University of Trento 8 articles published in JoVE Biology Methods for Rearing the Parasitoid Ganaspis brasiliensis, a Promising Biological Control Agent for the Invasive Drosophila suzukii Marco Valerio Rossi-Stacconi1, Xingeng Wang2, Amanda Stout2, Lorenzo Fellin1,3, Kent M. Daane4, Antonio Biondi5, Judith M. Stahl4, Matthew L. Buffington6, Gianfranco Anfora1,3, Kim A. Hoelmer2 1Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, 2Beneficial Insects Introduction Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, 3Center for Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Trento, 4Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California Berkeley, 5Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Catania, 6Systematic Entomology Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture Ganaspis brasiliensis-a larval parasitoid of Drosophila suzukii (a global invasive fruit crop pest)-has been approved or is considered for introduction into Europe and the United States for biological control of this pest. This article provides protocols for both small-scale and large-scale rearing of this parasitoid. Cancer Research Yeast As a Chassis for Developing Functional Assays to Study Human P53 Paola Monti1, Bartolomeo Bosco2, Sara Gomes3, Lucilia Saraiva*3, Gilberto Fronza*1, Alberto Inga*2 1Mutagenesis and Cancer Prevention Unit, Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 2Department CIBIO, University of Trento, 3LAQV/REQUIMTE, Laboratory of Microbiology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto Presented here are four protocols to construct and exploit yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae reporter strains to study human P53 transactivation potential, impacts of its various cancer-associated mutations, co-expressed interacting proteins, and the effects of specific small molecules. Genetics Generation of Cancer Cell Clones to Visualize Telomeric Repeat-containing RNA TERRA Expressed from a Single Telomere in Living Cells Laura Avogaro1, Claudio Oss Pegorar1, Nicole Bettin1,2, Emilio Cusanelli1 1Laboratory of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, Department of Cellular, Computational and Integrative Biology - CIBIO, University of Trento, 2Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste Here, we present a protocol to generate cancer cell clones containing a MS2 sequence tag at a single subtelomere. This approach, relying on the MS2-GFP system, enables visualization of the endogenous transcripts of telomeric repeat-containing RNA (TERRA) expressed from a single telomere in living cells. Chemistry Non-equilibrium Microwave Plasma for Efficient High Temperature Chemistry Dirk van den Bekerom1, Niek den Harder1, Teofil Minea1, Nicola Gatti1,2, Jose Palomares Linares1, Waldo Bongers1, Richard van de Sanden1,3, Gerard van Rooij1,3 1Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research, 2University of Trento, 3Eindhoven University of Technology This article describes a flowing microwave reactor that is used to drive efficient non-equilibrium chemistry for the application of conversion/activation of stable molecules such as CO2, N2 and CH4. The goal of the procedure described here is to measure the in situ gas temperature and gas conversion. Genetics The Terroir Concept Interpreted through Grape Berry Metabolomics and Transcriptomics Silvia Dal Santo*1, Mauro Commisso*1, Erica D'Incà1, Andrea Anesi1,2, Matteo Stocchero3, Sara Zenoni1, Stefania Ceoldo1, Giovanni B. Tornielli1, Mario Pezzotti1, Flavia Guzzo1 1Biotechnology Department, University of Verona, 2Lab. of Bioorganic Chemistry, Physics Department, University of Trento, 3S-IN Soluzioni Informatiche This article describes the application of untargeted metabolomics, transcriptomics and multivariate statistical analysis to grape berry transcripts and metabolites in order to gain insight into the terroir concept, i.e., the impact of the environment on berry quality traits. Neuroscience Immunohistochemical Visualization of Hippocampal Neuron Activity After Spatial Learning in a Mouse Model of Neurodevelopmental Disorders Giovanni Provenzano1, Luca Pangrazzi1, Andrea Poli2, Nicoletta Berardi2, Yuri Bozzi1,2 1Centre for Integrative Biology (CIBIO), University of Trento, 2CNR Neuroscience Institute, Pisa, Italy We describe an immunohistochemistry protocol to study the profile of hippocampal neuron activation following exposure to a spatial learning task in a mouse model characterized by cognitive deficits of neurodevelopmental origin. This protocol can be applied to both genetic or pharmacological mouse models characterized by cognitive deficits. Biology High-throughput Screening for Chemical Modulators of Post-transcriptionally Regulated Genes Viktoryia Sidarovich1, Valentina Adami2, Alessandro Quattrone1 1Laboratory of Translational Genomics, Centre for Integrative Biology, University of Trento, 2High Throughput Screening Core Facility, Centre for Integrative Biology, University of Trento Here we describe a cell-based reporter gene assay as a valuable tool to screen chemical libraries for compounds modulating post-transcriptional control mechanisms exerted through 3’ UTR. Bioengineering The Encapsulation of Cell-free Transcription and Translation Machinery in Vesicles for the Construction of Cellular Mimics Amy C. Spencer1, Paola Torre1, Sheref S. Mansy1 1Centre for Integrative Biology, University of Trento Herein we describe simple methods for the preparation of vesicles, the encapsulation of transcription and translation machinery, and the monitoring of protein production. The resulting cell-free systems can be used as a starting point from which to build increasingly complex cellular mimics.
