From 18th to 20th of September 2024 ECCO XLII Meeting "Microbe & Microbiome Management for a Better Planet will be held in the amazing city of Bari (Apulia region, Southern Italy), the XLII European Culture Collections’ Organisation (ECCO). The ECCO meeting is organised by the Institute of Sciences of Food Production of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR-ISPA) and sponsored by the CNR-ISPA Agri-food Microbial Culture Collection (ITEM) and the International Society on Mycotoxicology. The meeting will be focused on the study, management and valorisation of Microbe & Microbiome, as biological resources and bio-systems crucial tools for a better understanding of biological systems, to support quality of life and promote the transition towards a better planet. The conference promotes a holistic and integrated approach on the value of microbial resources and Microbial Biological Research Centers (mBRCs): i) to support basic and applied transdisciplinary sciences, ii) as resilience factors to deal with global changes and sustainable development, and iii) to promote human and animal health in the framework of a OneHealth perspective. 

ECCO supports cooperation and scientific exchanges concerning all the activities of mBRCs. Annual ECCO meetings represent an opportunity for the scientific community of the field, to discuss current trends and future development in the culture collections activities. 

The Division Sustainable Agri-Food System will attend the meeting with the following oral presentations in the main sessions 2 and 5 and four poster contributions:

Session 2– Microbes from farm to fork 

Soil Health and Agri-Food System Sustainability from a microbiology perspective: A Data-Driven Approach for Agricultural Policy and Practices - Annamaria Bevivino, Division Sustainable Agri-Food System (DELISOIL; ECOREADY, SOILHUB, EJP SOIL projects)

Authors:  L. Nolfi, A. Bindo, L. Di Gregorio, M. Costanzo, R. Bernini, G.C. Varese, S. Tabacchioni, A. Palojärvi, I. Manikas, A. Bevivino

Session 5 – Microbiomes preservation and exploitation 

Exploring soil microbiome preservation strategies: culturable fraction, metabolic profiling and metagenomics – Andrea Visca, Laboratory Innovation of Agri-food Chains (PNRR SUS-MIRRI.IT)

Authors: F. Sbarra, A. Visca, M. Garello, F. Sevi, S. Tabacchioni, L. Di Gregorio, M.Costanzo, E. Colantoni, F. Aloi,  G.C. Varese, D. Spadaro, A. Bevivino

Posters:

1. The ENEA microbial culture collection as valuable resource for the biotechnologies development and the bioeconomy

Authors: Bevivino A.*, Ambrico A., Molino A., De Rosa L., Colantoni E., Casella P., Tabacchioni S., Alisi C., Costanzo M., Lico C., Bianco L., Cuna D. and the ENEA’s team of SUS-MIRRI.IT project (PNRR SUS-MIRRI.IT)

2. Harnessing Microbiomes for Drought-Resilient Agriculture: Insights from the BIOMEnext Project

Authors: Visca A.*, Bevivino A., Costanzo M., Di Gregorio L., Baldoni L., Perrotta G. (BIOMEnext)

3. Dried cell-free supernatant of Bacillus subtilis strain ET-1 against Penicillium digitatum on clementine fruits

Authors: Ambrico A., Magarelli R.A.*, Trupo M., Larocca V., Martino M., Palazzo S., Della Mura B. (PNRR AGRITECH).

4. Supercritical fluid extraction of Torularhodin from a new red yeast strain

Authors: Larocca V., Martino M., Trupo M.*, Magarelli R. A., Spagnoletta A., Ambrico A. (PNRR SUS-MIRRI.IT)