Bruno Mezzetti

Università Politecnica delle Marche | Università degli Studi di Ancona · Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences

Somatic embryogenesis is the most common regeneration method for the application of new genomic techniques like cisgenesis/intragenesis, genome editing, and RNAi. However, some local important genotypes show recalcitrance to this morphogenetic strategy, which represents an obstacle for the application of genetic engineering techniques. Whole flower...

Brassicaceae plants are rich with antioxidant compounds that play a key role for human health. This study wants to characterize two Italian broccoli cultivars (Roya and Santee) and black cabbage, evaluating the variation of antioxidants in different portion and at different developmental stage of the plants: for broccoli, heads and stems were sampl...

Genotype, environment, and cultivation system strongly influence strawberry yield and quality. Specifically, the growth of strawberry plants is dependent on the water supply. Nevertheless, the abuse of water in agriculture is necessitating the choice of the lowest water-consumptive plants. The following study showed the performance of ‘Romina’, ‘Si...

Summary Fresh berries are a popular and important component of the human diet. The demand for high‐quality berries and sustainable production methods is increasing globally, challenging breeders to develop modern berry cultivars that fulfill all desired characteristics. Since 1994, research projects have characterized genetic resources, developed m...

Blueberries, strawberries and raspberries are soft fruits marketed worldwide, with unique sensory, nutritional and biological properties. This bibliometric comparative analysis aims to analyse the published scientific research in order to provide a valuable and important reference for berry growers, the fruit industry, health personnel and scientis...

Organic farming is characterized by the prohibition of the use of chemical synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, feed additives and genetically modified organisms and by the application of sustainable agricultural technologies based on ecological principles and natural rules. Organic products are believed to be more nutritious and safer foods compared...

Thinning and pruning are expensive cultural practices in peach cultivation, but essential to obtain adequate production. This study evaluated the effects of combining two pruning (four and six scaffold branches) and three thinning (low, medium, and high crop load) levels on yield and fruit quality of four different flat peach cultivars, trained as...

Fungicide use is one of the core elements of intensive agriculture because it is necessary to fight pathogens that would otherwise cause large production losses. Oomycete and fungal pathogens are kept under control using several active compounds, some of which are predicted to be banned in the near future owing to serious concerns about their impac...

Plant architecture is central in determining crop yield. In the short‐day species strawberry, a crop vegetatively propagated via daughter‐plants produced by stolons, fruit yield is further dependent on the trade‐off between sexual reproduction (fruits) and asexual reproduction (daughter‐plants). Both are largely dependent on meristem identity, whic...

White strawberry fruits (Fragaria ×ananassa) are more resistant to anthracnose disease caused by Colletotrichum spp. compared with red fruits. In white fruit infected with C. acutatum, a mannose binding lectin gene named FaMBL1 was found to be the most upregulated gene. In order to discern its role in strawberry resistance to C. acutatum, FaMBL1 si...

Strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) is one of the most diffused soft fruit species, which counts about 372.360 cultivated hectares worldwide (FAOSTAT, 2018). This perennial herbaceous species is subjected to several fungal diseases. Among them, grey mould, caused by the ascomycete Botrytis cinerea, is considered one of the most damaging pathogens for...

Plant pathogenic fungi are the largest group of disease-causing agents on crop plants and represent a persistent and significant threat to agriculture worldwide. Conventional approaches based on the use of pesticides raise social concern for the impact on the environment and human health and alternative control methods are urgently needed. The rapi...

Plant pathogenic fungi are the largest group of disease-causing agents on crop plants and represent a persistent and significant threat to agriculture worldwide. Conventional approaches based on the use of pesticides raise social concern for the impact on the environment and human health and alternative control methods are urgently needed. The rapi...

Recent discoveries show that fungi can take up environmental RNA, which can then silence fungal genes through environmental RNA interference. This discovery prompted the development of Spray‐Induced Gene Silencing (SIGS) for plant disease management. In this study, we aimed to determine the efficacy of SIGS across a variety of eukaryotic microbes....

Recently, the consumption of healthy foods has been related to the prevention of cardiovascular, degenerative diseases and different forms of cancers, underlying the importance of the diet for the consumer’s health. Fruits and vegetables contain phytochemicals that act as protective factors for the human body, through different mechanisms of action...

Recent discoveries show that fungi can take up environmental RNA, which can then silence fungal genes through environmental RNA interference. This discovery prompted the development of Spray-Induced Gene Silencing (SIGS) for plant disease management. In this study, we aimed to determine the efficacy of SIGS across a variety of eukaryotic microbes....

Background The increasing evidences on the relation between diet and human health are driving the consumers toward the choice of foods with high amount of nutrients, considered the molecules responsible for the regulation of several metabolic and biochemical processes, and for the prevention of many chronic diseases. Among food products, fruits rep...

Plant-derived exosome-like nanovesicles (EPDENs) have recently been isolated and evaluated as potential bioactive nutraceutical biomolecules. It has been hypothesized that EPDENs may exert their activity on mammalian cells through their specific cargo. In this study, we isolated and purified EPDENs from the strawberry juice of Fragaria x ananassa (...

Background an increasing number of epidemiological studies highlights a remarkable association between a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and a lower incidence of different inflammatory-related pathologies. Berries represent an interesting source of phytochemicals and nutrients, widely investigated for their role in health promotion and disease p...

This book contains a series of chapters reviewing the current scientific knowledge on RNAi, methods for developing RNAi systems in transgenic plants and a range of applications for crop improvement, crop production and crop protection. Some chapters examine both endogenous systems in transgenic plants and exogenous systems where interfering RNAs ar...

This book contains a series of chapters reviewing the current scientific knowledge on RNAi, methods for developing RNAi systems in transgenic plants and a range of applications for crop improvement, crop production and crop protection. Some chapters examine both endogenous systems in transgenic plants and exogenous systems where interfering RNAs ar...

European Union (EU) and global sustainability policies emphasize the need to replace contentious pesticides with safe, efficient, and cost-effective alternatives to ensure sustainable food production. However, R&D for alternatives to contentious pesticides are lagging behind and need to be broadened. Here, we discuss how RNAi-based technology can c...

Downy mildew, powdery mildew, and grey mold are some of the phytopathological diseases causing economic losses in agricultural crops, including grapevine, worldwide. In the current scenario of increasing global warming, in which the massive use of agrochemicals should be limited, the management of fungal disease has become a challenge. The knowledg...

Almost 30 years have passed since the first publication reporting regeneration of transformed peach plants. Nevertheless, the general applicability of genetic transformation of this species has not yet been established. Many strategies have been tested in order to obtain an efficient peach transformation system. Despite the amount of time and the e...

The use of RNA interference (RNAi) enables the silencing of target genes in plants or plant-dwelling organisms, through the production of double stranded RNA (dsRNA) resulting in altered plant characteristics. Expression of properly synthesized dsRNAs in plants can lead to improved crop quality characteristics or exploit new mechanisms with activit...

In the present study, an efficient system for the in vitro regeneration of adventitious shoots from the peach rootstock Hansen 536 leaves has been established. Twenty regeneration media containing McCown Woody Plant Medium (WPM) as a basal salt supplemented with different concentrations and combinations of plant growth regulators (PGRs) were tested...

RNA interference (RNAi) is being developed and exploited to improve plants by modifying endogenous gene expression as well as to target pest and pathogen genes both within plants (i.e. host-induced gene silencing) and/or as topical applications (e.g. spray-induced gene silencing). RNAi is a natural mechanism which can be exploited to make a major c...

The determination of strawberry fruit quality through the traditional destructive lab techniques has some limitations related to the amplitude of the samples, the timing and the applicability along all phases of the supply chain. The aim of this study was to determine the main qualitative characteristics through traditional lab destructive techniqu...

Background Cultivation of highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) is increasing in Europe in the last years, in particular due to the availability of new genotypes suitable for the cultivation in many different environmental conditions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the resilience and nutritional quality of eleven highbush blueberry cu...

The strawberry breeding is now aimed to produce new cultivars combining high plant adaptability and yield with high sensorial and nutritional quality of the fruit. The aim of this study is to assess the breeding progress achieved in 3 backcross generations (BC1, BC2, BC3) from F1 Fragaria x ananassa (Fxa) x F. virginiana glauca (FVG) interspecific...

In recent years, the conversion of white adipocytes to brown-like adipocytes by pharmacological and dietary compounds has gained attention as an effective strategy to fight obesity. Strawberry bioactive compounds present several biological activities including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-atherosclerotic and antiadipogenic prop...

The growing awareness of the key role of nutrition to human health status has greatly contributed to the spread of a new feeding concept: the functional nutrition. Nowadays, the foods are not exclusively a source of energy for the performance of normal metabolic processes of the body, but also the unique source of bioactive compounds. These compoun...

Facing current climate challenges and drastically reduced chemical options for plant protection, the exploitation of RNA interference (RNAi) as an agricultural biotechnology tool has unveiled possible new solutions to the global problems of agricultural losses caused by pests and other biotic and abiotic stresses. While the use of RNAi as a tool in...

The aim of this study was the evaluation of the effects of strawberry anthocyanin extracts treatment on two in vitro models of murine breast cancer cell line, trying to detect a specific pathway (AMP-activated protein kinase, or AMPK) through which strawberries exert their anticancer activity. The anticancer activity of anthocyanin purified extract...

Prunus spp. is one of the most recalcitrant fruit tree species in terms of in vitro regeneration and transformation, mostly when mature tissues are used as explants. The present study describes the in vitro regeneration via indirect organogenesis, and Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation of the peach rootstock Hansen 536 (Prunus persic...

Uterine leiom yomas are benign tumors highly prevalent in reproductive women. In thecurrent study, initially, we aimed to screen five different strawberry cultivars (Alba, Clery, Portola, Tecla, and Romina) to identify efficient cultivars in terms of phytochemical characterization and biological properties by measuring phenolic and anthocyanin cont...

The success of in vitro plant regeneration and the competence of genetic transformation greatly depends on the genotype of the species of interest. In previous work, we developed a method for the efficient Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation via organogenesis of V. vinifera cultivar Thompson Seedless, by using meristematic bulk (MB) as st...

In different countries, mostly in EU, rules for strawberry nursery propagation impose the use of micropropagation only to produce stock virus free plant followed by at least three nursery production cycles in the field before selling these plants to growers. This limit has been imposed by problems concerning true-to-type plants observed in micro-pr...

Worldwide grapevine cultivation is based on the use of elite cultivars, in many cases strictly linked to local important wine brands. Most of Vitis viniferacultivars have high susceptibility to fungal and viral diseases therefore, new breeding techniques (e.g. Cisgenesis, RNAi and gene editing) offer the possibility to introduce new clones of the m...

The traditional Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) is a well-known dietary pattern associated with longevity and improvement of life quality as it reduces the risk of the most common chronic pathologies, such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), that represent the principal cause of death worldwide. One of the most characteristic foods of MedDie...

Berry fruits are rich in nutrients and polyphenols, providing potential health benefits. Understanding the factors that affect their bioavailability is becoming of utmost importance for evaluating their biological significance and efficacy as functional food. In this study, the phytochemical composition and the total antioxidant capacity of differe...

Strawberry cultivation is constantly increasing all over the world thanks to the varietal innovations obtained by numerous breeding and biotechnology projects and to the studies performed to discover new knowledge on plant's physiology to develop innovative cultivation systems. Genetic resources remain crucial for breeding activities that can now b...

A protracted pro-inflammatory state is the common denominator in the development, progression and complication of the common chronic diseases. Dietary antioxidants represent an efficient tool to counteract this inflammatory state. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the effects of strawberry extracts on inflammation evoked by E. Coli lipopo...

Quality of berries is a difficult concept to describe objectively. The aim of this review is, to better define the concept of quality in berries, and summarize the main pre-harvest factors that influence quality of the fruit. Berry quality could be defined as a set of agronomic/commercial, organoleptic and nutritional qualities: the first one compr...

Food fortification through the increase and/or modulation of bioactive compounds has become a major goal for preventing several diseases, including cancer. Here, strawberry lines of cv. Calypso transformed with a construct containing an anthocyanidin synthase (ANS) gene were produced to study the effects on anthocyanin biosynthesis, metabolism and...

The improvement of woody fruit species by traditional plant breeding techniques has several limitations mainly caused by their high degree of heterozygosity, the length of their juvenile phase and auto-incompatibility. The development of new biotechnological tools (NBTs), such as RNA interference (RNAi), trans-grafting, cisgenesis/intragenesis, and...

Regulation of lipid metabolism is essential for treatment and prevention of several chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases, which are responsible for most deaths worldwide. It has been demonstrated that the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) has a direct impact on lipid metabolism by modulating several downstream-s...

It is generally accepted that a fruit and vegetable-enriched diet is favorable for human health. The consumption of strawberries, in particular, has been related to the maintenance of well-being and the prevention of several chronic diseases, owing to the high contents of antioxidants and phytochemicals present in the fruit. Several biological effe...