Lucerne (Medicago sativa L., 2n=4x=32) is gaining new attention in EC Countries as a result of pu... more Lucerne (Medicago sativa L., 2n=4x=32) is gaining new attention in EC Countries as a result of public concern about sustainable agriculture. The use of lucerne in modern rotations is based on the improvement of forage quality through intensive management. As a consequence, it is important to develop varieties which give good results when the cutting interval is shortened.
Two field trials (2017 and 2018) evaluated the performance of barley–pea mixed cropping by compar... more Two field trials (2017 and 2018) evaluated the performance of barley–pea mixed cropping by comparing different sowing densities (replacement design) and tailoring N fertilization on barley sowing density (split-plot design). High and Low N inputs were applied to whole plots whereas barley and pea, as pure and in mixed crops, were applied to subplots. The 2017 trial suggested the occurrence of an interaction between soil physical properties and N fertilization. Therefore, in 2018 a pedological survey allowed the soil effect to be included in the ANOVA model applied to evaluate crop performance parameters, showing that N fertilization positively affected barley performance only in the soil unit located downslope. A significantly lower presence of weeds was observed in mixed crops rather than in pea pure crops. Overall, increasing pea density and reducing barley density in mixed crops, and tailoring N fertilization were effective approaches to obtain a more balanced mixed grain at harv...
Purpose Hilly soils of central Italy are characterized by high variability of physicochemical pro... more Purpose Hilly soils of central Italy are characterized by high variability of physicochemical properties that influence standard agronomic practices. Moreover, cereal-grain legume mixed cropping is a strategy to improve agricultural sustainability. This study aimed to i) evaluate if soil variability could affect grain yield in barley-pea mixed cropping, and ii) improve the overall performance of barley-pea by modifying the relative cereal-legume crop densities. Methods Two field trials were performed to evaluate differential N fertilization effects on grain yield of barley-pea replacement design combinations. High and Low N inputs were designed by adjusting N levels based on barley density. Moreover, the 2017 trial let us to suppose the occurrence of an interaction between soil physical properties and N fertilization. Therefore, in 2018, based on a pedological survey subsequently evaluated by principal component analysis, the soil effect was included in ANOVA models applied to evalu...
Abstract: ATP bioluminescence monitoring and traditional microbiological analyses (viable countin... more Abstract: ATP bioluminescence monitoring and traditional microbiological analyses (viable counting of total mesophilic aerobes, coliforms and Escherichia coli) were used to evaluate the effectiveness of Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOP) at a university canteen which uses a HACCP-based approach. To that end, 10 cleaning control points (CPs), including food contact surfaces at risk of contamination from product residues or microbial growth, were analysed during an 8-month monitoring period. Arbitrary acceptability limits were set for both microbial loads and ATP bioluminescence readings. A highly significant correlation (r = 0.99) between the means of ATP bioluminescence readings and the viable counts of total mesophilic aerobes was seen, thus revealing a strong association of these parameters with the level of surface contamination. Among CPs, the raw meat and multi-purpose chopping boards showed the highest criticalities. Although ATP bioluminescence technology cannot ...
Abstract: Food safety is essential in mass catering. In Europe, Regulation (EC) No. 852/2004 requ... more Abstract: Food safety is essential in mass catering. In Europe, Regulation (EC) No. 852/2004 requires food business operators to put in place, implement and maintain permanent procedures based on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles. Each HACCP plan is specifically implemented for the processing plant and processing methods and requires a systematic collection of data on the incidence, elimination, prevention, and reduction of risks. In this five-year-study, the effectiveness of the HACCP plan of a University canteen was verified through periodic internal auditing and microbiological monitoring of meals, small equipment, cooking tools, working surfaces, as well as hands and white coats of the canteen staff. The data obtained revealed no safety risks for the consumers, since Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes were never detected; however, a quite discontinuous microbiological quality of meals was revealed. The fluctuations in the mic...
The myostatin gene also called Growth Differentiation Factor 8 gene (GDF8) is one of the most inv... more The myostatin gene also called Growth Differentiation Factor 8 gene (GDF8) is one of the most investigated loci that can be responsible for several quantitative and qualitative carcass and meat traits in double-muscled beef cattle. The objective of the study was to bring to light the effect of the myostatin polymorphism on slaughtering performance and meat quality in Marchigiana beef cattle. The experiment was carried out on 78 bulls reared according to the “cow-calf” extensive managing system. At the end of the fattening period, in vivo and carcass data were recorded. From each carcass, a steak of Longissimus thoracis was taken and used to determine the meat’s analytical composition and colorimetric properties. Finally, from each steak a sample of Longissimus thoracis was collected, then used for DNA extraction and genotyping at the myostatin locus. The heterozygous bulls showed slight superiority in the carcass data (e.g., hot carcass weight: 426.09 kg—heterozygotes vs. 405.32 kg—...
This handbook was developed to help facilitate coordinated assessments across multiple field tria... more This handbook was developed to help facilitate coordinated assessments across multiple field trials of plant teams, specifically, legume-cereal intercrops and grassland mixtures. In preparation of the H2020-funded project DIVERSify we identified the need for a handbook combining protocols for assessing plant traits as well as agronomic characteristics, filling a gap that other handbooks are not addressing. With the aim of promoting the generation of ‘big data’ from a larger set of agricultural field trials, emphasis has also been on the importance of standardised formats through the use of shared data templates and collection of meta-data
The First Outstanding 50 Years of “Università Politecnica delle Marche”, 2020
The study of biodiversity is commonly carried out through different approaches, such as those at ... more The study of biodiversity is commonly carried out through different approaches, such as those at the level of genetics, species, communities/ecosystems, and landscapes. The group of geneticists, geobotanists and landscape researchers of the Department of agriculture, food and environmental sciences has been dealing with this topic for many years. In this chapter, the principal research lines followed during the last thirty years are briefly described in order to put the best results achieved and the future targets into evidence. For the research group in geobotany, the main fields of research involve phytosociology, syntaxonomy, vegetation mapping, species and habitat conservation, ethnobotany and the ecology of agroecosystems. Regarding genetic biodiversity, the research carried out in plant genetics and breeding has dealt with the collection, evaluation and molecular characterization of some populations of the grass pea in the Marche region. Concerning the study of biodiversity at the landscape level, the research carried out has focused on the rural landscape and has dealt with the role of geomatics, robotics and new technologies in analyzing spatial heterogeneity, the importance of a bionomics approach to the landscape and its interfaces, and the integration of the landscape into the economic development and sustainable growth.
ABSTRACT Apomixis involves the parthenogenetic development of apomeiotic eggs. It has the potenti... more ABSTRACT Apomixis involves the parthenogenetic development of apomeiotic eggs. It has the potential of cloning plants through seed, and thus furnishes a unique opportunity in breeding of allogamous sexual species, such as alfalfa, for developing superior cultivars with permanently fixed heterosis. Apomixis as a whole has not been detected in the genus Medicago, but components of apomixis have been reported. The formation of unreduced eggs through diplosporic meiosis was documented in a diploid mutant of M. saliva ssp. falcata (L.) Arcang., named PG-F9. Since in facultative apomictic species non-reductional meiosis and parthenogenesis could be tightly associated processes, a progeny test based on morphological trait and molecular marker evaluation was carried out to verify the occurrence of parthenogenesis in PG-F9. Morphological traits such as leaf shape, stipule form, stem pigmentation and flower colour were shown to be effective in the preliminary screening of progenies and most of the plants were classified as non-maternal (i.e. from sexual reproduction). Molecular investigations by means of random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) fingerprint and heterozygous restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) loci detection conducted on the progenies classified morphologically as maternal allowed two plants, molecularly similar but not identical to PG-F9, to be discovered. Owing to the high number of molecular markers conserved as in the mother plant, and because of the great discriminating efficiency of the primers and probes used, these progeny plants could most likely be generated through parthenogenesis of diplosporic eggs. In fact, the extraordinary preservation of maternal morphological traits and genomic loci over one generation may be explained only if apomictic reproductive events rarely took place in PG-F9.
Plant breeding for intercropping is lagging because most varieties currently available in the mar... more Plant breeding for intercropping is lagging because most varieties currently available in the market are selected for sole cropping systems. The present study analyzed the response of durum wheat (12 varieties) and faba bean (3 varieties) in pure and mixed cropping. Field trials were conducted in 2019 and 2020. The performance of each variety in mixed and pure cropping was evaluated using both univariate and multivariate analyses of the grain yield and land equivalent ratio (LER). For durum wheat, grain protein content was also evaluated. Durum wheat varieties were characterized by good performance in both years, whereas faba bean varieties were more affected by the growing season, suggesting that much breeding effort is warranted to improve the latter as a pure and mixed crop. Moreover, the relative performance of all varieties was affected by their combination in mixed cropping, as evaluated based on the ratio (LERratio) between LER for wheat (LERw) and LER for faba bean (LERfb). ...
Food consumption allows the entrance of bacteria and their antibiotic resistance (AR) genes into ... more Food consumption allows the entrance of bacteria and their antibiotic resistance (AR) genes into the human oral cavity. To date, very few studies have examined the influence of diet on the composition of the salivary microbiota, and even fewer investigations have specifically aimed to assess the impact of different long-term diets on the salivary resistome. In this study, the saliva of 144 healthy omnivores, ovo-lacto-vegetarians, and vegans were screened by nested PCR for the occurrence of 12 genes conferring resistance to tetracyclines, macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin B, vancomycin, and β-lactams. The tet(W), tet(M), and erm(B) genes occurred with the highest frequencies. Overall, no effect of diet on AR gene distribution was seen. Some differences emerged at the recruiting site level, such as the higher frequency of erm(C) in the saliva of the ovo-lacto-vegetarians and omnivores from Bologna and Turin, respectively, and the higher occurrence of tet(K) in the saliva of the omn...
In the 2005-2006 growing season, eight varieties of faba bean, pea and lupin were compared in two... more In the 2005-2006 growing season, eight varieties of faba bean, pea and lupin were compared in two organic farms, located in two regions of Central Italy (Tuscany and Marche), to evaluate their adaptation to local environment and agronomic performance in terms of grain yield and competitive ability against weeds. Pea showed a higher grain production than faba bean and lupin, which were negatively effected by the environmental conditions during winter 2005 and spring 2006. Time of seeding seems to be very important for the competitive ability against weed of the different varieties. In Tuscany the lupin Italian variety Multitalia, the only one Italian variety, obtained interesting performance in terms of grain yield and weed competition, although the spring seeding.
Hermetia illucens larvae are among the most promising insects for use as food or feed ingredients... more Hermetia illucens larvae are among the most promising insects for use as food or feed ingredients due to their ability to convert organic waste into biomass with high-quality proteins. In this novel food or feed source, the absence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and their antibiotic resistance (AR) genes, which could be horizontally transferred to animal or human pathogens through the food chain, must be guaranteed. This study was conducted to enhance the extremely scarce knowledge on the occurrence of AR genes conferring resistance to the main classes of antibiotics in a rearing chain of H. illucens larvae and how they were affected by rearing substrates based on coffee silverskin supplemented with increasing percentages of Schizochytrium limacinum or Isochrysis galbana microalgae. Overall, the PCR and nested PCR assays showed a high prevalence of tetracycline resistance genes. No significant effect of rearing substrates on the distribution of the AR genes in the H. illucens larv...
Lucerne (Medicago sativa L., 2n=4x=32) is gaining new attention in EC Countries as a result of pu... more Lucerne (Medicago sativa L., 2n=4x=32) is gaining new attention in EC Countries as a result of public concern about sustainable agriculture. The use of lucerne in modern rotations is based on the improvement of forage quality through intensive management. As a consequence, it is important to develop varieties which give good results when the cutting interval is shortened.
Two field trials (2017 and 2018) evaluated the performance of barley–pea mixed cropping by compar... more Two field trials (2017 and 2018) evaluated the performance of barley–pea mixed cropping by comparing different sowing densities (replacement design) and tailoring N fertilization on barley sowing density (split-plot design). High and Low N inputs were applied to whole plots whereas barley and pea, as pure and in mixed crops, were applied to subplots. The 2017 trial suggested the occurrence of an interaction between soil physical properties and N fertilization. Therefore, in 2018 a pedological survey allowed the soil effect to be included in the ANOVA model applied to evaluate crop performance parameters, showing that N fertilization positively affected barley performance only in the soil unit located downslope. A significantly lower presence of weeds was observed in mixed crops rather than in pea pure crops. Overall, increasing pea density and reducing barley density in mixed crops, and tailoring N fertilization were effective approaches to obtain a more balanced mixed grain at harv...
Purpose Hilly soils of central Italy are characterized by high variability of physicochemical pro... more Purpose Hilly soils of central Italy are characterized by high variability of physicochemical properties that influence standard agronomic practices. Moreover, cereal-grain legume mixed cropping is a strategy to improve agricultural sustainability. This study aimed to i) evaluate if soil variability could affect grain yield in barley-pea mixed cropping, and ii) improve the overall performance of barley-pea by modifying the relative cereal-legume crop densities. Methods Two field trials were performed to evaluate differential N fertilization effects on grain yield of barley-pea replacement design combinations. High and Low N inputs were designed by adjusting N levels based on barley density. Moreover, the 2017 trial let us to suppose the occurrence of an interaction between soil physical properties and N fertilization. Therefore, in 2018, based on a pedological survey subsequently evaluated by principal component analysis, the soil effect was included in ANOVA models applied to evalu...
Abstract: ATP bioluminescence monitoring and traditional microbiological analyses (viable countin... more Abstract: ATP bioluminescence monitoring and traditional microbiological analyses (viable counting of total mesophilic aerobes, coliforms and Escherichia coli) were used to evaluate the effectiveness of Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOP) at a university canteen which uses a HACCP-based approach. To that end, 10 cleaning control points (CPs), including food contact surfaces at risk of contamination from product residues or microbial growth, were analysed during an 8-month monitoring period. Arbitrary acceptability limits were set for both microbial loads and ATP bioluminescence readings. A highly significant correlation (r = 0.99) between the means of ATP bioluminescence readings and the viable counts of total mesophilic aerobes was seen, thus revealing a strong association of these parameters with the level of surface contamination. Among CPs, the raw meat and multi-purpose chopping boards showed the highest criticalities. Although ATP bioluminescence technology cannot ...
Abstract: Food safety is essential in mass catering. In Europe, Regulation (EC) No. 852/2004 requ... more Abstract: Food safety is essential in mass catering. In Europe, Regulation (EC) No. 852/2004 requires food business operators to put in place, implement and maintain permanent procedures based on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles. Each HACCP plan is specifically implemented for the processing plant and processing methods and requires a systematic collection of data on the incidence, elimination, prevention, and reduction of risks. In this five-year-study, the effectiveness of the HACCP plan of a University canteen was verified through periodic internal auditing and microbiological monitoring of meals, small equipment, cooking tools, working surfaces, as well as hands and white coats of the canteen staff. The data obtained revealed no safety risks for the consumers, since Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes were never detected; however, a quite discontinuous microbiological quality of meals was revealed. The fluctuations in the mic...
The myostatin gene also called Growth Differentiation Factor 8 gene (GDF8) is one of the most inv... more The myostatin gene also called Growth Differentiation Factor 8 gene (GDF8) is one of the most investigated loci that can be responsible for several quantitative and qualitative carcass and meat traits in double-muscled beef cattle. The objective of the study was to bring to light the effect of the myostatin polymorphism on slaughtering performance and meat quality in Marchigiana beef cattle. The experiment was carried out on 78 bulls reared according to the “cow-calf” extensive managing system. At the end of the fattening period, in vivo and carcass data were recorded. From each carcass, a steak of Longissimus thoracis was taken and used to determine the meat’s analytical composition and colorimetric properties. Finally, from each steak a sample of Longissimus thoracis was collected, then used for DNA extraction and genotyping at the myostatin locus. The heterozygous bulls showed slight superiority in the carcass data (e.g., hot carcass weight: 426.09 kg—heterozygotes vs. 405.32 kg—...
This handbook was developed to help facilitate coordinated assessments across multiple field tria... more This handbook was developed to help facilitate coordinated assessments across multiple field trials of plant teams, specifically, legume-cereal intercrops and grassland mixtures. In preparation of the H2020-funded project DIVERSify we identified the need for a handbook combining protocols for assessing plant traits as well as agronomic characteristics, filling a gap that other handbooks are not addressing. With the aim of promoting the generation of ‘big data’ from a larger set of agricultural field trials, emphasis has also been on the importance of standardised formats through the use of shared data templates and collection of meta-data
The First Outstanding 50 Years of “Università Politecnica delle Marche”, 2020
The study of biodiversity is commonly carried out through different approaches, such as those at ... more The study of biodiversity is commonly carried out through different approaches, such as those at the level of genetics, species, communities/ecosystems, and landscapes. The group of geneticists, geobotanists and landscape researchers of the Department of agriculture, food and environmental sciences has been dealing with this topic for many years. In this chapter, the principal research lines followed during the last thirty years are briefly described in order to put the best results achieved and the future targets into evidence. For the research group in geobotany, the main fields of research involve phytosociology, syntaxonomy, vegetation mapping, species and habitat conservation, ethnobotany and the ecology of agroecosystems. Regarding genetic biodiversity, the research carried out in plant genetics and breeding has dealt with the collection, evaluation and molecular characterization of some populations of the grass pea in the Marche region. Concerning the study of biodiversity at the landscape level, the research carried out has focused on the rural landscape and has dealt with the role of geomatics, robotics and new technologies in analyzing spatial heterogeneity, the importance of a bionomics approach to the landscape and its interfaces, and the integration of the landscape into the economic development and sustainable growth.
ABSTRACT Apomixis involves the parthenogenetic development of apomeiotic eggs. It has the potenti... more ABSTRACT Apomixis involves the parthenogenetic development of apomeiotic eggs. It has the potential of cloning plants through seed, and thus furnishes a unique opportunity in breeding of allogamous sexual species, such as alfalfa, for developing superior cultivars with permanently fixed heterosis. Apomixis as a whole has not been detected in the genus Medicago, but components of apomixis have been reported. The formation of unreduced eggs through diplosporic meiosis was documented in a diploid mutant of M. saliva ssp. falcata (L.) Arcang., named PG-F9. Since in facultative apomictic species non-reductional meiosis and parthenogenesis could be tightly associated processes, a progeny test based on morphological trait and molecular marker evaluation was carried out to verify the occurrence of parthenogenesis in PG-F9. Morphological traits such as leaf shape, stipule form, stem pigmentation and flower colour were shown to be effective in the preliminary screening of progenies and most of the plants were classified as non-maternal (i.e. from sexual reproduction). Molecular investigations by means of random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) fingerprint and heterozygous restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) loci detection conducted on the progenies classified morphologically as maternal allowed two plants, molecularly similar but not identical to PG-F9, to be discovered. Owing to the high number of molecular markers conserved as in the mother plant, and because of the great discriminating efficiency of the primers and probes used, these progeny plants could most likely be generated through parthenogenesis of diplosporic eggs. In fact, the extraordinary preservation of maternal morphological traits and genomic loci over one generation may be explained only if apomictic reproductive events rarely took place in PG-F9.
Plant breeding for intercropping is lagging because most varieties currently available in the mar... more Plant breeding for intercropping is lagging because most varieties currently available in the market are selected for sole cropping systems. The present study analyzed the response of durum wheat (12 varieties) and faba bean (3 varieties) in pure and mixed cropping. Field trials were conducted in 2019 and 2020. The performance of each variety in mixed and pure cropping was evaluated using both univariate and multivariate analyses of the grain yield and land equivalent ratio (LER). For durum wheat, grain protein content was also evaluated. Durum wheat varieties were characterized by good performance in both years, whereas faba bean varieties were more affected by the growing season, suggesting that much breeding effort is warranted to improve the latter as a pure and mixed crop. Moreover, the relative performance of all varieties was affected by their combination in mixed cropping, as evaluated based on the ratio (LERratio) between LER for wheat (LERw) and LER for faba bean (LERfb). ...
Food consumption allows the entrance of bacteria and their antibiotic resistance (AR) genes into ... more Food consumption allows the entrance of bacteria and their antibiotic resistance (AR) genes into the human oral cavity. To date, very few studies have examined the influence of diet on the composition of the salivary microbiota, and even fewer investigations have specifically aimed to assess the impact of different long-term diets on the salivary resistome. In this study, the saliva of 144 healthy omnivores, ovo-lacto-vegetarians, and vegans were screened by nested PCR for the occurrence of 12 genes conferring resistance to tetracyclines, macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin B, vancomycin, and β-lactams. The tet(W), tet(M), and erm(B) genes occurred with the highest frequencies. Overall, no effect of diet on AR gene distribution was seen. Some differences emerged at the recruiting site level, such as the higher frequency of erm(C) in the saliva of the ovo-lacto-vegetarians and omnivores from Bologna and Turin, respectively, and the higher occurrence of tet(K) in the saliva of the omn...
In the 2005-2006 growing season, eight varieties of faba bean, pea and lupin were compared in two... more In the 2005-2006 growing season, eight varieties of faba bean, pea and lupin were compared in two organic farms, located in two regions of Central Italy (Tuscany and Marche), to evaluate their adaptation to local environment and agronomic performance in terms of grain yield and competitive ability against weeds. Pea showed a higher grain production than faba bean and lupin, which were negatively effected by the environmental conditions during winter 2005 and spring 2006. Time of seeding seems to be very important for the competitive ability against weed of the different varieties. In Tuscany the lupin Italian variety Multitalia, the only one Italian variety, obtained interesting performance in terms of grain yield and weed competition, although the spring seeding.
Hermetia illucens larvae are among the most promising insects for use as food or feed ingredients... more Hermetia illucens larvae are among the most promising insects for use as food or feed ingredients due to their ability to convert organic waste into biomass with high-quality proteins. In this novel food or feed source, the absence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and their antibiotic resistance (AR) genes, which could be horizontally transferred to animal or human pathogens through the food chain, must be guaranteed. This study was conducted to enhance the extremely scarce knowledge on the occurrence of AR genes conferring resistance to the main classes of antibiotics in a rearing chain of H. illucens larvae and how they were affected by rearing substrates based on coffee silverskin supplemented with increasing percentages of Schizochytrium limacinum or Isochrysis galbana microalgae. Overall, the PCR and nested PCR assays showed a high prevalence of tetracycline resistance genes. No significant effect of rearing substrates on the distribution of the AR genes in the H. illucens larv...
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