PhD student profile, Federica Valdetara

PhD Student:  Federica Valdetara

Tutor: Prof. Roberto Carmine Foschino

Co-tutor: Dr. Ileana Vigentini – DeFENS

Dean: Prof. Francesco Bonomi

Research area: Food Science and Nutrition

PhD title achieved on: 21^st December 2017

 

Research topic

Wine spoilage by Brettanomyces bruxellensis: molecular and physiological investigation on enzymatic activities involved in ethyl phenols production

 

Project Synopsis

The PhD project is focused on improving the basic knowledge on the wine spoilage yeast Brettanomyces/Dekkera bruxellensis and on developing possible applications to prevent or reduce its detrimental activity due to the production of volatile phenols. B./D. bruxellensis will be characterize for both the genetic polymorphism and the expression of the gene encoding the vinyl phenol reductase enzyme. Different strains will be analysed for their molecular response to sulphur dioxide exposure by RNA-seq. These tasks will release useful data for the developing of molecular probes for a reliable and rapid detection of this yeast by Real-Time PCR.

 

Project keywords

B./D. bruxellensis, wine spoilage, RNA-seq, sulphur dioxide

 

Contacts

Food microbiology and bioprocesses – Department of Food, Environmental and Nutrional Sciences (DeFENS), Via L. Mangiagalli, 25 – Milano

federica.valdetara@unimi.it

+3902503 19169

 

Collaborations

Prof. Uroš Petrovič, Jožef Stefan Institute, Department of Molecular and Biomedical Sciences, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Prof. Bauer Florian, Institute for Wine Biotechnology, Department of Viticulture and Oenology, Stellenbosch University, South Africa

 

Sponsor

Fellowship sponsor: Università degli Studi di Milano

Project sponsor: Yeasts for the Sustainability in Viticulture and Oenology. European Project, Seventh Framework, Marie-Curie actions, PEOPLE-2013 IRSES, Grant Agreement Number 612441 (Acronimo: YeSVitE). http://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/109193_en.html; www.yesvite.unimi.it)

 

Publications

Vigentini I., De Lorenzis G., Fabrizio V., Valdetara F., Faccincani M., Panont C.A., Picozzi C., Imazio S., Failla O., Foschino R.(2015). The vintage effect overcomes the terroir effect: a three year survey on the wine yeast biodiversity in Franciacorta and Oltrepo Pavese, two northern Italian vine-growing areas. Microbiol., 161, 362–373. DOI: 10.1099/mic.0.000004

Vigentini I., Maghradze D., Petrozziello M., Bonello F., Mezzapelle V., Valdetara F., Failla O., Foschino R. (2016). Indigenous Georgian wine-associated yeasts and grape cultivars to edit the wine quality in a precision oenology perspective. Front. Microbiol. DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2016.00352.

 

Proceedings of National and International Conferences (papers)

Valdetara F., Low M., Škalic M., Fracassetti D., Petrovič U., Compagno C., Foschino R., Du Toit M., Divol B., Vigentini I. (2016) Unrevelling SO₂ stress response in Brettanomyces/Dekkera bruxellensis using RNA-seq. ICY2016 – 14^th International Congress on Yeasts. September 11-15, 2016. Awaji Yumebutai, Hyogo, JAPAN. Program & Abstracts book, p. 152.

Valdetara F., Fracassetti D., Bottelli P., Foschino R., Vigentini I. (2016) Yeast selection for the production of novel “mixed-fruit wines”. ICY2016 – 14^th International Congress on Yeasts. September 11-15, 2016. Awaji Yumebutai, Hyogo, JAPAN. Program & Abstracts book, p. 246.

Valdetara F. (2015) Molecular investigation on stress responses and enzymatic activities of Brettanomyces/Dekkera bruxellensis in wine conditions. XX Workshop on the Developments in the Italian PhD Research on Food Science, Technology and Biotechnology. September 23-25, 2015. Perugia.  Proceedings book, pp. 92-93.

Valdetara F., Romano D., Galafassi S., De Vitis V., Compagno C., Foschino R., Molinari F., Vigentini I. (2015) Identificazione e caratterizzazione molecolare del gene della vinilfenolo reduttasi di Dekkera bruxellensis CBS 4481, Enoforum 2015, May 5-7. Vicenza. http://www.vinidea.it/intranet/libretti/libretto13538-02-1.pdf, p. 18.

 

Proceedings of National and International Conferences (abstracts)

Fracassetti D., Valdetara F., Bottelli P., Foschino R., Vigentini I. (2016) Production of novel “mixed-fruit wines” as a sustainable approach to reduce food losses. 39^th World Congress of Vine and Wine, October 23-28, 2016. Bento Gonçalves, Rio Grande do Sul, BRAZIL. (Poster)

Valdetara F., Low M., Škalic M., Fracassetti D., Petrovič U., Compagno C., Foschino R., Du Toit M., Divol B., Vigentini I. (2016) Unrevelling SO2 stress response in Brettanomyces/Dekkera bruxellensis using RNA-seq. ICY2016 – 14th International Congress on Yeasts. September 11-15, 2016. Awaji Yumebutai, Hyogo, JAPAN. (Oral presentation and poster)

Valdetara F., Fracassetti D., Bottelli P., Foschino R., Vigentini I. (2016) Yeast selection for the production of novel “mixed-fruit wines”. ICY2016 – 14^th International Congress on Yeasts. September 11-15, 2016. Awaji Yumebutai, Hyogo, JAPAN. (Oral presentation and poster)

Valdetara F., Romano D., Galafassi S., De Vitis V., Compagno C., Foschino R., Molinari F., Vigentini I. (2015) Identificazione e caratterizzazione molecolare del gene della vinilfenolo reduttasi di Dekkera bruxellensis CBS 4481, Enoforum 2015. May 5-7. Vicenza. (Oral presentation)

 

Others

Training experiences:

05.09.2016-09.09.2016: Scuola di Agraria, Firenze, Italia, Summer School on Computational Analysis From Genomic Diversity to Ecosystem Structure

17.01.2016-18.03.2016, 1.07.2016-17.072016: Jožef Stefan Institute, Department of Molecular and Biomedical Sciences, Ljubljana, Slovenia, scientist manager Prof. Uroš Petrovič

a.a.2010-2011 Involved in ENOTRAC project: Valorizzazione delle d.o.c.g. Franciacorta ed Oltrepò pavese metodo classico mediante impiego di lieviti autoctoni per il miglioramento delle produzioni e come marcatori di tipicità, progetto di ricerca n. 1315 Regione Lombardia – Direzione Generale Agricoltura