National Research Council of Italy

Institute of Biosciences and BioResources

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Nunzia Scotti

Role: Senior Researcher
Section: Researchers and Technologists
Division: Portici
Tel: (39) 081-2539482
E-mail: nunzia.scotti@ibbr.cnr.it

Education

1995 Degree in Biological Sciences, University “Federico II” Naples

1996 Diploma of Dr. Biologist, University “Federico II” Naples

2003 PhD in Molecular Systematic, University “Federico II” Naples

Stage on ‘Innovative molecular technologies to study the expression of potato mitochondrial genome’, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire des Plantes du CNRS of Strasbourg-France (2 weeks)

2009 First Course on ‘Research Management’ (1 week), CNR Palermo

2010 Stage on ‘Proteomic analysis of cytoplasmic organelles’, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire des Plantes du CNRS of Strasbourg-France (3 weeks)

Professional Visits to Other Laboratories

1998 Institut de Biologie Moléculaire des Plantes du CNRS of Strasbourg-France (6 weeks), in the framework of CNR-CNRS bilateral Project

1999 Institut de Biologie Moléculaire des Plantes du CNRS of Strasbourg-France (three months), in the framework of an EMBO Short Term Fellowship

2000 Institut de Biologie Moléculaire des Plantes du CNRS of Strasbourg-France (one month), in the framework of CNR-CNRS bilateral Project

2001 Institut de Biologie Moléculaire des Plantes du CNRS of Strasbourg-France (two months), in the framework of Galileo bilateral Project

2009 Max Plant Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology of Golm-Germany (one month), in the framework of CNR Short Term Mobility

Employment

2001 - october 2020 CNR-IBBR, Research Scientist

october 2020 - present CNR-IBBR, Senior Researcher

Didactics Experience

2002 - 2013 Several lessons on biology and biotechnology of plant cytoplasmic organelles for undergraduate and PhD students, University "Federico II", Naples, Second University of Naples

2011 - 2013 Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Biotechnological Sciences, University "Federico II", Naples, Italy, Course “Production of recombinant proteins in higher plants” (48 hours)

Current Research Projects

  • Progetto Nazionale “Conoscenze Integrate per la Sostenibilità e l’Innovazione del made in Italy Agroalimentare” (CISIA) del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche
  • Progetto PON01_01966 “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) del MIUR
  • Progetto PON02_00395_3082360 “Potenziamento della filiera pomodoro attraverso applicazioni integrate di post-genomica (GenoPOMpro)” del MIUR
  • Progetto PON02_00395_3215002 “Valorizzazione di produzioni ortive campane di eccellenza con strumenti di genomica avanzata (GenHORT) del MIUR
  • Progetto Fondazione con il sud “Produzione di dolcificanti ipocalorici da piante mediterranee”
  • 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)

Other activities

2002-present Member of the Examining Committee for the recruitment of scientific/technic personel at CNR

2008-present Referee for the following journals: Genome, Plant Biotechnology Journal, Plant Cell Reports, Acta Biochimica et Biophysica Sinica, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Molecular Breeding, Plant Methods, Transgenic Research, Genes & Genetic Systems

2008 Referee of Research Projects of the Georgian National Science Foundation

2010 Organizes the Annual Meeting of the COST Action FA0804: Molecular Farming -Plants a Production Platform for High Value Proteins, Vico Equense (NA)

Main research topics

Nunzia Scotti is leader of the research group “Genomic and biotechnology of plant cytoplasmic organelles”, working in:

  • Identification of mitochondrial genes underlying cytoplasmic male sterility in potato
  • Genetic variability of tomato and pepper plastid genomes
  • Plastid biotechnology (tobacco and potato)
  • Production of pharmaceutical and industrial proteins in higher plants
  • Identification of chloroplast proteins involved in drought stress in tomato

Publications

Journals

  • Scotti N., Sannino L., Idoine A., Hamman P., De Stradis A., Giorio P., Maréchal-Drouard L., Bock R., Cardi T. (2014) The HIV-1 Pr55gag polyprotein binds to plastidial membranes and leads to severe impairment of chloroplast biogenesis and seedling lethality in transplastomic tobacco plants. Transgenic Res., doi: 10.1007/s11248-014-9845-5

  • Scotti N., Cardi T. (2014) Transgene-induced pleiotropic effects in transplastomic plants. Biotechnol Lett 36:229-239, doi: 10.1007/s10529-013-1356-6.

  • Scotti N., Rybicki E. P. (2013) Virus-like particles produced in plants as potential vaccines. Expert Rev Vaccines 12:211-224, doi: 10.1586/erv.12.147.

  • Rigano M.M., Scotti N., Cardi T. (2012) Unsolved problems in plastid transformation. Bioengineered Bugs 3: 329-333, doi: 10.4161/bioe.21452.

  • Scotti N., Rigano M.M., Cardi T. (2012) Production of foreign proteins using plastid transformation. Biotech Adv 30: 387-397, doi: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2011.07.019.

  • Gargano D., Scotti N., Vezzi A., Bilardi A., Valle G., Grillo S., Cozzolino S., Cardi T. (2012) Genome-wide analysis of plastome sequence variation and development of plastidial CAPS markers in common potato and related Solanum species. Genet Resour Crop Evol 59:419-430, doi: 10.1007/s10722-011-9692-7

  • Scotti N., Valkov V.T., Cardi T. (2011) Improvement of plastid transformation efficiency in potato by using vectors with homologous flanking sequences. GM Crops 2: 89-91, doi: 10.4161/gmcr.2.2.17504.

  • Valkov V.T., Gargano D., Manna C., Formisano G., Dix P.J., Gray J.C., Scotti N., Cardi T. (2011) High efficiency plastid transformation in potato and regulation of transgene expression in leaves and tubers by alternative 5’ and 3’ regulatory sequences. Transgenic Res 20: 137-151, doi: 10.1007/s11248-010-9402-9.

  • Scotti N., Buonaguro L., Tornesello M.L., Cardi T., Buonaguro F.M. (2010) Plant-based anti-HIV-1 strategies: vaccine molecules and antiviral approaches. Expert Rev Vaccines 9: 925-936, doi: 10.1586/erv.10.79.

  • Valkov V.T., Scotti N., Kahlau S., MacLean D., Grillo M.S., Gray J.C., Bock R., Cardi T. (2009) Genome-wide analysis of plastid gene expression in potato leaf chloroplasts and tuber amyloplasts: transcriptional and post-transcriptional control. Plant Physiol 150: 2030-2044, doi: 10.1104/pp.109.140483.

  • Scotti N., Alagna F., Ferraiolo E., Formisano G., Sannino L., Buonaguro L., De Stradis A., Vitale A., Monti L., Grillo S., Buonaguro F.M., Cardi T. (2009) High level expression of the HIV-1 Pr55gag polyprotein in transgenic tobacco chloroplasts. Planta 229: 1109-1122, doi: 10.1007/s00425-009-0898-2.

  • Lenzi P., Scotti N., Alagna F., Tornesello M.L., Pompa A., Vitale A., De Stradis A., Monti L., Grillo S., Buonaguro F.M., Maliga P., Cardi T. (2008) Translational fusion of chloroplast-expressed human papillomavirus type 16 L1 capsid protein enhances antigen accumulation in transplastomic tobacco. Transgenic Res. 17: 1091-1102, doi: 10.1007/s11248-008-9186-3.

  • Craig W., Lenzi P., Scotti N., De Palma M., Saggese P., Carbone V., Mcgrath Curran N., Magee A.M., Medgyesy P., Kavanagh T.A., Dix P.J., Grillo S., Cardi T. (2008) Transplastomic tobacco plants expressing a fatty acid desaturase gene exhibit altered fatty acid profiles and improved cold tolerance. Transgenic Res. 17:769-782, doi: 10.1007/s11248-008-9164-9.

  • Scotti, N., Cozzolino, S., Cardi, T. (2007) Mitochondrial DNA variation in cultivated and wild potato (Solanum spp.). Genome 50: 706-713, doi: 10.1139/G07-042

  • Iovene M., Savarese S., Cardi T., Frusciante L., Scotti N., Simon P., Carputo D. (2007) Nuclear and cytoplasmic genome composition of Solanum bulbocastanum (+) S. tuberosum somatic hybrids. Genome 50: 443-450, doi: 10.1139/G07-024

  • Craig W., Gargano D., Scotti N., Nguyen T.T., Lao N.T., Kavanagh T.A., Dix P.J., Cardi T. (2005) Direct gene transfer in potato: a comparison of particle bombardment of leaf explants and PEG-mediated transformation of protoplasts. Plant Cell Rep. 24: 603-611, doi: 10.1007/s00299-005-0018-0

    Scotti, N., Maréchal-Drouard, L., Cardi, T. (2004) The rpl5-rps14 mitochondrial region: a hot spot for DNA rearrangements in Solanum spp. somatic hybrids. Curr. Genet. 45 (6): 378 - 382, doi: 10.1007/s00294-004-0496-6

  • Scotti N., Monti L., Cardi T. (2003) Organelle DNA variation in parental Solanum spp. genotypes and nuclear-cytoplasmic interactions in Solanum tuberosum (+) S. commersonii somatic hybrid backcross progeny. Theor. Appl. Genet. 108: 87-94, doi: 10.1007/s00122-003-1406-x

  • Scotti N., Cardi T., Maréchal-Drouard L. (2001) Mitochondrial DNA and RNA isolation from small amounts of various potato tissues. Plant Mol. Biol. Rept. 19: 67a-67h

  • Bastia T., Scotti N., Cardi T. (2001) Organelle DNA analysis of Solanum and Brassica somatic hybrids by PCR with ‘Universal Primers’. Theor. Appl. Genet. 102: 1265-1272

Books

  • Valkov V.T., Gargano D., Scotti N., Cardi T. (2014) Plastid transformation in potato: Solanum tuberosum. In: Pal Maliga (ed) Chloroplast Biotechnology, Methods in Molecular Biology, vol. 1132: 295-303, doi: 10.1007/978-1-62703-995-6_18.

  • Scotti N., Rybicki E. P. (2014) Plant-produced virus-like particle vaccines. In: Buonaguro F.M. and Buonaguro L. (eds.) Virus-like particles in vaccine development, Future Science Group eBook (ISBN: 978-1-78084-417-6), pp 102-118, doi: 10.2217/fmeb2013.13.32

  • Scotti N., Bellucci M, Cardi T (2013) The chloroplasts as platform for recombinant proteins production. In: Duchêne A-M (ed) Translation in Mitochondria and Other Organelles. Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg, pp 225-262, doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-39426-3_10.

  • Cardi T., Giegé P., Kahlau S., Scotti N. (2012) Expression profiling of organellar genes. In: Bock R. & Knoop V. (eds) Genomics of Chloroplasts and Mitochondria, Advances in Photosynthesis and Respiration, vol. 35:323-355, doi: 10.1007/978-94-007-2920-9_14.

  • Scotti N. and Cardi T. (2012) Plastid transformation as an expression tool for plant-derived biopharmaceuticals. In: Jim M. Dunwell and Andy C. Wetten (eds.), Transgenic Plants: Methods and Protocols, Methods in Molecular Biology, vol. 847: 451-466, doi: 10.1007/978-1-61779-558-9_35.

  • Lenzi P., Scotti N., Maliga P., Cardi T. (2011) Plastid transformation as a tool for plant-based production of vaccines and therapeutic proteins. In: Buonaguro F.M. (ed.) Plant-derived Vaccines: Technologies & Applications, Future Science Group eBook (ISBN: 978-1-78084-093-2), pp 57-66, doi: 10.2217/EBO.11.77.

  • Scotti N., Buonaguro L., Tornesello M.L., Cardi T., Buonaguro F.M. (2011) Plant-derived anti-HIV-1 proteins. In: Buonaguro F.M. (ed.) Plant-derived Vaccines: Technologies & Applications, Future Science Group eBook (ISBN: 978-1-78084-093-2), pp 83-93, doi: 10.2217/EBO.11.80.

  • Scotti N., Gargano D., Lenzi P., Cardi T. (2011) Transformation of the plastid genome in higher plants. In: Dan Y. & Ow D. W. (eds) Transformation Technology Revolution in Last 27 Years, Historical Technology Developments in Plant Transformation Eds., Bentham eBook (ISSN: 2211-2936; eISBN: 978-1-60805-142-7), pp 123-145

  • Leone A., Scotti N., Grillo S., Monti L., Cardi T. (2009) La pianta come biofabbrica per la produzione di prodotti naturali e proteine eterologhe di interesse farmaceutico. In: Ranalli P. (ed) Le piante industriali per la multifunzionalità e sostenibilità dell’agricoltura italiana nel terzo millennio. Avenue Media, pp 419-454

 

Selected Publications

(full list available at CNR People)

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