Progetti Nazionali

Accordo di Filiera “Alleviamo Sostenibile”

Il DIMEVET, nell’ambito del Programma di filiera “Alleviamo Sostenibile” in corso di istruttoria a valere sulle risorse del V Avviso MASAF n. 0182458 del 22/04/2022 e s.m. per la selezione dei Contratti di Filiera e Distretto, ha dato avvio al progetto di ricerca “Massimizzazione della competitività e sostenibilità della filiera carne bovina e suina del Mezzogiorno”. L’obiettivo principale del progetto di ricerca è di massimizzare le tre dimensioni della sostenibilità (ambientale, economica e sociale) e loro interazione nella filiera carne preservando gli eccellenti standard di qualità del prodotto. Tale obiettivo verrà raggiunto attraverso l’identificazione dei migliori scenari che combinano diversi tipi genetici e pratiche di allevamento sostenibili. Il progetto si concluderà entro giugno 2026. I risultati saranno pubblicati su questo sito e saranno disponibili gratuitamente.

Grant agreement ID: Progetto in fase di istruttoria.

Responsabile scientifico: Prof. Giulio Visentin.

Durata del progetto: Dal 01 dicembre 2022 al 30 giugno 2026.

Accordo di Filiera “Stalla Modello”

Il DIMEVET, nell’ambito del Programma di filiera “Stalla modello” in corso di istruttoria a valere sulle risorse del V Avviso MASAF n. 0182458 del 22/04/2022 e s.m. per la selezione dei Contratti di Filiera e Distretto, ha dato avvio al progetto di ricerca “Applicazioni di un approccio di sistema, dall’allevamento alla tavola, per identificare strategie per migliorare la sostenibilità della filiera delle bovine da latte, del latte e dei prodotti derivati”. L’obiettivo principale del progetto di ricerca è fornire ai soggetti di filiera strategie di sistema e modelli a supporto di processi decisionali per migliorare la sostenibilità delle produzioni delle bovine da latte e la sicurezza del latte e degli alimenti derivati per ridurne lo spreco durante la produzione, trasformazione e distribuzione. Il progetto si concluderà entro giugno 2026. I risultati saranno pubblicati su questo sito e saranno disponibili gratuitamente.

Grant agreement ID: Progetto in fase di istruttoria.

Responsabile scientifico: Prof.ssa Alessandra de Cesare.

Durata del progetto: Dal 01 dicembre 2022 al 30 giugno 2026.

Utilizzo dell’analisi molecolare in una linea di cellule staminali embrionali (di ratto) come replacement degli studi in vivo di embriotossicità e teratogenesi - METALT2

Sviluppo di un metodo per la valutazione in vitro di embriotossicità e teratogenesi, finalizzato a studi regolatori, attraverso l’upgrade di un sistema già messo a punto, utilizzando un readout basato sull’analisi di espressione genica

Responsabile scientifico: Dott. Antonio Baldassaro

Durata del progetto: dal 1 giugno 2022 al 13 giugno 2023

Finanziato dall’Unione europea – Next Generation EU, Missione 4 “Istruzione e Ricerca”, Componente 2 “Dalla ricerca all’impresa”, Investimento 1.1. “Fondo per il Programma Nazionale della Ricerca (PNR) e Progetti di Rilevante Interesse Nazionale (PRIN)” del Piano Nazionale di Ripresa e Resilienza (PNRR)

Progetti finanziati a valere sui fondi PRIN 2022 PNRR come da Avviso n. 104 del 2 febbraio 2022

Living in polluted waters: assessing the effects of PFAS in wild populations

This project stems from the alarming concentrations of PFAS detected in some areas of the Veneto region. Using a range of interdisciplinary approaches, the project aims to assess the effects of PFAS on wildlife, focusing on a small livebearing freshwater fish, the mosquitofish, as a model. The project combines field and laboratory approaches to elucidate the effects of high levels of PFAS on wild animals by comparing populations inhabiting sites with high and low levels of PFAS.

Responsabile scientifico: Prof. Andrea Barbarossa

Durata del progetto: Dal 05 ottobre 2023 al 05 ottobre 2025

Principal Investigator: Prof.ssa Clelia Gasparini (Università di Padova)

Team Member: Prof.  Andrea Barbarossa, Dott.ssa Anisa Bardhi.

COMBAT (COmprehending Microbiome of BATs): exploring the microbiome of bats to investigate virus diversity and One Health implications

COMBAT project will explore virome diversity and population genetics in Italian bat species, assess novel biological and molecular diagnostic platforms, and promote training of young researchers and correct scientific information on bats. It also assembles the skills and expertise of researchers working in the field of animal infectious diseases, with long-term experience in diagnostics, epidemiology and virus discovery from Italian Universities, and public health bodies (IZS).

Principal Investigator: Prof. Vito Martella (Università di Bari)

Responsabile scientifico DIMEVET: Prof.ssa Mara Battilani

Durata del progetto: 28/09/2023 - 28/09/2025

Team Member: Prof.ssa Mara Battilani, Prof.  Andrea Balboni, Dott.ssa Laura Gallina, Dott.ssa Lorenza Urbani, Dott.ssa Martina Magliocca.

Improvement of assessment at individual level of feed efficiency and methane emissions: From research to cattle breeding

The project aims to develop adequate protocols for the assessment of feed efficiency and methane emissions at an individual level with methods that are easily reproducible and immediately applicable to the bovine population. A second objective of the project is to integrate the results of feed efficiency and methane emissions recorded by both operational units (OU) to study their relationship and build future research projects.

Principal Investigator: Dott. Alberto Romanzin (Università di Udine)

Responsabile scientifico: Dott. Damiano Cavallini

Durata del progetto: 12/10/2023 - 12/10/2025

Team Member: Dott. Damiano Cavallini, Dott. Francesco Dalla Favera, Dott.ssa Martina Lamanna.

Development of nutritional mechanistic models to predict the effects of asynchronous feed supply and intake in dairy ruminants

The objectives of this project are to develop mechanistic models able to predict in dairy cattle and dairy sheep: (A)the daily patterns of the intake of animals subjected to dietary management factors (e.g. variability in the within-day supply of complete diets or individual feeds), and environmental factors (e.g. heat stress) that limit the regularity of meal ingestion within the day; (B) the effects of these variations at ruminal, metabolic and milk production level.

Principal Investigator: Prof. Antonello Cannas (Università di SASSARI)

Responsabile scientifico: Prof. Andrea Formigoni

Durata del progetto: 12/10/2023 - 12/10/2025

 Team Member: Prof. Andrea Formigoni, Prof. Alberto Palmonari.

Bovine neuromuscular diseases as a model for translational research

In this project, the research group proposing aims to strengthen the therapeutic potentiality of the Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Regulator (CFTR) correctors by an in vivo approach. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing will be used to generate new zebrafish lines by introducing mutations into the SERCA1 gene. We will focus on amino acid substitutions to produce SERCA variants already investigated in Bovine Congenital Pseudomyotonia (PMT).

Principal Investigator: Prof. Arcangelo Gentile

Responsabile scientifico: Prof. Arcangelo Gentile

 Durata del progetto: 28/09/2023 - 28/09/2025

 Team Member: Prof. Arcangelo Gentile, Dott.ssa Marilena Bolcato, Prof.ssa Cinzia Benazzi,  Prof. Fabio Gentilini,  Prof. Gianfranco Militerno,  Dott.ssa Tolulope Grace Ogundipe.

Use of hormones in dairy cow reproduction: when are really necessary? Automatic monitoring systems and biological markers for precision reproductive management

The main purpose of the present project is to achieve a significant reduction of the use of unnecessary hormones in dairy cow farming. This goal could be achieved avoiding synchronization of all animals and restricting hormonal treatments exclusively to cows with fertility failures, in a precision farming approach.

Principal Investigator: Dott.ssa Ludovica Maria Eugenia Mammi

Responsabile scientifico: Dott.ssa Ludovica Maria Eugenia Mammi

Durata del progetto: 12/10/2023 - 12/10/2025

Team Member: Dott.ssa Ludovica Maria Eugenia Mammi,  Dott. Julio De Matos Vettori, Prof.ssa Barbara Merlo, Prof.ssa Marcella Spinaci, Dott.ssa Nadia Govoni, Dott. Yari Vecchio.

Dissecting a molecular mechanism for cardiac hypertrophy in hypertension: roles of mitochondrial NDUFC2-dependent Complex I dysfunction and of mitochondrial permeability transition

The study will provide key mechanistic information on CI dependent deficiency contributing to hypertensive cardiac hypertrophy and will attempt a translation of experimental findings to the human disease. The data collected are expected to provide key evidence on the role of CI deficit, particularly dependent on the mitochondrial NDUFC2 subunit, in the development of hypertensive cardiac disease. Our findings may also provide initial clues for the translational approach aimed at designing cardioprotective agents.

Principal Investigator: Prof. Salvatore Nesci

Responsabile scientifico: Prof. Salvatore Nesci

 Durata del progetto: 05/10/2023 - 05/10/2025

Team Member: Prof. Salvatore Nesci, Dott.ssa Cristina Algieri, Dott.ssa Patricja Anna Glogowsky, Dott. Thomas Dalmonte

Mugil Cephalus (Linneus, 1758): the flathead grey mullet as a model for sex determination in fish with implications for aquaculture (acronym mugilsex)

The goals of this project are to: (A) assess the role of fshr locus and additional genetic loci in the grey mullet SD; (B) explore the role of temperature in the grey mullet SD; (C) generate female monosex (or female-bias) grey mullet farmed population; (D) pave the way for the development of applied tools for improving grey mullet farming.

Principal Investigator: Prof. Tomaso Patarnello (Università di Padova)

Responsabile scientifico: Dott. Luca Parma

 Durata del progetto: 05/10/2023 – 05/10/2025

 Team Member: Dott. Luca Parma, Prof. Alessio Bonaldo; Prof. Pier Paolo Gatta; Dott.ssa Silvia Natale.

Smart Biomimetic Device for Tendon tissue Engineering

The aim of this project is to validate the effectiveness of an innovative highly biomimetic device able to improve tendon regeneration. It also exploits the idea of integrating scaffold manufacturing with innovative, eco-friendly, and low-cost therapeutic approaches which may represent a promising strategy to build smart devices to be applied in veterinary clinical tissue regeneration purposes.

Principal Investigator: Dott. Alberto Crovace (Università di Sassari)

Responsabile scientifico: Dott. Riccardo Rinnovati

 Durata del progetto: 12/10/2023 – 12/10/2025

Team Member: Dott. Riccardo Rinnovati, Dott.ssa Maria Virginia Ralletti, Prof. Alessandro Spadari.

Validation of primary 3D culture systems of canine spontaneous tumors as in vitro model for the study of cancer phenotype, genotype and metabolism

The aims of the project are to collect and establish 3D cell cultures form canine spontaneous cancers to demonstrate feasibility and similarities between the primary tumor and the corresponding 3D culture. The achievement of the aims outlined will allow for the preliminary validation of 3D cultures as in vitro models able to adequately replicate the primary tumor growth and metabolic conditions.

Principal Investigator: Prof. Giuseppe Sarli

Responsabile scientifico: Prof. Giuseppe Sarli

Durata del progetto: 12/10/2023 – 12/10/2025

Team Member: Prof. Giuseppe Sarli, Dott. Francesco Bonelli, Prof. Giancarlo Avallone, Dott.ssa Fabiana Trombetti.

Closing the Cycle: a meta-genomic approach to characterise the life cycle of a Midichloria-like bacterium and the evolution of Rickettsiales in aquatic environments

This project aims to investigate through a multidisciplinary approach the life cycle and evolutionary history of the Red Mark Syndrome Midichloria-Like Organism (RMS-MLO). We plan to collect water samples from fish farms, to be screened by a RMS-MLO-targeted qPCR assay and in parallel by eukaryotic metabarcoding. Statistical associations will allow to detect potential hosts for this bacterium, which will be specifically targeted insuccessive sampling, together with I. multifiliis.

Principal Investigator: Dott. Michele Castelli (Università di Pavia)

Responsabile scientifico: Dott.ssa Perla Tedesco

Durata del progetto: 05/10/2023 – 05/10/2025

Team Member: Dott.ssa Perla Tedesco; Prof. Andrea Gustinelli; Dott.ssa Giorgia Bignami, Dott.ssa Teresa Pirollo; Dott.ssa Ylenia Siviglia.

Deep-sea Elasmobranchs as Environmental Pollution sentinels in the MEDiterranean (DEEP-MED)

The project will contribute to fill knowledge gaps in the ecology and biology of Mediterranean deep-sea elasmobranch species, providing new information about the anthropic impact on these vulnerable marine organisms, as well as a knowledge base of their life history traits. The results of the project will also highlight the opportunities offered by the Central Mediterranean as a key-site for the monitoring of the Mediterranean elasmobranchs, due to its particular geographic position.

Principal Investigator: Prof. Emilio Sperone (Università della Calabria)

Responsabile scientifico: Prof.ssa Annalisa Zaccaroni

Durata del progetto: 05/10/2023 – 05/10/2025

Team Member: Prof.ssa Annalisa Zaccaroni; Prof. Cristiano Bombardi; Dott.ssa Alice Dal Chiele; Dott.ssa Marina Silvi.

The increasing risk of consumer exposure to Diarrhetic shellfish poisoning  (DSP) algal toxins: in vitro/in vivo approach with the pig as a new animal model (MOKAPIG)

The major aim is to obtain data about the okadaic acid (OA) concentrations that could be considered safe for the consumers, addressing the fishermen and shellfish farmers requests, and supporting the potential revision of the OA limits. The results of MOKAPIG are expected to significantly improve the knowledge about OA toxicity in mammals, addressing the requests of the stakeholders (e.g., fishermen, shellfish farmers, consumers).

Principal Investigator: Prof. Mauro Dacasto (Università di Padova)

Responsabile scientifico: Prof.ssa Anna Zaghini

 Durata del progetto: 05/10/2023 – 05/10/2025

 Team Member: Prof.ssa Anna Zaghini, Dott.ssa Alice Caneschi.

Novel molecular mechanisms in chronic intestinal pseudo-OBSTRUCTION

The discovery of new genes is of paramount importance for a better understanding of enteric neuropathies and related severe gut dysmotility. Researches are expected to develop novel therapeutic targets for affected patients who typically represent a challenge for their complex clinical picture.

Therefore, the main goals of this project will be: to recapitulate the functional impairment caused by the RAD21missense mutation in humans through the characterization of the Rad21A626T mouse model; to identify RAD21-dependent dysregulation of target genes in the mouse GI system and correlate them to the CHRONIC INTESTINAL PSEUDO-OBSTRUCTION (CIPO) phenotype.

Our study will provide a novel in depth analysis of the gut phenotype due to mutant Rad21 and will characterize not only the enteric neurons affected by the RAD21 mutation, but also the target genes regulated by RAD21 in the ENS. These data will improve the knowledge of CIPO molecular and physiological impairments and will help developing ad hoc therapeutic interventions.

Principal Investigator: Prof. Roberto De Giorgio (Università degli Studi di Ferrara)

Substitute Principal Investigator: Prof. Elena Bonora (Università di Bologna)

Responsabile scientifico UNIBO: prof.ssa Elena Bonora (DIMEC);

Durata del progetto: 28/09/2023 - 28/09/2025

Team Member DIMEVET: Prof. Paolo Clavenzani, Prof. Maurizio Mazzoni.