Projects
1) Dictyostelium discoideum is easy to maintain and cultivate, and the complete life cycle can be induced in the laboratory, is amenable to genetic
manipulation, shares most of the physiological functions typical of eukaryotic cells, and is well-known as a model in cell and developmental biology. Moreover, while the human genome
is large and highly complex, the D. discoideum genome is about 80 times smaller and has been recently sequenced. Considering that biological processes are controlled by highly intricate regulatory pathways, it is not surprising that most successes to date, in understanding such complex networks, have been obtained using lower organisms.
The completely sequenced genome facilitate protein identification also with PMF technique.
Organisms not fully sequenced
2) Cannabis sativa is an annual herb with very high biomass and capability to absorb and accumulate heavy metals in roots and shoots; it is therefore a good candidate for phytoremediation of soils contaminated with metals. Copper is an essential micronutrient for all living organisms, it participates as an important redox component in cellular electron transport chains; but is extremely toxic to plants at high concentrations. The aim of this work was to investigate copper effects on the root proteome of C. sativa, whose genome is still unsequenced. Copper stress induced the suppression of two proteins, the down-regulation of seven proteins, while five proteins were up-regulated. The resulting differences in protein expression pattern were indicative of a plant adaptation to chronic stress and were directed to the reestablishment of the cellular and redox homeostasis.
3) Arbuscular mycorrhizae (AM) are the most widespread mutualistic symbioses between the roots of most land plants and a phylum of soil fungi. AM are known to influence plant performance by improving mineral nutrition, protecting against pathogens and enhancing resistance or tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. The aim of this study was to investigate the frond proteome of the arsenic hyperaccumulator fern Pteris vittata in plants that had been inoculated with one of the two AM fungi (Glomus mosseae or Gigaspora margarita) with and without arsenic treatment. A protective role for AM fungi colonisation in the absence of arsenic was indicated by the down-regulation of oxidative damage-related proteins. Arsenic treatment of mycorrhizal ferns induced the differential expression of 130 leaf proteins with specific responses in G. mosseae- and Gi. margarita-colonised plants. Up-regulation of multiple forms of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, phosphoglycerate kinase, and enolase, primarily in G. mosseae-inoculated plants, suggests a central role for glycolytic enzymes in arsenic metabolism. Moreover, a putative arsenic transporter, PgPOR29, has been identified as an up-regulated protein by arsenic treatment.
4) Proteomics approach to studyMytilus galloprovincialis a marine bivalvia frequently used as sentinel organism in coastal water biomonitoring programme.
Bioaccumulation factors for organic pollutants, coupled with relatively low metabolic detoxification rates and a sessile filter-feeding life style, make the bivalves and particularly the genus Mytilus, an ideal bioindicator organism for biomonitoring studies.