National Research Council of Italy

Institute of Biosciences and BioResources

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Marina Tucci

Role: Researcher
Section: Researchers and Technologists
Division: Portici
Tel: (39) 081-2539214
E-mail: marina.tucci@ibbr.cnr.it


† Deceased.

Education

1986 - Degree in Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Faculty of Agriculture

1992 - PhD in Productivity of herbaceous crops in the Mediterranean environment, University of Naples Federico II, Faculty of Agriculture

Job Positions

2001-today - Permanent position as scientific researcher at the National Research Council, Institute of Biosciences and Bioresources (formerly Institute of Plant Genetics) Portici, Italy.

1995-2001 - Permanent position as scientific researcher at the University of Tuscia in Viterbo, Italy, Dept. of Crop Production, Faculty of Agriculture.

1994-1995 - Temporary position as scientific researcher at the National Research Council, Research Centre for Vegetable Breeding, Portici, Italy.

1992-1993 - Research Fellow of the Centro Internacional de la Papa, Lima - Perù at the Dept. of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, University of Naples Federico II, Faculty of Agriculture

Main research topics

M. Tucci is leader of the research group “Genetics and biotechnologies for the improvement of agro-industrial productions”, with competences in plant genetics and genomics of agricultural and industrial crops, working in:

  • Plant-microbe interactions: using the model system tomato-Trichoderma spp. we investigate the molecular mechanisms activated in plants by rhizosphere beneficial micro-organisms, which underlie the improved growth and stress tolerance induced by the interaction. This will led to the development of an interaction model, useful for designing breeding strategies to improve plant performance and also in limiting environments.
  • Biomass production for industrial uses: with the aim of producing renewable bio-based industrial raw materials in economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable ways, we are selecting and improving genotypes of ligno-cellulosic biomass crops with increased tolerance to drought and salt stress and therefore adapted to cultivation in environmentally and agronomically limitant soils, not adapted to food and feed production. Besides, we are developing recombinant plant systems to reduce the production costs of cellulolytic enzymes used in the transformation of ligno-cellulosic biomass in high-added value biofuels and bio-chemicals.
  • Quality of vegetable crops: We study the genetic control and regulation of the biosynthesis and accumulation of compounds of the phenylpropanoid pathway important for the nutritional, nutraceutical, sensory and commercial quality of eggplant and globe artichoke. Making use of the increasing genomic knowledge accumulating also for crop species, we are identifying structural and regulatory genes involved in the biosynthesis of relevant polyphenols. Besides, we are carrying out accurate molecular characterisation with DNA markers of high quality local landraces of vegetable crops. These research activities are aimed at obtaining new superior genotypes and valorising most valuable autochtonous Italian vegetable germplasm.

Current research projects

  • MIUR PON_03 “Sviluppo di tecnologie verdi per la produzione di BIOchemicals per la sintesi e l’applicazione industriale di materiali POLImerici a partire da biomasse vegetali ottenute da sistemi colturali Sostenibili nella Regione Campania” (BioPoliS) (2014-2015).
  • MIUR CLUSTER Tecnologico Nazionale CL.A.N., area applicativa AgriFood, “Nuove tecnologie abilitanti per la food safety e l’integrità delle filiere agro-alimentari in uno scenario globale” (Safe&Smart) (2013-2015).
  • MIUR PON_02 “Potenziamento della filiera pomodoro attraverso applicazioni integrate di postgenomica” (GenoPOM-pro) (2012-2015).
  • MIUR PON_02 “Valorizzazione di produzioni ortive campane di eccellenza con strumenti di genomica avanzata” (GenHORT) (2012-2015).
  • MIUR PON_01 “Filiere agro-industriali integrate ad elevata efficienza energetica per la messa a punto di processi di Produzione Eco-compatibili di Energia e Bio-chemicals da fonte rinnovabile e per la valorizzazione del territorio” (EnerbioChem) (2012-2015).
  • Regione Campania PSR 2007-2013 Misura 214 Azione f2 “Salvaguardia della biodiversità vegetale della Campania” (SALVE) (2010-2015).

Main publications

http://scholar.google.it/citations?hl=it&user=X4n_iugAAAAJ

  • De Stefano R, Cappetta E, Guida G, Mistretta C, Caruso G, Giorio P, Albrizio R, Tucci M (2018) Screening of giant reed (Arundo donax L.) ecotypes for biomass production under salt stress. Plant Biosyst 152 (5) 911-917. DOI: 10.1080/11263504.2017.1362059 http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/PiJzXDgI33qYcapb33km/full
  • Valentina Tranchida-Lombardo, Francesco Mercati, Mariano Avino, Paola Punzo, Maria Carola Fiore, Ignazio Poma, Cristina Patanè, Mario Rosario Guarracino, Francesco Sunseri, Marina Tucci & Stefania Grillo (2018) Genetic diversity in a collection of Italian long storage tomato landraces as revealed by SNP markers array. Pages 288-297 doi.org/10.1080/11263504.2018.1478900. https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/C3TVMBFFFgjIe45mjEge/full?target=10.1080/11...

  • De Palma M, Fratianni F, Nazzaro F, Tucci M (2014) Isolation and functional characterization of a novel gene coding for flavonoid 3’-hydroxylase from globe artichoke. Biol Plantarum 58(3): 445-455. DOI 10.1007/s10535-014-0424-7.
  • Proietti S, Bertini L, Van der Ent S, Leon-Reyes A, Pieterse CMJ, Tucci M, Caporale C, Caruso C (2011) Cross activity of orthologous WRKY transcription factors in wheat and Arabidopsis. J Exp Bot 62(6): 1975-1990.
  • Tucci M, Ruocco M, De Masi L., De Palma M, Lorito M (2011) The beneficial effect of Trichoderma spp. on tomato is modulated by the plant genotype. Mol Plant Pathol 12(4): 341-354. ISSN: 1364-3703.
  • Sonnante G, D’Amore R, Blanco E, Pierri CL, De Palma M, Luo J, Tucci M, Martin C (2010). Novel Hydroxycinnamoyl-Coenzyme A Quinate Transferase Genes from Artichoke Are Involved in the Synthesis of Chlorogenic Acid. Plant Physiol 153:1224-1238.
  • Fratianni F, Tucci M, De Palma M, Pepe R, Nazzaro F (2007). Polyphenolic composition in different parts of some cultivars of globe artichoke (Cynara cardunculus L. var. scolymus (L.) Fiori). Food Chem 104: 1282-1286. ISSN: 0308-8146.
 

Selected Publications

(full list available at CNR People)

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