PhD student profile, Sarah Zecchin

PhD Student: Sarah Zecchin (PhD degree achieved on 4^th April 2017)

Tutor: Lucia Cavalca, DeFENS

Dean: Francesco Bonomi

Research area: Agri-Environment

PhD title achieved on: 4^th April 2017

 

Research topic

Root-associated microbiota involved in element cycles in rice: implications in contaminant translocation to grain

 

Project Synopsis

Arsenic contamination in rice is a matter of global concern and Italian rice, representing half of the European production, is among the most affected. Several studies have been performed on the quantification of arsenic in rice around the world, on the mechanisms of metalloid uptake and on the effects of arsenic on the physiology and productivity of rice. However, little is known about the role of rice rhizospheric microbial community on arsenic biogeochemistry. With this project the microbial diversity in contaminated rice paddies and in relation to different agronomic conditions are investigated. Specific enrichment cultivation setups, different microscopy techniques as well as molecular methods are used in order to identify microbial species and metabolisms related to arsenic dynamics in rice rhizosphere. With this project, our knowledge concerning arsenic contamination in rice will improve and the agronomic conditions promoting microbial communities that decrease arsenic uptake by rice plants will be defined.

 

Project keywords

Arsenic, rice, iron bacteria, sulfur bacteria

 

Contacts

sarah.zecchin@unimi.it

sarah.zecchin@uni-konstanz.de

sarah.zecchin@gmail.com

 

Collaborations

Marco Romani, Ente Nazionale Risi, Castello d’Agogna (Italy)

Maria Martin, Università degli Studi di Torino, Torino (Italy)

Gian Maria Beone, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Pavia (Italy)

Michael Pester, Universität Konstanz, Konstanz (Germany)

 

Sponsor

Fellowship sponsor: Università degli Studi di Milano; Erasmus+ Placement

Project sponsor: Prin (2010JBNLJ7-004). Project title: “Healthiness of the agro-ecosystems: chemical, biochemical and biological processes regulating arsenic mobility in soil-water-plant compartments”.

 

Publications

Sarah Zecchin, Anna Corsini, Maria Martin, Marco Romani, Gian Maria Beone, Raffaella Zanchi, Elena Zanzo, Daniele Tenni, Maria Chiara Fontanella and Lucia Cavalca (2017). “Rhizospheric iron and arsenic bacteria affected by water regime: Implications for metalloid uptake by rice”. Soil Biology & Biotechnology 106: 129-137. DOI: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2016.12.021

Laura Rago, Pierangela Cristiani, Federica Villa, Sarah Zecchin, Alessandra Colombo, Lucia Cavalca and Andrea Schievano (2017). “Influences of dissolved oxygen concentration on biocathodic microbial communities in microbial fuel cells”. Bioelectrochemistry 116: 39-51. DOI: 10.1016/j.bioelechem.2017.04.001

Susanne Wörner, Sarah Zecchin, Jianguo Dan, Nadezhda Hristova Todorova, Alexander Loy, Ralph Conrad and Michael Pester (2016). “Gypsum amendment to rice paddy soil stimulated bacteria involved in sulfur cycling but largely preserved the phylogenetic composition of the total bacterial community”. Environmental Microbiology Reports 8(3). DOI: 10.1111/1758-2229.12413

Oral presentation: “Assessing the contribution of the rhizosohere microbiome in arsenic biogeochemical cycle in rice fields”. 21^th Workshop on the Developments in the Italian PhD Research on Food Science, Technology & Biotechnology, Portici (Italy), 14-16^th September 2016.

Poster: “Bacterial resources for assisted phytostabilization of acid mine drainage- affected mountain stream bank”, Rhizosphere 4, Maastricht (The Netherlands), 21-25^th June 2015.

Poster: “Iron-reducing bacteria in rice rhizosphere contribute to arsenic mobilization under flooded conditions”. Rhizosphere 4, Maastricht (The Netherlands), 21-25^th June 2015.

Poster: “Continuous flooding selects for bacterial populations involved in arsenic cycle in rice rhizosphere”. Bacterial Genetics and Ecology (BAGECO) 13, Milano (Italy), 14-18^th June 2015.

Oral presentation: “Nella rizosfera del riso la sommersione continua seleziona popolazioni batteriche coinvolte nel ciclo dell’arsenico”. Arsenico nelle catene alimentari, Roma (Italy), 4-5^th June 2015.

Oral presentation: “Microbial arsenic cycle in rice rhizosphere in relation to water management”. Cortona Procarioti, Cortona (Italy), 15-17^th May 2014.