Daniele Nicotra
2024- ongoing: Postdoctoral Researcher - Dep. of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Catania. Research title: Rilevamento di patogeni batterici del pomodoro dalle sementi con kit diagnostici basati
sulla "loop mediated isothermal amplification - LAMP e analisi di comunità microbiche dalla spermosfera con metodi molecolari e convenzionali. Research project: MISE Fondo per la Crescita Sostenibile - Accordi per l'innovazione di cui al D.M. 31 dicembre 2021 e D.D. 18 marzo 2022”, titolo del progetto “Quali.Gene-Piattaforma Analitica Molecolare per la Sicurezza, la Qualità e la Genuinità Agroalimentare” – CUP: B69J24001490005.Main field of research: validation of new LAMP-based diagnostic kits for the specific detection of bacterial pathogens in tomato seeds. Set up of collections of target and non-target pathogen isolates following field investigations, laboratory analyses and seed metagenome analysis. Isolation in culture and molecular identification of microorganisms or their nucleic acids extracted from plants for subsequent validation tests. Preparation of plant pathogenicity tests. Metagenomic analysis applied to nucleic acids from batches of tomato seeds of different genotypes. Isolation in culture of bacteria from the core microbiome. Performance of LAMP assays alongside in vitro cultivation techniques and real-time PCR. Tutor: Prof. Vittoria Catara (Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment).
2021- 2024: 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
Nicotra, D., Mosca, A., Ghosh, S., Ghadamgahi, F., Ortiz, R., Vetukuri, R.R., Catara, V. (2025). Transcriptomic Insights into the Priming Effect of a Bacterial SynCom Against Xanthomonas euvesicatoria pv. perforans in Tomato. XXX Congress of the Italian Phytopathological Society (SIPaV). Book of abstract, 225.
Nicotra, D., Dimaria, G., Mosca, A., Gentile, G., Sinno, M. Martini, A., Marra, R., Pertot, I., Catara, V. (2025). Microbial biocontrol agents modulate interactions between Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. radicis-lycopersici and tomato rhizosphere communities. XXX Congress of the Italian Phytopathological Society (SIPaV). Book of abstract, 226.
Nicotra, D., Mosca, A., Dimaria, G., Massimino, M. E., Di Stabile, M., La Bella, E., Ghadamgahi, F., Puglisi, I., Vetukuri, R. R., & Catara, V. (2025). Mitigating Water Stress in Plants with Beneficial Bacteria: Effects on Growth and Rhizosphere Bacterial Communities. Int. J. Mol. Sci., 26(4), 1467. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26041467
Nicotra, D., Mosca, A., Ghosh, S., Ghadamgahi, F., Dimaria, G., Ortiz, R., Vetukuri, R.R., Catara, V. (2025). Effect of a Bacterial SynCom on the Tomato Microbiome and Transcriptome Under Challenge by Xanthomonas euvesicatoria pv. perforans. XVII Biological and integrated control of plant pathogens (IOBC) – Torino. Presentazione orale.
Nicotra, D., Ghosh, S., Mosca, A., Ghadamgahi, F., Anzalone, A., Dimaria, G., Massimino, M.E., Vetukuri, R.R., Catara, V. (2024). Genomic Insights into Ten Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria isolated from tomato endorhizosphere. XXIX Congress of the Italian Phytopathological Society (SIPaV). J Plant Pathol 106 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42161-024-01752-7.
Nicotra, D., Ghadamgahi, F., Ghosh, S., Anzalone, A., Dimaria, G., Mosca, A., Massimino, M.E., Vetukuri, R.R., Catara, V. (2024). Genomic Insights and Biocontrol Potential of Ten Bacterial Strains from the Tomato Core Microbiome. Front. Plant Sci., 15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2024.1437947
Burke, R., Nicotra, D., Phelan, J., Downey, F., McCabe, P. F., Kacprzyk, J. (2024). Spermine and spermidine inhibit or induce programmed cell death in Arabidopsis thaliana in vitro and in vivo in a dose-dependent manner. The FEBS journal, 10.1111/febs.17165. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/febs.17165
Mosca, A., Dimaria, G., Nicotra, D., Modica, F., Massimino, M.E., Catara, A.F., Scuderi, G., Russo, M., Catara, V. (2024). Soil Microbial Communities in Lemon Orchards Affected by Citrus Mal Secco Disease. Genes, 15, 824. https://doi.org/10.3390/genes15070824.
Nicotra, D., Dimaria, G., Mosca, A., Massimino, M.E., Di Miceli, K., Valenti, F., Sinno, M., Martini, A., Marra, R., Pertot, I., Catara, V. (2024). Selection of bacterial strains for interaction studies with microbial biocontrol
agents in the rhizosphere. XXIX Congress of the Italian Phytopathological Society (SIPaV). J Plant Pathol 106 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42161-024-01752-7.
Nicotra, D., Ghosh, S., Ghadamgahi, F., Dimaria, G., Massimino, M.E., Vetukuri, R.R., Catara, V. (2024). Impact of a Biocontrol Bacterial Consortium on Tomato Bacterial Spot and Associated Microbial Communities.
15th International Conference on Plant Pathogenic Bacteria (ICPPB) and Biocontrol. Book of abstract, 163.
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.
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). J Plant Pathol 105, 1237–1323 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42161-023-01500-3.
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.
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.
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, 151.