Curriculum

Alessandro Botton graduated cum laude in Agricultural Biotechnology at the University of Padova in the A.Y. 2003-2004. He carried out several studies on different fruit species (mainly apple and peach), focusing on diverse aspects of quality, from the organoleptic parameters to nutritional value and health-related issues, also in relation to pre- and post-harvest management, and mainly from a molecular/physiological point of view. He took the PhD in Crop Science in the A.Y. 2007-2008 with a dissertation titled "A transcriptomic approach to food safety-Fruit allergens and mycotoxins". During his PhD, he spent a few months at the Albert Ludwigs University in Freiburg (Germany), carrying out phenotypic characterization of RNAi lines and functional characterization of the AtMob1 gene. After the PhD and up to 2011, he worked as a post-doc on apple fruitlet abscission, ripening of climacteric (peach) and non-climacteric (grape berry) fruits, and on seed-fruit signalling. In 2011, he was enrolled as a researcher at the University of Padova, widening its field of action also on new topics. During the last years, Alessandro gained experience also in coordinating projects and collaborating with several colleagues at national/international level. He has been invited to give seminars/ keynotes in summer schools and international conferences. Alessandro is currently Associate Professor and carries out his research on fleshy fruits species (i.e. apple, peach, and grape), mainly focusing on the hormonal regulation of fruit development by means of integrated ‘omic’ approaches, including not only transcriptomics, but also metabolomics and bioinformatics according to a systems biology perspective. All his research activity is certified by several publications in national and international peer-reviewed journals and books.

  Publications (selection)

Recent publications (last 6 yrs)

1. Savazzini, F., Del Duca, S., Vegro, M., Cipriani, F., Ricci, G., Botton, A., Pasini, G., Dondini, L., Tartarini, S. (2020) Immunological characterization of recombinant Mal d 1, the main allergen from apple (Malus x domestica L. Borkh). SCIENTIA HORTICULTURAE, 261, art. no. 108926. DOI: 10.1016/j.scienta.2019.108926.
2. Botton, A; Ruperti, B (2019). The Yes and No of the Ethylene Involvement in Abscission. PLANTS 8: 187. DOI: 10.3390/plants8060187.
3. Ruperti, B; Botton, A; Populin, F; Eccher, G; Brilli, M; Quaggiotti, S; Trevisan, S; Cainelli, N; Guarracino, P; Schievano, E; Meggio, F (2019). Flooding Responses on Grapevine: A Physiological, Transcriptional, and Metabolic Perspective. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 10: 339-. DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2019.00339.
4. Costa, G; Botton, A (2018). Dealing with plant bioregulators in Italy: From the introduction to now. ACTA HORTICULTURAE 1206: 1-12. DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2018.1206.1.
5. Costa, G; Botton, A; Vizzotto, G (2018). Fruit Thinning: Advances and Trends. HORTICULTURAL REVIEWS 46: 185-226. DOI: 10.1002/9781119521082.ch4.
6. Botton, A; Bonghi, C; Ranieri, AM; Tonutti, P (2017). Physiological responses of wine grape berries to postharvest ethylene treatments. ACTA HORTICULTURAE 1188: 383-390. DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2017.1188.52.
7. Botton, A; Rasori, A; Ziliotto, F; Moing, A; Maucourt, M; Bernillon, St; Deborde, C; Petterle, A; Varotto, S; Bonghi, C (2016). The peach HECATE3-like gene FLESHY plays a double role during fruit development. PLANT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 91: 97-114. DOI: 10.1007/s11103-016-0445-z.
8. Vegro, M; Eccher, G; Populin, F; Sorgato C; Savazzini F; Pagliarani G; Tartarini S; Pasini, G; Curioni, A; Antico, A; Botton, A (2016). Old apple (Malus domestica L. Borkh) varieties with hypoallergenic properties: an integrated approach for studying apple allergenicity. JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY 64: 9224-9236. DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.6b03976.
9. Trevisan, S; Manoli, A; Ravazzolo, L; Botton, A; Pivato, M; Masi, An; Quaggiotti, S (2015). Nitrate sensing by the maize root apex transition zone: A merged transcriptomic and proteomic survey. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 66: 3699-3715. DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erv165.
10. Ferrero S; Carretero, Paulet L; Mendes MA; Botton, A; Eccher, G; Masiero S; Colombo L (2015). Transcriptomic Signatures in Seeds of Apple (Malus domestica L. Borkh) during Fruitlet Abscission. PLOS ONE 10: e0120503-. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0120503.
11. Eccher, G; Begheldo, M; Boschetti, A; Ruperti, B; Botton, A (2015). Roles of Ethylene Production and Ethylene Receptor Expression in Regulating Apple Fruitlet Abscission. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 169: 125-137. DOI: 10.1104/pp.15.00358.

IRIS database records

Alessandro Botton's publications

  Research areas

▪ Apple/peach fruitlet abscission / fruit thinning, focusing on the signals exchanged among the different sinks and sources during the critical abscission induction phases, the thinning treatments and the physiological (transcriptional) and metabolic responses of the tree to such chemicals, the characterizazion and parametrization of the response, the attitude to be thinned, and the possibile predictors of the final thinning efficacy; particular interest is focused on the possibility of interfering with phase transition in peach to reduce flowering.

▪ Climacteric and non-climacteric fruit development and ripening, dealing in particular with the aspects regarding the regulatory network at the transcriptional and post-transcriptional level, especially focused on apple, peach and grape berry. Seed-fruit crosstalk during growth and development. Pre- and post-harvest management of fruits to reduce the incidence of injuries and losses.

▪ Stress physiology, especially in grapevine, particularly focusing on the signalling among the different parts of the plant/tree as a reponse to extreme weather events such as flooding, drought and heatwaves.

▪ Fruit quality from the point of view of the nutraceutical properties of fruits and the allergenic potential. Particular attention is focused on the possibility of identify hypoallergenic genotypes and the setting-up of multiple approaches to carry out this task.

▪ Gene annotation, bioinformatics and systems biology of fruits, as tools to support the transcriptomic analyses that are adopted as the main analytical approach in all the studies listed above and interdisciplinary research as testified by publications.

  Thesis topics (for students)

1) Fruitlet thinning and abscission in apple: molecular mechanisms determining fruit load 2) Fruit development and ripening (apple, peach, grape) 3) Effect of climate changes and extreme weather events on fruit development and quality (apple and grape)