Daniele Nicotra

Dottorando

2021-ongoing: PhD student in Biotechnology - Dep. of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Catania. Research project: Microbiome and plant health, beneficial bacteria for the eco-sustainable protection of tomato from stresses. Main field of research: microbiome’s role in stress defence and growth promotion and development of biocontrol products and bio-stimulants, with a particular focus on microbial consortia and their interactions. Tomato is the main crop of interest. Tutor: Prof. Vittoria Catara (Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment).

2022-2023: FMC Agricultural Solutions, Thyboronvej 76-78, DK-7673 Harboore, Denmark. Main activities: planning and execution of field trials in Sicily (planning, monitoring, sampling) for marketing purposes using bacteria with plant growth promotion and bio-fungicidal activity against plant pathogens. Tutor: Dr. Edoardo Finocchiaro, FMC Agro Italia.

2022-2023: Department of Plant Breeding, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences – Sundsvägen 10, 230 53, Alnarp, Sweden. Main activities: biocontrol trials of tomato and potato diseases in Biotron. Microbiome and transcriptome analyses to better understand the impact of the bacterial treatments and the disease on the microbial communities and the plant. Confocal microscopy. Tutor: Prof. Ramesh Raju Vetukuri (Department of Plant Breeding)

2019-2021: Master’s degree in Agricultural Biotechnology, Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Di3A), University of Catania - Via Santa Sofia 100, 95123, Catania. Experimental Master Thesis: “The role of polyamines in the plant programmed cell death” (in collaboration with the University College Dublin in the framework of ERASMUS + Studio 2020/21). Tutors: Prof. Vittoria Catara (Department of Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment) and Prof.  Paul McCabe (Department of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin). Final mark: 110/110 cum laude.

2016-2019: Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Di3A), University of Catania - Via Santa Sofia 100, 95123, Catania. Thesis: “The use of copper in agriculture: state of the art and future perspectives”. Tutor: Prof. Giancarlo Polizzi (Department of Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment). Final mark: 110/110 cum laude.

2011-2016: High school diploma, Liceo Scientifico Statale Principe Umberto di Savoia – Largo Filippo Raciti, 80, 95123, Catania. Final mark: 100/100

Anzalone, A., Mosca, A., Dimaria, G., Nicotra, D., Tessitori, M., Privitera, G.F., Pulvirenti, A., Leonardi, C., Catara, V. (2022). Soil and Soilless Tomato Cultivation Promote Different Microbial Communities That Provide New Models for Future Crop Interventions. Int. J. Mol. Sci., 23(15), 8820. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms2315882.

Dimaria, G., Mosca, A., Anzalone, A., Paradiso, G., Nicotra, D., Privitera, G.F., Pulvirenti, A., Catara, V. (2023). Sour Orange Microbiome Is Affected by Infections of Plenodomus tracheiphilus Causal Agent of Citrus Mal Secco Disease. Agronomy, 13, 654. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13030654.

Mosca, A., Dimaria, G., Modica, F., Lombardo, M.F., Nicotra, D., Cirvilleri, G., Continella, A., Catara, V. (2023). Effect of abiotic stresses on microbial communities of the root environment of citrus rootstocks. Slovenian Microbiome Network Symposium (SMNS), Maribor, Slovenia, Book of abstract, 83-4.

Nicotra, D., Mosca, A., Dimaria, G., Massimino, M.E., Ghadamgahi, F., Vetukuri, R.R., Catara, V. (2023). Effect of the introduction of synthetic consortia of biocontrol bacteria in the resident microbial communities of tomato rhizosphere. XXVIII Congress of the Italian Phytopathological Society (SIPaV), Book of abstract, 22. Selected for flash-talk, awarded with the “Young Researchers in Training” award.

Mosca, A., Dimaria, G., Modica, F., Nicotra, D., Massimino, M. E., Scuderi, G., Russo, M., Catara, V. (2023). Analysis of the soil microbial communities in lemon groves affected by Mal secco disease. XXVIII Congress of the Italian Phytopathological Society (SIPaV), Book of abstract, 168.

Dimaria, G., Sicilia, A., Modica, F., Mosca, A., Nicotra, D., Bazzano, M.C., Russo, M., Bella, P., Lo Piero, A.R., Catara, V. (2023). Bacterial genome sequencing and plant transcriptional analysis shed lights on the biocontrol activity of Pseudomonas mediterranea. XXVIII Congress of the Italian Phytopathological Society (SIPaV), Book of abstract, 127.

Nicotra, D., Ghadamgahi, F., Ghosh, S., Anzalone, A., Dimaria, G., Mosca, A., Vetukuri, R.R., Catara, V. (2023). Multifunctional beneficial bacteria from the tomato endophytome and their biocontrol activity. 12th International Conference of Plant Pathology, Book of abstract, 100.

Catara, V., Nicotra, D., Mosca, D., Anzalone, A., Dimaria, G., Privitera, G.F., Pulvirenti, A. (2022). Microbiome-informed selection of biocontrol bacteria from the tomato endophytome, XXVII Congress of the Italian Phytopathological Society (SIPaV).

Nicotra, D., Anzalone, A., Mosca, A., Dimaria, G., Modica, F., Cirvilleri, G., Catara, V. (2022). Identification and characterization of tomato bacterial endophytes and preliminary evaluation for consortia-based biocontrol products, 14th International Conference on Plant Pathogenic Bacteria (ICPPB), Book of abstract, 150.

Dimaria G., Anzalone A., Bertani I., Licciardello G., Paradiso G., Nicotra D., Lo Cicero L., Venturi V., Catara V. (2022). SolR, a LuxR-family solo, modulates cyclic lipopeptide production in Pseudomonas corrugata, 14th International Conference on Plant Pathogenic Bacteria (ICPPB).

Mosca, A., Privitera, G.F., Anzalone, A., Nicotra, D., Dimaria, G., Leonardi, C., Pulvirenti, A., Catara, V. (2022). Network analysis revealed potential keystone taxa of microbiome in soil- and soilless-cultivated tomatoes, 18th Annual Meeting of the Bioinformatics Italian Society, Book of abstract, 94.