The research focuses on the interactions between plants and pathogens, various aspects of the plant immune system, the development of innovative diagnostic techniques aimed at the early detection of plant-pathogenic bacteria, the epidemiology and molecular characterisation of plant-pathogenic bacteria (e.g. the Ralstonia solanacearum species complex, Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae, Erwinia amylovora, Xanthomonas arboricola), and the evaluation of the antimicrobial efficacy of biological control agents for the management of bacterial diseases and the development of control strategies based on natural compounds, with a view to reducing the use of synthetic antimicrobial substances.
Areas of interest
Plant health, Plant pathology, Phytobacteriology, biological control, phylogenetic diversity; phenotypic microarrays, genomic analysis, metabolomics, monitoring of plant-pathogenic bacteria, quarantine pests, invasive alien species, mycotoxins, mycotoxin detection; feed additives, vitamin E, selenium, lipid oxidation, safety and quality of plant-based foods, plant microbiome and animal pathogens in plants.
