Dr. Leonardo Magneschi

Enhancement of microalgal productivities (biomass and content of interesting molecules) on a "TOTAL New Energies" project • Working in between basic research and industrial R&D • Developing cutting-edge molecular tools for genetic engineering of microalgae • Designing vectors for the expression of specific genes and analysing the phenotype of the obtained strains • Optimizing cultivation conditions in small bioreactors • Transversal management of two technical assistants

I review scientific manuscripts for: Journal of Plant Physiology; Acta Physiologiae Plantarum; Molecular Biology Reports; Frontiers in Plant Physiology; Algal Research; Journal of Plant Research; Plant Physiology; Plant and Cell Physiology. • Field of expertise: Plant Physiology, Plant Molecular Biology, Rice, Anaerobic metabolism, Algae, Biofuels, Hydrogen, Fermentation, Abiotic Stresses

• Physiological and molecular characterization of insertional mutant lines displaying enhanced tolerance to abiotic stresses and increased hydrogen yield in C. reinhardtii • Supervised undergraduate students Keywords: Plant Physiology, Iron deficiency, Insertional Mutants, Cloning, Anoxia, Photosynthesis, Abiotic stresses

• Quantitative proteomic analysis of abiotic stress responses in algae. Supervised three undergraduates and a technical assistant • Characterized the impact of an essential chloroplast-encoded protein to the proteome and RNA metabolism in C. reinhardtii (collaboration with Prof. Jean-David Rochaix, University of Geneva). • Supervised three undergraduate students and coordinated the work of a technical assistant • Three papers published, three in preparation.

• Helped developing a Chlamydomonas insertional mutant library platform • Characterized at the molecular and physiological level mutants affected in fermentative metabolism and hydrogen production • Techniques: Real Time qPCR analysis; Western Blotting; radioactive isotope protein labeling (35S); nuclear transformation of Chlamydomonas (electroporation and glass beads methods) • Four papers published

Registrations, preparation of the book of abstracts, slide center

Helped high school students become familiar with biotech/life sciences; gave seminars; coordinated workgroups; organized brainstorming activities; evaluated results/final reports

• Determined the nuclear localization of a novel transcription factor involved in in the control of petal size in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana • Techniques: Gene cloning, GFP-fusions, Transient expression, Fluorescence microscopy

Investigated physiological responses to anaerobiosis in different rice cultivars and algae mutants. Optimized an Agrobacterium-mediated transformation protocol for rice and an Arabidopsis protoplast transient expression system. Supervised two undergraduate students.

Thesis: “(p)ppGpp: a central regulator in plant responses to abiotic stresses?” Supervisor: Prof. Pierdomenico Perata; Top marks (100/100 cum laude)

Thesis: “Transcript profiling of the anoxic rice coleoptile” (published as first author). Supervisors: Prof. Amedeo Alpi, Prof. Pierdomenico Perata; Top marks (110/110 cum laude)

Thesis: “Evaluation of a respirometric system for growth evaluation of filamentous fungi” (published in 2008 with a different title) Supervisor: Prof. Giovanni Vannacci; Top marks (110/110 cum laude)

Thesis: “Functional characterization of BIGPETALp and of its putative interactor BIH, two bHLH involved in petal development in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana” Supervisor: Prof. Giovanni Serra; Top marks (100/100 cum laude)