
Antonino MalacrinòClemson University | CU · Department of Biological Sciences
Antonino Malacrinò
PhD
About
78
Publications
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Introduction
I’m a molecular ecologist interested in plant-microorganism interaction. My research aims to answer important fundamental questions: how microbiomes influence the phenotype and fitness of their host? How microbiomes help invasive species to adapt to new environments? How theses small-scale events have an effect at ecosystem level?
Additional affiliations
October 2022 - December 2024
January 2022 - October 2022
May 2021 - December 2021
Education
January 2014 - February 2017
January 2012 - July 2013
September 2008 - December 2011
Publications
Publications (78)
Herbivores are generally considered to reduce plant fitness. However, as in natural communities they often feed on several competing plant species, herbivores can also increase plant fitness by reducing interspecific competition among plants. In this study, we developed a testable model to predict plant fitness in the presence of an interspecific c...
Plant individuals within a species can differ markedly in their leaf chemical composition, forming so-called chemotypes. Little is known about whether such differences impact the microbial communities associated with leaves and how different environmental conditions may shape these relationships.
We used Tanacetum vulgare as a model plant to study...
Hydroponics is a method of growing plants using a nutrient-enriched solution in a controlled environment. Unlike soil-based systems, where soil acts as the primary source of microbial inoculum, hydroponic systems rely on the nutrient solution composition and controlled environment conditions to influence microbial growth, survival, and dynamics. Va...
Background
Microbiomes, essential to ecosystem processes, face strong selective forces that can drive rapid evolutionary adaptation. However, our understanding of evolutionary processes within natural systems remains limited. We investigated evolution in response to naturally occurring selenium in soils of different geological parental materials on...
Indirect ecological effects, which occur when the impact of one species on another is mediated by a third species or the shared environment, are ubiquitous in nature. Given the complexity of natural systems, indirect ecological effects were thought to be important in driving eco-evolutionary processes across community boundaries. However, we know r...
Background and aims
The Kiwifruit Vine Decline Syndrome (KVDS) is a disease that is currently a challenge for kiwifruit production in Italy, and it is spreading in new production areas. However, the causal agent of this syndrome has not been clearly identified, and we still know little about the overall effects of KVDS on the interactions between t...
Microorganisms are important associates of insect and arthropod species. Insect‐associated microbes, including bacteria, fungi, and viruses, can drastically impact host physiology, ecology, and fitness, while many microbes still have no known role. Over the past decade, we have increased our knowledge of the taxonomic composition and functional rol...
Plant-associated microbial communities are key to shaping many aspects of plant biology. In this study, we tested whether soil microbial communities and herbivory influence the bacterial community of tomato plants and whether their influence in different plant compartments is driven by microbial spillover between compartments or whether plants are...
Plant-associated microorganisms have significant impacts on plant biology, ecology, and evolution. Although several studies have examined the factors driving variations in plant microbiomes, the mechanisms underlying the assembly of the plant microbiome are still poorly understood. In this study, we used gnotobiotic plants to test (i) whether seedl...
Herbivores are generally considered to reduce plant fitness. However, as in natural communities herbivores often feed on several competing plant species, herbivores can also increase plant fitness by reducing interspecific competition among plants. In this study, we developed a testable model to predict plant fitness in the presence of an interspec...
BACKGROUND
Pseudostellaria heterophylla is a Chinese medicine and healthy edible that is widely used to for its immunomodulatory, antioxidant, antidiabetic and antitussive properties. However, the potential function of P. heterophylla in intestinal microecology remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the impact of P. heterophylla on immune...
Pear brown rot and blossom blight caused by Monilinia laxa seriously affect pear production worldwide. Here, we compared the transcriptomic profiles of petals after inoculation with M. laxa using two pear cultivars with different levels of sensitivity to disease (Sissy, a relatively tolerant cultivar, and Kristalli, a highly susceptible cultivar)....
Herbivory-induced responses in plants are typical examples of phenotypic plasticity, and their evolution is thought to be driven by herbivory. However, direct evidence of the role of induced responses in plant adaptive evolution to herbivores is scarce. Here, we experimentally evolve populations of an aquatic plant (Spirodela polyrhiza, giant duckw...
Plant-associated microorganisms have significant impacts on plant biology, ecology, and evolution. Although several studies have examined the factors driving variations in plant microbiomes, the mechanisms underlying the assembly of the plant microbiome are still poorly understood. In this study, we used gnotobiotic plants to test (i) whether seedl...
Crop rotational diversity can improve crop productivity and soil health, and boost soil microbial diversity. This research hypothesized that a 3-year rotation of corn-soybean-wheat (CSW), compared with a 2-year corn-soybean (CS) rotation, would result in a more diverse and more complex soil bacterial community, together with a greater abundance of...
Plant-soil feedbacks influence plant quality and quantity for herbivores, and in some studies this influence has been shown to vary with plant functional group. To better assess the impact of plant-soil feedbacks and plant functional group on herbivores we conducted the first meta-analysis to test for an interaction between plant-soil feedbacks and...
Laticifers are hypothesized to mediate both plant–herbivore and plant–microbe interactions. However, there is little evidence for this dual function.
We investigated whether the major constituent of natural rubber, cis‐1,4‐polyisoprene, a phylogenetically widespread and economically important latex polymer, alters plant resistance and the root micr...
Plant genotype is a crucial factor for the assembly of the plant-associated microbial communities. However, we still know little about the variation of diversity and structure of plant microbiomes across host species and genotypes. Here, we used six species of cereals (Avena sativa, Hordeum vulgare, Secale cereale, Triticum aestivum, Triticum polon...
The establishment of new symbiotic interactions between introduced species may facilitate invasion success. For instance, tawny crazy ant (Nylanderia fulva Mayr) is known to be an opportunistic tender of honeydew producing insects and this ants' symbiotic interactions have exacerbated agricultural damage in some invaded regions of the world. The in...
Herbivory-induced responses in plants are a typical example of phenotypic plasticity and are thought to be important for adaptation to herbivory. However, direct evidence demonstrating that induced responses increase the multigenerational fitness of plants remains scarce. Here, we experimentally evolved populations of an aquatic plant and its nativ...
Laticifers are hypothesized to mediate both plant-herbivore and plant-microbe interactions. However, there is little evidence for the dual function of these secretory structures.
We investigated whether the major constituent of natural rubber, cis -1,4-polyisoprene, a phylogenetically widespread and economically important latex polymer, alters plan...
Ready‐to‐eat minimally processed fruits and vegetables are an ideal substrate for the growth of microorganisms, including human pathogens and mycotoxin‐producing species, which question their quality and safety for customers. While we are aware of the importance of production workflows in structuring the products' microbial communities, we still kn...
Root exudates play an essential role in helping plants to cope with abiotic stress. However, the modulation of root exudation profiles under multiple stress conditions is still poorly understood. Using targeted and untargeted metabolomics, here we tested the effect of drought, heat stress, and their combination on maize root exudates, also consider...
General evolutionary theory predicts that individuals in low condition should invest less in sexual traits compared to individuals in high condition. Whether this positive association between condition and investment also holds between young (high condition) and senesced (low condition) individuals is however less clear, since elevated investment i...
Plant-associated microbiomes are key to shaping many aspects of plant biology, including their fitness, ecology, and evolution. While several studies focused on testing the effect of different factors (e.g., plant genotype, soil, stressors) on the assembly of plant microbiomes, we still know a little about the possible mechanisms that drive these e...
Plant genotype is a crucial factor for the assembly of the plant-associated microbial communities. However, we still know little about the variation of diversity and structure of plant microbiomes across host species and genotypes. Here, we used six species of cereals (Avena sativa, Hordeum vulgare, Secale cereale, Triticum aestivum, Triticum polon...
Purpose Plant-soil feedbacks and herbivory impact plant growth. We conducted a meta-analysis to test for an interaction between plant-soil feedbacks and herbivory, including effects on the magnitude and direction of feedbacks and the biomass or growth of herbivores. Methods Our literature search identified 244 studies to address our first question...
Microbiome science is revolutionizing many concepts of plant biology, ecology, and evolution. Understanding plant microbiomes is key to developing solutions that guarantee crop health without impacting the environment. In this perspective article, we highlight the importance of both the structure and functions of plant-associated microbial communit...
Consumers are increasingly demanding higher quality and safety standards for the products they consume, and one of this is wheat flour, the basis of a wide variety of processed products. This major component in the diet of many communities can be contaminated by microorganisms before the grain harvest, or during the grain storage right before proce...
The plant microbiome plays an important role in plant biology, ecology, and evolution. While recent technological developments enabled the characterization of plant-associated microbiota, we still know little about the impact of different biotic and abiotic factors on the diversity and structures of these microbial communities. Here, we characteriz...
The use of synthetic chemical products in agriculture is causing severe damage to the environment and human health, but agrochemicals are still widely used to protect our crops. To counteract this trend, we have been looking for alternative strategies to control plant diseases without causing harm to the environment or damage to our health. However...
As for most of the life that inhabits our planet, microorganisms play an essential role in the fitness of insects, including nutrition, reproduction, defence, and many other functions. More recently, we assisted in an exponential growth of studies describing the taxonomical composition of bacterial communities across insects’ phylogeny. However, th...
For several years, pest management in tomato production in Cambodia has generally focused on the use of synthetic pesticides. We compared conventional pest management (farmers’ traditional practices) with an IPM program on 12 farms in the northwestern part of Cambodia. The IPM program combined cultural, biological, and chemical practices. We found...
Recent advancements in high-throughput sequencing have provided scientists with vastly enhanced tools to diagnose unknown tree diseases. One of these techniques is referred to as metabarcoding, which uses phylogenetically informative reference genes to taxonomically classify short DNA sequences amplified from environmental samples. Using metabarcod...
Plant-associated microbiomes assist their host in a variety of activities, spanning from nutrition to defence against herbivores and diseases. Previous research showed that plant-associated microbiomes shift their composition when plants are exposed to stressors, including herbivory. However, existing studies explored only single herbivore-plant co...
As for most of the life that inhabits our planet, microorganisms play an essential role in the fitness of insects, including nutrition, reproduction, defence and many other functions. More recently, we assisted to an exponential growth of studies describing the taxonomical composition of bacterial communities across insects' phylogeny. However, the...
Root exudates play an essential role in plant-soil-abiotic stress interactions. However, we still know little about the influence of stress combinations on the root exudation profile. Using targeted and untargeted metabolomics, here we test the effect of drought, heat stress, and their combination on the maize root exudates, also considering the di...
Interactions between plants and microbiomes play a key role in ecosystem functioning and are of broad interest due to their influence on nutrient cycling and plant protection. However, we do not yet have a complete understanding of how plant microbiomes are assembled. Here, we tested and quantified the effect of different factors driving the divers...
Beech leaf disease (BLD) is a recently discovered disease that is causing severe damage to American beech (Fagus grandifolia) in northeastern North America. The recently described nematode Litylenchus crenatae ssp. mccannii was detected in BLD affected foliage and may be associated with the disease. However, speculation on the direct role of the ne...
Rhizosphere microbiomes are influenced by abiotic stresses, but we know a little about their response to combinations of stresses. In this study we tested: (i) if drought and heat stress influence the maize rhizosphere microbial community; (ii) if the combination of drought and heat has a different outcome compared to a single stress; (iii) if rhiz...
Biological invasions impact both agricultural and natural systems. The damage can be quantified in terms of both economic loss and reduction of biodiversity. Although the literature is quite rich about the impact of invasive species on plant and animal communities, their impact on environmental microbiomes is underexplored. Here, we re-analyze publ...
Interactions between plants and microbiomes play a key role in ecosystem functioning, and are of broad interest due to their influence on nutrient cycling and plant protection. However, we do not yet have a complete understanding of how plant microbiomes are assembled. Here, for the first time, we show interactions between plant-associated microbia...
Biological invasions impact both agricultural and natural systems. The damage can be quantified in terms of both economic loss and reduction of biodiversity. Although the literature is quite rich about the impact of invasive species on plant and animal communities, their impact on environmental microbiomes is underexplored. Here, we re-analyze publ...
The sugarcane aphid (SCA), Melanaphis Sacchari (Zehntner) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), has been considered an invasive pest of sugarcane in the continental United States since 1977. Then, in 2013, SCA abruptly became a serious pest of U.S. sorghum and is now a sorghum pest in 22 states across the continental United States. Changes in insect-associated m...
This chapter focuses on how transcriptomics has boosted research in pest science, the lessons it teaches and possible directions for future study. Some of the biggest areas for future research, i.e. transcriptome characterization of insect pests, invasive species and biological control agents, understanding the evolution and mechanisms behind pesti...
Microbial symbionts can play critical roles when their host attempts to colonize a new habitat. The lack of symbiont adaptation can in fact hinder the invasion process of their host. This scenario could change if the exotic species are able to acquire microorganisms from the invaded environment. Understanding the ecological factors that influence t...
Theory suggests sexual traits should show heightened condition-dependent expression. This prediction has been tested extensively in experiments where condition has been manipulated through environmental quality. Condition-dependence as a function of genetic quality has, however, only rarely been addressed, despite its central importance in evolutio...
Pesticides are widely used to protect crops against insect pests and diseases. However, current conventional pest management strategies can severely impact environmental and human health. Therefore, it is timely to find an alternative to conventional chemical control in order to counteract the negative effects of pesticides. Integrated Pest Managem...
Microorganisms are able to influence several aspects of insects' life, and this statement is gaining increasing strength, as research demonstrates it daily. At the same time, new sequencing technologies are now available at a lower cost per base, and bioinformatic procedures are becoming more user-friendly. This is triggering a huge effort in study...
Males and females often maximize fitness by pursuing different reproductive strategies, with males commonly assumed to benefit more from increased resource allocation into current reproduction. Such investment should trade off with somatic maintenance and may explain why males frequently live shorter than females. It also predicts that males should...
Our goal within this chapter is to review fungal-mediated above–belowground interactions in which belowground organisms influence aboveground organisms (or vice versa) primarily via a shared host plant, but to also highlight what we feel are the biggest areas for future research within this field: the community approach, stability, evolution, mecha...
Microorganisms are acknowledged for their role in shaping insects’ evolution, life history and ecology. Previous studies have shown that microbial communities harbored within insects vary through ontogenetic development and among insects feeding on different host-plant species. In this study, we characterized the bacterial microbiota of the highly...
Microbial communities associated to the gut of insects are attracting an increasing interest, mainly because of their role in influencing several host life-traits. The characterization of the gut microbial community is pivotal for understanding insect ecology and, thus, to develop novel pest management strategies. The pine processionary moth, Thaum...
RNA interference (RNAi) is a powerful strategy for gene function analysis, and it is also widely studied in view of a promising use in pest control. The red palm weevil, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Oliver) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is one of the most devastating pests of palm in the world. Conventional pest management practices are not adequate t...
The parasitization of honeybees by Varroa destructor represents a serious limiting factor for beekeeping. The past and current widespread use of synthetic acaricides, such as fluvalinate and coumaphos, results in the onset of pest resistance, therefore research efforts focused on the use of alternative solutions to control the population of this pa...
Bark and ambrosia beetles (Coleoptera; Scolytinae) establish trophic relationships with fungi, which
could be also agents of plant diseases. Orthotomicus erosus (Wollaston) and Xyleborinus saxesenii (Ratzeburg)
are two species of Palaearctic origin that have been introduced in several countries around the
world. Here, we investigated their associat...
The occurrence of interaction between insects and fungi is interesting from an ecological point of view, particularly when these interactions involve insect pests and plant pathogens within an agroecosystem. In this study, we aimed to perform an accurate analysis on the fungal microbiota associated to Bactrocera oleae (Rossi) through a metabarcodin...
Honeybees are critically important for the environment and to the economy. However, there are in substantial decline worldwide, leading to serious threat to the stability and yield of food crops. Beekeeping is of pivotal importance, combining the wide economical aspect of honey production and the important ecological services provided by honeybees....
The use of pesticides, as carried out in the last 50 years, caused several negative environmental and human health consequences, leading to the development of alternative techniques to control pests, such as the use of compounds of plant origin. In this study, we assessed the fumigant and repellent activity of both the enantiomers of limonene, a mo...
A molecular approach was used to investigate the fungal microbiome associated with Bactrocera oleae a major key pest of Olea europea, using the ITS2 region of the ribosomal DNA (rDNA) as barcode gene. Amplicons were cloned and a representative number of sequenced fragments were used as barcode genes for the identification of fungi. The analysis of...
In this study, we evaluated the larvicidal activity of four citrus essential oils (EOs; sweet orange, mandarin, bergamot, and lemon) against the arbovirus vector Aedes albopictus (Skuse) (Diptera: Culicidae) under laboratory conditions. Through gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analyses, we found that in sweet orange, mandarin, and lemon...
During recent years, the positive role of ants as biological control agents in agro-ecosystems has gained growing interest. We investigated the predatory relationship between Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) and the ant Tapinoma nigerrimum (Nylander), commonly widespread in the Mediterranean area. Additionally we investigated some bio-ethological asp...
The aim of this study was to investigate the bee fauna foraging on Thymus longicaulis flowers. Samplings were conducted walking along a transect during the T. longicaulis blooming period (April-June). A total of 547 bee specimens, belonging to 40 different species, were recorded during the survey. Apis mellifera and Bombus terrestris were the most...
The California red scale (CRS), Aonidiella aurantii (Maskell), is considered one of the most important pests of citrus in the Mediterranean basin as well as in other citrus growing areas worldwide. In Southern Italy, citrus is the most widely cultivated crop and the control of the CRS relies mainly on the application of synthetic insecticides. Duri...
The small hive beetle (SHB), Aethina tumida Murray(Coleoptera Nitidulidae), is an important pest of honeybeesin many parts of the world. The beetle is native tosub-Saharan Africa and was unintentionally introducedinto USA (1996), Australia (2001) and in Canada(2002) (Ellis and Munn, 2005; Neumann and Ellis2008). In Europe the SHB was discovered in...
The parasitoid complex of the Asian chestnut gall wasp Drycosmus kuriphilus Yasumatsu was studied in Calabria (Italy). A total of 14 different species of parasitoids were collected, of which three are recorded on the Asian gall wasp for the first time. The composition of the parasitoid complex collected in Calabria was compared with that reported f...
The effects of kaolin and diatomaceous earth applied alone and in combinations with sweet orange [Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck] peel essential oil against Rhyzopertha dominica (F.) (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae) and wheat microbial populations were evaluated. Adult beetles reared on durum wheat (cv Simeto) were used to carry out the tests. Five formulat...
The increasing worldwide trades progressively led to decreased impact of natural barriers on wild species movement. The exotic scale Chrysomphalus aonidum (L.) (Hemiptera: Diaspididae), recently reported on citrus in southern Italy, may represent a new threat to Mediterranean citriculture. We studied C. aonidum population dynamics under field condi...