Financed by the ENPI CBC Mediterranean Sea Basin 2007/2013 Program of the European Union
Scientific Responsible Raffaella Casotti
The project aims to provide the necessary technical and organizational support, especially to small and medium-sized enterprises (existing and potential) that operate in the food sector and in other traditional sectors of tourism, to promote coordinated actions aimed at increasing the share revenue from tourism which benefits the economies of the countries of the Mediterranean. The main result of the project is the creation of new business activities related to sustainable tourism in four coastal areas with significant natural and cultural resources and the strengthening of alliances with companies through the adoption of an approach to public / private management, quality standards and incentive systems that are coupled objectives of economic development with the protection and enhancement of natural / cultural heritage.
In addition, the project will create an international network of sustainable coastal tourism destinations in the Mediterranean Sea basin as a place for the development of common methodologies during project implementation and in the long run such as monitoring and promotional platform owned by local users, national and scientific and open to new subjects, that could spur further development of sustainable coastal tourism on the Mediterranean route.
We are partners in the project and our role is to create the environmental monitoring system of the three sites in order to a) provide real-time data on environmental conditions b) raise awareness among visitors to environmental issues, spreading the sceintific culture through actions such as "citizen science" c) train tourism operators so that they are aware of the environmental value of their sites and participate in their development and conservation
Partners: the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities (coordinator), the Sinis Peninsula (Sardinia), the Zoological Station Anton Dohrm, the city of Mahdia (Tunisia) and the National Institute of Marine Sciences and Technology of Tunisia , the Al-Balqa Applied University and the Marine Protected Area of Aqaba (Jordan)
Summary
The DiaEdit project, Development of genetic tools for the establishment of routine genome editing in the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum, is part of the initiative “Increasing the Potential of Marine Microeukaryotes as Experimental Model Systems through the Development of Genetic Tools” promoted by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
The recent development of genetic tools for targeted genome editing of diatoms constitutes a great opportunity for the characterization of molecular processes in these ecologically important algae. Genome editing technologies in diatoms, however, are still in their infancy regarding their routine application. Targeted mutagenesis in diatoms is challenging because of their mostly diploid state and the current lack of efficient homologous recombination.
In this project we propose to enlarge knowledge and tools for genome editing in the molecular model species Phaeodactylum tricornutum, an essential requirement to transfer these technologies to other diatoms. We plan to develop and/or validate three different approaches for genome editing: a TALEN-based approach, the utilization of CRISPR/Cas9 and a viral integrase system.
What we do
SZN is involved in Task 4 "Control of nuclease expression", aimed at the improvement of the specificity of action and expression of the nuclease used to modify the genome. This will be done mainly by identifying promoters that can allow fine control of the nuclease expression. NGS (next generation sequencing) will be used to assess the level of specificity of the chosen system by re-sequencing engineered clones.
Partners
SZN; Universitè Pierre et Marie Curie Paris, France; University of Konstanz, Germany; Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway; Tel Aviv University, Israel; Biological Systems and Biochemical Engineering Laboratory INSA/CNRS, France.
Research Area
Functional Genomics, Marine Biotechnology
Project Lifetime
October 2015 - September 2017
SZN Role
Partner
SZN Principal Investigator
Project Leader
Angela Falciatore, UPMC
Funding Institution
The Marine Microbiology Initiative funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (USA).
Dedicated website
Under construction
Personnel involved
Mariella Ferrante, Principal investigator
Monia Russo, Senior Post-doc
COCONET - Towards COast to COast NETworks of marine protected areas (from the shore to the high and deep sea), coupled with sea-based wind energy potential
Summary
The Project will identify groups of putatively interconnected MPAs in the Mediterranean and the Black Seas, shifting from local (single MPA) to regional (Networks of MPAs) and basin (network of networks) scales. The identification of physical and biological connections with clear the proceses that govern patterns of biodiversity distribution. This will enhance policies of effective environmental management, also to ascertain if the existing MPAs are sufficient for ecological networking and to suggest how to design further protection schemes based on effective exchanges between protected areas. The coastal focus will be widened to off shore and deep sea habitats, comprising them in MPAs Networks. Socioeconomic studies will integrate to knowledge-based environmental management aiming at both environmental protection (MPAs) and clean energy production(OFW). Current legistations are crucial to provide guidelines to find legal solutions to problems on the use of maritime space. Two pilot project (one in the Mediterranean Sea and one in the Black Sea) will test in the field the assumptions of theoretical appproaches. The Project covers a high number of Countries and involves researchers covering a vast array of subjects, developing a timely holistic approach and integrating the Mediterranean and Black Seas scientific communities through intense collective activities and a strong communication line with stakeholders and the public at large.
SZN role
SZN works as sub-partner of CONISMA and is responsible of assessment of genetic diversity and connectivity within Pilot sites (South Adriatic Sea and Black Sea) in two seagrass species, Posidonia oceanica and Zostera noltei.
Partners
3e, Belgium; Clu, Italy; Cnr-Ismar, Italy; Cnrs, France; Coispa, Italy; Conisma, Italy; Csic, Spain; Dtu Aqua, Denmark; Geoecomar, Romania; Hcmr-Ioo, Greece; Iber-Bas, Bulgaria; Ibmk, Montenegro; Ibss Nasu, Ukraine; Ieo, Spain; Ih Cantabria, Spain; Inat, Tunisia; Io-Bas, Bulgaria; Iolr, Israel; Israbat, Morocco; Istanbul University, Turkey; Metu, Turkey; Mhi, Ukraine; Naturebureau, Uk; Nea, Georgia; Nenuphar, France; Nersc, Norway; Nimrd, Romania; Obibss, Ukraine; Rshu, Russia; Sinop University, Turkey; Sio Ras, Russia; Ukrsces, Ukraine; University Of Malta, Malta; University Of Rostock, Germany; University Of The Aegean, Greece; University Of Zadar, Croatia; Unizkm, Albania; Usof, Bulgaria; Ustv, France.
Project lifetime
2012-2015
P. I.
Gabriele Procaccini
Project coordinator: Ferdinando Boero (University of Salento, Italy)
Funding Institution
EU, FP7-KBBE
Contribution to SZN
€ 47,506.65
Website
Summary
EMBRIC, European Marine Biological Research Infrastructure Cluster to promote the Blue Bioeconomy, is a large project with the overarching objective of building interconnectivity along three dimensions: science, industry, and regional RDI policies. The expected endpoint is the formation of a perennial cluster of research institutes (RIs), which will foster innovation in marine biotechnologies. To prepare this sustainable cluster, EMBRIC focuses on two specific sectors of marine biotechnology, namely (i) discovery and development of marine natural products, and (ii) marker-assisted selection in aquaculture.
SZN is involved in WP7 and WP10.
The objective of WP7 is to demonstrate that linking complementary expertise in biology, analytical chemistry and genetic engineering can provide the blue biotechnology industry with high-performance strains from across the diversity of microalgae. This will involve:
1) Proof of concept that strains from across microalgal diversity constitute a rich resource of natural products for commercial exploitation.
2) Proof of concept that microalgal strains can be genetically engineered to improve their performance capabilities for commercial exploitation.
3) Proof of concept that selective breeding in microalgae in combination with genotype screening can produce strains with improved performance in commercial applications.
The objective of WP10 is to demonstrate that:
1) The external scientific user community is interested in using EMBRIC, i.e., infrastructure workflows across multiple RI-partners.
2) RIs within EMBRIC do provide integrated, interoperable transnational access.
3) Translational access to EMBRIC combined with interdisciplinary collaboration with in-house researchers can initiate Key Enabling Technologies.
4) Translational access aids external users with the maturation of their ideas for Technology Transfer.
What we do
Within WP7, the SZN will contribute to the identification of bioactive compounds from microalgal strains and to the generation of genetically engineered diatom strains.
Within WP10, the SZN will manage the translational access, coordinating the scientific, technical and logistic access to the different RIs involved.
Partners
27 partners from seven European countries plus one Israeli institution are involved in this project.
Research Area
Marine Biotechnology
Project Lifetime
June 2015 – May 2018
SZN Role
Partner
Principal Investigator
Wiebe Kooistra, WP10 and Steering Committee member for SZN
Mariella Ferrante, WP7
Project Leader
Bernard Kloareg, France
Funding Institution
European Commission, under the H2020-INFRADEV-4 call
Dedicated website
Personnel involved
Mariella Ferrante, Researcher
Wiebe Kooistra, Senior Researcher
Adrianna Ianora, Senior Researcher
Marina Montresor, Senior Researcher
ESSEM COST Action ES0906: Seagrass productivity: from genes to ecosystem management
Summary
The main objective of this Action is to provide the scientific basis for estimating and preserving the goods and services arising from the productivity of European seagrass ecosystems under anthropogenic pressure. Seagrass ecosystems rank with coral reefs and tropical rainforests in their many ecosystem services, yet are drastically declining worldwide as a consequence of both anthropogenic and natural pressures including habitat fragmentation, eutrophication, poor water clarity and climate change stressors. In spite of this, the level of awareness is low and management ineffective. Seagrass research is fragmented and there is little integration between researchers and coastal zone managers. The Action aim is to form a European-wide research coordination network that integrates expertise in physiological ecology, ecological genomics and conservation-resource management.
SZN role
G. Procaccini, Management Committee member and coordinator of the WG2. Develop functional genetic and genomic tools to understand seagrass photosynthetic responses to environmental stressors.
Project lifetime
2011-2014
P. I.
Gabriele Procaccini
Project coordinator: Rui Santos (University of Algarve, Portugal)
Funding Institution
EU - ERF
Website
FB: Seagrass Productivity _ Cost Action ES0906
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