Title: Development of synthetic methods, namely oligonucleotide aptamers, in order to stimulate the plant defense response in Arabidopsis thaliana

 Supervisor: Prof. Giuseppe Firrao 

Aptamers are small synthetic nucleic acids that fold into a well-defined three-dimensional structure in order to specifically and tightly bind to a variety of diverse molecular targets. Aptamers evolve from random oligonucleotide pools by an in vitro selection process called systemic evolution of ligand by exponential enrichment (SELEX). SELEX is structured in four steps: incubation of random oligonucleotide pools with the molecular target, separation of bound from unbound sequences, elution and, amplification of bound nucleic acids.

The aim of the PhD is to select proper aptamers that specifically bind membrane receptors involved during the plant defense response.

SELEX methodology will be performed on mesophyll protoplasts isolated from Arabidopsis thaliana and, in order to promote the interaction between aptamer-defense membrane receptor, leaves will be treated with an inducer of the plant immune state.

Then a combined strategy dependent on quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) amplification curve and high resolution melting (HRM) curve analysis will be employed to monitor the convergence of the aptamer species during the selection process.

The designed work will permit to develop nucleic acid sequences that specifically recognize defense membrane receptors, and in turn they readily induce the immune response.

Biography and Contacts

Federico Bosetto was born in Arzignano (VI), Italy, on 30/12/1992. He graduated in Biological Sciences in 2014 with a final grade of 104/110 and in Molecular and Cellular Biology in 2017 with a final grade of 110/110, both at the University of Bologna. In 2016 he performed a master degree internship of ten months at the University of Copenhagen, submitting a master thesis on “Study on effects of cytokinins on Nicotiana tabacum - Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci interaction”. From November 2017, he is attending the PhD school in Agricultural Sciences and Biotechnology at the University of Udine.

Institutional e-mail: bosetto.federico@spes.uniud.it