Chiara Catalano

Attività di ricerca:

Lemon (C. limon (L.) Burm. f.) is the third most commercially important species among citrus genus and, together with lime, its global sales amounted to US$ 3.6 billion in 2018. The 48% of lemon worldwide production came from the Mediterranean Basin, even though its cultivation is strongly limited by a severe vascular disease named “malsecco” caused by the mitosporic fungus Plenodomus tracheiphilus (Petri) Gruyter, Aveskamp & Verkley, which is included on the A2 list for quarantine pests of the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO). Malsecco symptomatology consists in the desiccation of twigs, branches or the whole plant, suggesting the name of the tracheomycosis that means “dry disease”. Among the commercial citrus species, lemon is the most damaged by malsecco disease due to its high susceptibility and researches conducted over the years have not elucidated the genetic basis of host resistance.

The research activity has the aim of evaluation of resistance to malsecco disease through an approach including phenotypical and molecular analysis of 50 genotypes belonging to different citrus species and to more than 450 hybrids (segregant population for resistance to malsecco disease). At first, we would evaluate the macroscopic and microscopic phenotypic responses of the selected germplasm and of three hybrid populations, (1) C. latipes x C. limon ‘Femminello Siracusano 2kr’, (2) Clementine x C. limon ‘F. Siracusano 2kr’ and (3) C. limon ‘Interdonato’ x C. limon ‘F. Siracusano’, to artificial inoculation of P. tracheiphilus. A genotyping by sequencing (GBS) approach will be performed in order to decipher the genetic basis of resistance mechanisms. Also a comparison of susceptible and resistant lemon varieties, on the basis of the forthcoming lemon genome, will be performed to achieve the main goal of the present PhD project.

Salonia F., Catalano C., Russo R., Licciardello C., Russo G., Caruso M. 2018. Poster dal titolo “Application of Marker Assisted Selection (MAS) to improve the efficiency of the CREA Citrus breeding program”. LXII SIGA Annual Congress "Plant development and crop productivity for sustainable agriculture", Verona 25-28 Settembre 2018. Session 6, Plant Genetics and Genomics: 6.31.

Catalano C., Salonia F., Ciacciulli A., Russo M.P., Poles L., Caruso P., Distefano G., Caruso M., Russo G., Licciardello C. 2019. Poster dal titolo “A gene-specific approach illustrates the anthocyanins tissue-specificity on citrus species and related genera”. Abstract book of the10th International Workshop on Anthocyanins & Betalains – IWA&B 2019.

Ciacciulli A., Salonia F., Poles L., Pappalardo H. D., Caruso M., Caruso P., Russo M.P., Catalano C., Russo G., Licciardello C., 2019. Poster dal titolo “A cisgenesis and target editing approach to improve health properties of citrus fruits combining anthocyanins and lycopene”. Abstract book of the10th International Workshop on Anthocyanins & Betalains – IWA&B 2019.

Catalano C., Atkins E., Butelli E., Martin C., Licciardello C., (2019). “Anthocyanins and acidity, two interconnected qualitative traits of Citrus genera under the control of shared transcription factors”. Sottomesso come relazione orale al 6th International Horticulture Research Conference (www.hortres-conference.org).

Catalano C., Ciacciulli A., Salonia F., Russo M.P., Caruso P., Caruso M., Russo G., Distefano G., Licciardello C., (2020). “Target-Genes Reveal Species and Genotypic Specificity of Anthocyanin Pigmentation in Citrus and Related Genera”. Genes, 11, 807,  https://doi.org/10.3390/genes11070807.

Catalano C., Di Guardo M., Distefano G., Caruso M., Nicolosi E., Deng Z., Gentile A., La Malfa S.G., (2021). “Biotechnological Approaches for Genetic Improvement of Lemon (Citrus limon (L.) Burm. f.) against Mal Secco Disease”. Plants, 10 1002. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10051002.

Di Guardo M., Moretto M., Moser M., Catalano C., Troggio M., Deng Z., Cestaro A., Caruso M., Distefano G., La Malfa S., Bianco L., Gentile A., (2021). "The haplotype-resolved reference genome of lemon (Citrus limon L. Burm f.)". Tree Genetics & Genomes 17, 46 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11295-021-01528-5.

Catalano C., Licciardello G., Seminara S., Distefano G., Di Guardo M., Tropea Garzia G., Tortorici S., Zappalà L., Biondi A., La Malfa S.G., Gentile. A., (2021). “Caratterizzazione di una popolazione di limone per l’identificazione di fonti di resistenza di origine genetica a stress biotici”. Poster per le XIII Giornate Scientifiche della Società di Ortoflorofrutticoltura Italiana (SOI) 22-23 giugno 2021, Catania, Italia (https://www.edagricole.it/soi2021/).

Catalano C., Di Guardo M., Distefano G., Gentile A., La Malfa S., (2022). “Genetic Improvement of Citrus Limon (L. Burm f.) for Resistance to Mal Secco Disease”. In: Kole, C. (eds) Genomic Designing for Biotic Stress Resistant Fruit Crops. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91802-6_3.

Catalano C., Seminara S., Licciardello G., Di Guardo M., Tropea Garzia G., Biondi A., Catara V., Distefano G., La Malfa S., Gentile A., (2021). Phenotyping and genotyping of a lemon segregating population to mining genetic resistance to biotic stresses”. Presentazione orale per i III International Organic Fruit Symposium ed il I International Organic Vegetable Symposium, 14-17 dicembre 2021, (https://www.orghort2020.it).

Catalano C., Licciardello G., Seminara S., Di Guardo M., Tropea Garzia G., Biondi A., La Malfa S., Genti-le A., Distefano G., (2022). “Phenotyping and genotyping of a lemon segregating population to mining genetic resistance to the two-spotted spider mite attack”. Poster per l’International Horticoltural Congress 2022, 14-20 agosto 2022, Angers, Francia, (www.ihc2022.org).