Stefano Pessina

Plant Transformation and Tissue Culture Platform

Genomics and Biology of Fruit Crop Department

Research and Innovation Centre - Fondazione Edmund Mach

Via E. Mach 1, 38010 - S. Michele all’Adige (TN), Italia

Tel +39 0461 615 ### (actually abroad)

e-mail: stefano.pessina@iasma.it

Education and training

Stefano studied plant biotechnology at Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy, where he got his masters degree in 2011. His thesis was a project of proteic engineering based on a genetic modification approach, aimed to restore the putative function of a lupin (Lupinus albus) protein, which natural function is, till now, not known.

Research activity

Since August 16^st 2011 Stefano started as a PhD student at FEM-IASMA, with Mickael Malnoy at Plant Transformation and Tissue Culture platform. His PhD project is part of the GMPF International PhD Programme. Stefano will work on the silencing of Mlo-like susceptibility genes to achieve broad-spectrum resistance to powdery mildew in apple. The project is in collaboration with Plant Research International (PRI) in Wageningen, the Netherlands. Henk Schouten will be the supervisor of the project there.

Stefano started to work on the project in Wageningen and will later come to FEM-IASMA. The work in Wageningen will include inoculation of apple seedlings with mildew, collection of leaves, isolation of RNA, measure of expression of candidate genes and preparation of constructs for silencing Mlo genes in apple.

Once in Italy, Stefano will apply Virus Induced Gene Silencing (VIGS) with different vectors, and evaluate the effect on susceptibility. Then, Stefano will silence through RNA interference the candidate genes, and the effects on susceptibility and phenotype will be evaluated.

PhD project

University and Department: Wageningen University and Research – Plant Research International, department of Plant Breeding

PhD Schools/Programme: Experimental Plant Sciences

PhD project/thesis: Silencing Mlo-like susceptibility genes to achieve broad-spectrum resistance to powdery mildew in apple

PhD Advisors: Prof. Richard Visser (WUR), Dr. Mickael Malnoy (FEM), Dr. Henk Schouten (WUR)