Laboratory of Molecular Analysis and Genetic Transformation

Head: Prof. Francesco Sestili

E-mail: francescosestili@unitus.it

The Molecular Analyses and Genetic Transformation Laboratory is a cutting-edge facility equipped with modern scientific instruments, used for both research and educational purposes, such as internships, thesis projects, and final dissertations. The main research areas focus on the genetic improvement of the technological, nutritional, and agronomic traits of both soft and durum wheat. Specifically, the research projects focus on the following topics:

• Development of soft and durum wheat genotypes with increased fiber content, such as resistant starch and arabinoxylans.
• Biofortification of durum wheat to increase the content of micro and macroelements, β-carotene, and anthocyanins.
• Development of genetically edited lines for the brassinosteroid pathway, resistant to abiotic stress.
• Development of bread and durum wheat lines with improved yields.
• Study and characterization of the transcriptional and phenotypic responses of plants exposed to nanoplastics.
• Introduction of new glutenin and gliadin subunits into commercial varieties of bread and durum wheat to improve bread-making properties and pasta quality.

The Laboratory employs various genetic improvement strategies, which can be summarized as follows:

• Classical approach (introgression of traits of interest into modern varieties through crossing and selection);
• TILLING approach (chemical mutagenesis and molecular techniques to identify mutations in genes of interest);
• Transgenic and cisgenic approach;
• Use of Assisted Evolution Techniques (TEA), such as CRISPR-Cas9.