Identification of Marine Biotechnology Value Chains with High Potential in the Northern Mediterranean Region.

Marine (blue) biotechnology is an emerging field enabling the valorization of new products and processes with massive potential for innovation and economic growth. In the Mediterranean region, this innovation potential is not exploited as well as in other European regions due to a lack of a clear identification of the different value chains and the high fragmentation of business innovation initiatives. As a result, several opportunities to create an innovative society are being missed.

Germination, root elongation, and photosynthetic performance of plants exposed to sodium lauryl ether sulfate (SLES): an emerging contaminant.

The anionic surfactant SLES (sodium lauryl ether sulfate) is an emerging contaminant, being the main component of foaming agents that are increasingly used by the tunnel construction industry. To fill the gap of knowledge about the potential SLES toxicity on plants, acute and chronic effects were assessed under controlled conditions. The acute ecotoxicological test was performed on Lepidum sativum L.

Selection of tree species for forests under climate change: is PSI functioning a better predictor for net photosynthesis and growth than PSII?

A chlorophyll fluorescence (ChlF) assessment was carried out on oak seedlings (Quercus ilex L., Quercus pubescens Willd., Quercus frainetto Ten.

Impacts of air pollution on human and ecosystem health, and implications for the National Emission Ceilings Directive: Insights from Italy.

Across the 28 EU member states there were nearly half a million premature deaths in 2015 as a result of exposure to PM, O and NO. To set the target for air quality levels and avoid negative impacts for human and ecosystems health, the National Emission Ceilings Directive (NECD, 2016/2284/EU) sets objectives for emission reduction for SO, NOx, NMVOCs, NH and PM for each Member State as percentages of reduction to be reached in 2020 and 2030 compared to the emission levels into 2005. One of the innovations of NECD is Article 9, that mentions the issue of "monitoring air pollution impacts" on ecosystems.

Modeling ozone uptake by urban and peri-urban forest: a case study in the Metropolitan City of Rome.

Urban and peri-urban forests are green infrastructures (GI) that play a substantial role in delivering ecosystem services such as the amelioration of air quality by the removal of air pollutants, among which is ozone (O), which is the most harmful pollutant in Mediterranean metropolitan areas. Models may provide a reliable estimate of gas exchanges between vegetation and atmosphere and are thus a powerful tool to quantify and compare O removal in different contexts. The present study modeled the O stomatal uptake at canopy level of an urban and a peri-urban forest in the Metropolitan City of Rome in two different years.

Functional indicators of response mechanisms to nitrogen deposition, ozone, and their interaction in two Mediterranean tree species.

The effects of nitrogen (N) deposition, tropospheric ozone (O3) and their interaction were investigated in two Mediterranean tree species, Fraxinus ornus L. (deciduous) and Quercus ilex L. (evergreen), having different leaf habits and resource use strategies.

Particle deposition in a peri-urban Mediterranean forest.

Urban and peri-urban forests provide a multitude of Ecosystem Services to the citizens. While the capacity of removing carbon dioxide and gaseous compounds from the atmosphere has been tested, their capacity to sequestrate particles (PM) has been poorly investigated. Mediterranean forest ecosystems are often located nearby or inside large urban areas.

Ecophysiological and phytochemical response to ozone of wine grape cultivars of Vitis vinifera L.

Vitis vinifera sensitivity to tropospheric ozone (O) has been evidenced in several studies. In this work, physiological and metabolic effects of O on two wine cultivars of V. vinifera (i.

Effects of acute O3 stress on PSII and PSI photochemistry of sensitive and resistant snap bean genotypes (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), probed by prompt chlorophyll "a" fluorescence and 820 nm modulated reflectance.

The response of PSII and PSI photochemistry to acute ozone (O3) stress was tested in a "model plant system", namely the O3 sensitive (S156) and O3 resistant (R123) genotype pairs of Phaseolus vulgaris L., during a phenological phase of higher O3 sensitivity (pod formation). The modulation of the photosynthetic activity during O3 stress was analysed by measuring gas exchanges, Prompt Fluorescence (PF, JIP-test) and 820 nm Modulated Reflectance (MR), a novel techniques which specifically detects the changes in the redox state of P700 and plastocyanin.

Comparison of drought stress response and gene expression between a GM maize variety and a near-isogenic non-GM variety.

Maize MON810, grown and commercialised worldwide, is the only cultivated GM event in the EU. Maize MON810, variety DKC6575, and the corresponding near-isogenic line Tietar were studied in different growth conditions, to compare their behaviour in response to drought. Main photosynthetic parameters were significantly affected by drought stress in both GM and non-GM varieties to a similar extent.

[Health risks associated with urban environmental pollution in Europe: results of the HEREPLUS multicentre study in Rome (Italy)].

Urban air pollution is known to cause numerous health problems. The HEREPLUS project aims to evaluate the association between environmental air pollution and health and to provide guidelines for the management and organization of the urban environment. Risk maps were developed by georeferentiation, using hospitalization data and concentration levels of ozone and pollution matter.

Plant stress analysis: application of prompt, delayed chlorophyll fluorescence and 820 nm modulated reflectance. Insights from independent experiments.

Nine short-term independent studies were carried out with two M-PEA units on several plant species differing in their functional traits (woody evergreen, woody deciduous, herbaceous) and exposed to different kind of abiotic stress (drought, salt, ozone, UV radiation). Aim of the study is to check the consistency of plant responses, assessed through three sets of simultaneously measured signals: Prompt Fluorescence (PF), Delayed Fluorescence (DF) and Modulated Reflectance of 820 nm light (MR). The decrease of F(V)/F(M) and F0, the increase of V(J) and V(I) were the most common responses related to PF parameters.

Photosynthetic performance and biochemical adjustments in two co-occurring Mediterranean evergreens, Quercus ilex and Arbutus unedo, differing in salt-exclusion ability.

The responses to mild root zone salinity stress were investigated in two co-occurring Mediterranean woody evergreens, Quercus ilex L. and Arbutus unedo L., which differ in morpho-anatomical traits and strategies to cope with water deficit.

Urban ecosystem services: tree diversity and stability of tropospheric ozone removal.

Urban forests provide important ecosystem services, such as urban air quality improvement by removing pollutants. While robust evidence exists that plant physiology, abundance, and distribution within cities are basic parameters affecting the magnitude and efficiency of air pollution removal, little is known about effects of plant diversity on the stability of this ecosystem service. Here, by means of a spatial analysis integrating system dynamic modeling and geostatistics, we assessed the effects of tree diversity on the removal of tropospheric ozone (O3) in Rome, Italy, in two years (2003 and 2004) that were very different for climatic conditions and ozone levels.