Research area: Botany - Mycology - Agriculture
Coordinators: Solveig Tosi, Elena Savino, Carolina Girometta, Lidia Nicola
ERC sectors: LS8_2 Biodiversity; LS9_7 Environmental biotechnology and bioengineering; PE8_11 Environmental engineering, e.g. sustainable design, waste and water treatment, recycling, regeneration or recovery of compounds, carbon capture & storage
1. Biodiversity and ecology of soil fungi in tropical and temperate environments
Study of fungi in natural and human-generated environments in tropical (Colombia, Ecuador, Nigeria) and temperate (Italy, Serbia) regions. Analysis of the total mycobiota using NGS analysis in relation to different land uses. Selection of beneficial strains (biofertilization, biocontrol of nematodes and phytopathogens) and evaluation of their activity.
2. Biodiversity and ecology of fungi in extreme cold environments (Antarctica, Alpine environments)
Fungi from Antarctic and Alpine environments are studied, including their adaptations, the metabolites they produce, and their distribution in relation to trophic, pedological, and geomorphological conditions.
3. Fungi for the bioremediation of polluted environments
Isolation, selection, and application of strains with beneficial activities for the degradation of hydrocarbons, plastics, rubber, and pesticides.
4. Fungi in extraterrestrial contexts
Selection of useful strains for application in extraterrestrial human outposts (International Space Station, future bases on the Moon and Mars). In particular, their use is being studied to reduce crew waste and to form substrates suitable for plant cultivation.
5. Fungi for biomining
Isolation, selection, and application of strains suitable for extracting high-quality metals from liquid and solid substrates.
ENI –Environmental Technologies – TEAMB, Italy; Fondazione Edmund Mach di San Michele all'Adige S. Michele all'Adige (TN) – Italy; Tuscia University, Viterbo, Italy; Servizio Fitosanitario Regione Emilia-Romagna, Laboratorio di Nematologia, Bologna, Italy; Bulgarian Academy of Science, Sofia, Bulgaria; Sofia University St. Kl. Ohridski, Sofia, Bulgaria; Fundación Universitaria Juan de Castellanos, Tunja, Colombia; Department of Plant Pathology, Nematology Laboratory, Belgrade, Serbia; Universidad Tecnica Particular de Loja, Ecuador; Universidad Politecnica Salesiana de Cuenca y Quito, Ecuador; Salahaddin University, Erbil, Iraq; Department of Biochemistry,University of Yaoundé I, Cameroon; School of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Tianjin University, P. R. China.
1. Project "MicroBiomA-S. Exploring the diversity of soil microbes and their biomolecules in Victoria Land," funded by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR) as part of the National Antarctic Research Program.
2. Project "REBUS. In-situ Resource Bio-Utilization for Life Support System," funded by the Italian Space Agency.
3. Project "CE4WE (Circular Economy for Water and Energy)," Research and Innovation Hub, funded by the Lombardy Region.
Delgado, E.F.; Valdez, A.T.; Covarrubias, S.A.; Tosi, S.; Nicola, L.2021. Soil Fungal Diversity of the Aguarongo Andean Forest (Ecuador). Biology, 10, 1289. https://doi.org/10.3390/biology10121289
Nicola, L.; Landínez-Torres, A.Y.; Zambuto, F.; Capelli, E.; Tosi, S. 2021. The Mycobiota of High Altitude Pear Orchards Soil in Colombia. Biology, 10, 1002. https://doi.org/10.3390/biology10101002
Zucconi L., Canini F., Temporiti M.E., Tosi S., 2020. Extracellular enzymes and bioactive compounds from Antarctic terrestrial fungi for bioprospecting. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17:6459 doi: 10.3390/ijerph17186459.
Daccò, C., Girometta, C., Asemoloye, M.D., Carpani, G, Picco, A.M., Tosi, S., 2020. Key fungal degradation patterns, enzymes and their applications for the removal of aliphatic hydrocarbons in polluted soils: A review. International Biodeterioration and Biodegradation 147, doi:10.1016/j.ibiod.2019.104866.
Landinez-Torre A, Panelli S, Picco AM, Comandore F, Tosi S, Capelli E, 2019. A meta-barcoding analysis of soil mycobiota of the upper Andean Colombian agro-environment. Scientific Reports volume 9, Article number: 10085. doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-46485-1