mello, A. (2009). Alien fungal species distribution: the study case of Favolaschia calocera. Biological Invasions 11(2) 417-­‐429. ISSN:1387-­‐3547. § Zampieri, E., Mello, A., Bonfante, P., Murat, C. (2009). PCR primers specific for the genus Tuber reveal the presence of several truffle species in a truffle-­‐ground. FEMS Microbiology Letters 297(1) 67-­‐72. ISSN:0378-­‐1097. § Gazzano, C., Desana, E., Kanceff, C., Favero-­‐Longo, S.E., Piervittori, R., Mello, A., Girlanda, M. (2008). Biomolecular investigations for the identification of rock biodeteriogens in archaeological areas. EGU General Assembly 2008, Vienna, 13-­‐18 April 2008. Geophysical Research Abstracts 10 (EGU2008-­‐A-­‐06129). ISSN:1029-­‐7006. § Murat, C., Mello, A., Abbà, S., Vizzini, A., Bonfante, P. (2008). Edible mycorrhizal fungi: identification, life cycle and morphogenesis. In: Varma, A. (ed.), Mycorrhiza: State of the Art, Genetics and Molecular Biology, Eco-­‐Function, Biotechnology, Eco-­‐Physiology, Structure and Systematics. 3rd ed. Springer, Berlin 707-­‐732. ISBN: 9783540788249. § Napoli, C., Mello, A., Bonfante, P. (2008). Dissecting the rhizosphere complexity: the truffle-­‐ground study case. Rendiconti Lincei. Scienze Fisiche e Naturali 19(3) 241-­‐259. ISSN:1120-­‐6349. § Vizzini, A., Mello, A., Ghignone, S., Sechi, C., Ruiu, P., Bonfante, P. (2008). Boletus edulis complex: from phylogenetic relationships to specific primers. Pagine di Micologia 30 48-­‐52. ISSN:1122-­‐8911. § Mello, A., Ghignone, S., Vizzini, A., Sechi, C., Ruiu, P., Bonfante, P. (2006). ITS primers for the identification of marketable boletes. Journal of Biotechnology 121(3) 318-­‐329. ISSN:0168-­‐1656. § Mello, A., Murat, C., Bonfante, P. (2006). Truffles: much more than a prized and local fungal delicacy. FEMS Microbiology Letters 260(1) 1-­‐8. ISSN:0378-­‐1097. § Bonfante, P., Abbà, S., Balestrini, R., Faccio, A., Gabella, S., Mello, A., Miozzi, L., Murat, C., Vizzini, A. (2005). Il contributo delle biologia molecolare alla comprensione della diversità genetica e funzionale del tartufo. Informatore Botanico Italiano 37(1, pt. B) 700-­‐701. ISSN:0020-­‐0697. § Mello, A., Murat, C., Abbà, S., Gabella, S., Bonfante, P. (2005). Riflettori accesi sui tartufi con le nuove tecniche di genetica e biologia molecolare. In: Bencivenga, M., Donnini, D., Gobbini, A. (a cura di), Atti del Seminario sullo stato attuale della tartuficoltura italiana, Spoleto e Norcia, 21-­‐22 febbraio 2004. Grafiche Millefiorini, Norcia 13-­‐16. § Mello, A., Murat, C., Vizzini, A., Gavazza, V., Bonfante, P. (2005). Tuber magnatum Pico, a species of limited geographical distribution: Its genetic diversity inside and outside a truffle ground. Environmental Microbiology 7(1) 55-­‐65. ISSN:1462-­‐2912. § Murat, C., Vizzini, A., Bonfante, P., Mello, A. (2005). Morphological and molecular typing of the below-­‐ground fungal community in a natural Tuber magnatum truffle-­‐ground. FEMS Microbiology Letters 245(2) 307-­‐313. ISSN:0378-­‐1097. § Mello, A., Cantisani, A., Vizzini, A., Bonfante, P. (2004). Variabilità in Tuber uncinatum: un'analisi molecolare. Informatore Botanico Italiano 36(1) 278-­‐281. ISSN:0020-­‐0697. § Mello, A., Cantisani, A., Vizzini, A., Bonfante, P. (2002). Genetic variability of Tuber uncinatum and its relatedness to other black truffles. Environmental Microbiology 4(10) 584-­‐594. ISSN:1462-­‐2912. § Mello, A., Fontana, A., Meotto, F., Comandini, O., Bonfante, P. (2001). Molecular and morphological characterization of Tuber magnatum mycorrhizas in a long-­‐term survey. Microbiological Research 155(4) 279-­‐284. ISSN:0944-­‐5013. § Mello, A., Meotto, F., Bonfante, P. (2001). White truffles identification: the contribution of PCR techniques. In: Actes du Vème Congrès International Science et Culture de la Truffe, Aix-­‐en-­‐Provence, 4-­‐6 mars 1999. Fédération Française des Trufficulteurs, Paris 87-­‐89. ISBN: 295172960X. § Bonfante, P., Abbà, S., Mello, A., Lacourt, I. (2000-­‐2001). Tecniche molecolari per la diagnostica e la morfogenesi del tartufo. Annali dell'Accademia di Agricoltura di Torino 143 75-­‐85. § Mello, A., Vizzini, A., Longato, S., Rollo, F., Bonfante, P., Trappe, J.M. (2000). Tuber borchii versus Tuber maculatum: Neotype studies and DNA analyses. Mycologia 92(2) 326-­‐331. ISSN:0027-­‐5514 § Mello, A., Garnero, L., Bonfante, P. (1999). Specific PCR-­‐primers as a reliable tool for the detection of white truffles in mycorrhizal roots. New Phytologist 141(3) 511–516. ISSN:0028-­‐646X. § Lanfranco, L., Perotto, S., Longato, S., Mello, A., Cometti, V., Bonfante, P. (1998). Molecular approaches to investigate biodiversity in mycorrhizal fungi. In: Varma, A. (ed.), Mycorrhiza Manual. Springer, Berlin 353-­‐372 (Springer Lab Manuals). ISBN: 3540624376. § Mello, A., Garnero, L., Meotto, F., Bonfante, P. (1998). Specific primers for rapid typing of Tuber borchii mycorrhizal roots. In: Scannerini, S., Baker, A., Charlwood, B.V., Damiano, C., Franz, C. (eds.), Symposium on Plant Biotechnology as a Tool for the Exploitation of Mountain Lands: Torino, Italy, May 25-­‐27, 1997. Acta Horticulturae 457 229-­‐234. ISBN: 9789066057609. ISSN:0567-­‐7572. § Mello, A., Nosenzo, C., Meotto, F., Bonfante, P. (1996). Rapid typing of truffle mycorrhizal roots by PCR amplification of the ribosomal DNA spacers. Mycorrhiza 6(5) 417-­‐421. ISSN:0940-­‐6360. § Marchetti, M., Mello, A., Nosenzo, C., Bonfante, P., Fontana A. (1996). Sintesi in vitro tra Tuber maculatum Vitt. e Cistus incanus L.: Controllo Morfologico ed Analisi Molecolare. Informatore Botanico Italiano, 130: 285-­‐290. -­‐ Più di 60 presentazioni orali o con poster ai congressi.