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Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology - FABIT

Molecular Plant Physiology. Coordinator: Trost

All organisms that carry out oxygenic photosynthesis remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, providing our planet with food, feed and energy (biofuels). The laboratory is engaged in studying the molecular basis of primary carbon metabolism in both terrestrial and aquatic photosynthetic model organisms.

Areas: Industrial, plant and environmental biotechnologies

Research themes

Carbon metabolism

The project is focused on the study of the different pathways of carbon metabolism (Calvin-Benson cycle, primary starch degradation, glycolysis and alcoholic fermentation). The aim of our research is to shed light on the enzymatic regulation mediated by redox post-translational modifications. Along with that, we study how the formation of supramolecular complexes and protein aggregation influence cellular proteostasis. Our research activity includes both physiological analyses on the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and biochemical and structural studies on recombinant proteins.

Redox homeostasis

Ascorbate and glutathione are the main regulators of redox homeostasis of plant cells. Moreover, glutathione is involved in important redox modifications of the proteome such as S-glutathionylation and S-nitrosylation. Our research project involves the use of model organisms (both wild type and transgenic), particularly the unicellular algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, the bryophyte Pyschomitrella patens e the higher plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Our aim is to study the functionality of several enzymatic systems, both soluble and trans-membrane, which are involved in cellular redox homeostasis during development and in various stress conditions. These in vivo studies are supported by in vitro analysis of proteins that are essential for the homeostasis of protein thiols (thioredoxins and glutaredoxins), glutathione (glutathione reductase, S-nitrosoglutathione reductase) and ascorbate (cytochromes b-561).

Microalgae and the recycling of industrial wastes

The project, financed by the Programma Operativo Nazionale (PON RI 2014-2020) of the Ministry of Education, carries out research activities in the field of economic and environmental sustainability. The study aims to use microalgal and cyanobacterial systems for the purification of waste water deriving from the food industry. The biodiversity and metabolic flexibility offered by microalgae makes these photosynthetic organisms particularly interesting also in the production of natural products with high added value.

Lab members

Paolo Trost, Full Professor (e-mail)

Francesca Sparla, Associate Professor (e-mail) 

Mirko Zaffagnini, Associate Professor (e-mail)

Libero Guerrieri, Junior Assistant Professor  (e-mail)

Maria Meloni, PhD Student

Rachele Ingrisano, PhD Student

Edoardo Tosato, PhD Student

Ginevra Marie Eloise Peppi, PhD Student

Internship projects

Each Academic Year the Molecular Plant Physiology laboratory provides 9 internships for bachelor’s degree Courses and 3 internships for master’s degree Courses. Preferably we provide positions for students of Biological Sciences (Bachelor's Degree), Biotechnology (Bachelor's Degree), Molecular and Cell Biology (Master's Degree) and Sciences and Management of Nature.

Main publications

  • Gradogna A, Lagostena L, Beltrami S, Tosato E, Picco C, Scholz-Starke J, Sparla F, Trost P, Carpaneto A. (2023) Tonoplast cytochrome b561 is a transmembrane ascorbate-dependent monodehydroascorbate reductase: functional characterization of electron currents in plant vacuoles. New Phytol. 238(5):1957-1971.  https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.18823
  • Bagnato L, Tosato E, Gurrieri L, Trost P, Forlani G, Sparla F. (2023) Arabidopsis thalianaSucrose Phosphate Synthase A2 Affects Carbon Partitioning and Drought Response. Biology (Basel) 6;12(5):685.  https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12050685
  • Gurrieri L, Fermani S, Zaffagnini M, Sparla F, Trost P. (2021) Calvin-Benson cycle regulation is getting complex. Trends Plant Sci. 26(9):898-912. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2021.03.008
  • Zaffagnini, M., Marchand, CH., Malferrari, M., Murail, S., Bonacchi, S., Genovese, D., Montalti, M., Venturoli, G., Falini, G., Baaden, M., Lemaire, S.D., Fermani, S., Trost, P. (2019) “Glutathionylation primes soluble glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase for late collapse into insoluble aggregates”. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 116 (51):26057–26065. https://www.pnas.org/content/116/51/26057.long
  • Gurrieri L., Del Giudice A., Demitri N., Falini G., Pavel N.V., Zaffagnini M., Polentarutti M., Crozet P., Marchand C.H., Henri J., Trost P., Lemaire S.D., Sparla F., Fermani S. (2019) “Arabidopsis and Chlamydomonas phosphoribulokinase crystal structures complete the redox structural proteome of the Calvin-Benson cycle”. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 16;116(16) 8048-8053. https://www.pnas.org/content/116/16/8048.long

Contacts