Silvia Gonzali

I had my PhD in Crop Plant Biology in 2001 and a Specialization degree in Plant Biotechnology in the same year, both of them at the University of Pisa, where I started later my research activity as a Post-Doc. In 2006 I moved to the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa, where I got a Research Associate position in 2008.

• Kiferle C., Ascrizzi R., Martinelli M., Gonzali S., Mariotti L., Pistelli L., Flamini G., Perata P. Effect of Iodine treatments on Ocimum basilicum L.: Biofortification, phenolics production and essential oil composition. PLoS One doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0226559 (2019).
• Colanero S., Tagliani A., Perata P., Gonzali S. Alternative Splicing in the Anthocyanin Fruit Gene Encoding an R2R3 MYB Transcription Factor Affects Anthocyanin Biosynthesis in Tomato Fruits. Plant Communiations 1, 100006 (2020).
• Colanero S., Perata P., Gonzali S. What's behind Purple Tomatoes? Insight into the Mechanisms of Anthocyanin Synthesis in Tomato Fruits. Plant Physiology 182, 1841-1853 (2020).

My research activities are mainly focused on the nutraceutical valorization of fruit and vegetables, by mean of both transgenic and breeding approaches. In recent years I have been mainly involved in the study of the biosynthetic pathways leading to the production of anthocyanins in tomato fruits, being these phytochemicals well-known health beneficial compounds, and in the analysis of the mechanisms allowing rice plants to volatilize and accumulate iodine, when supplied as a micronutrient, with a biofortification purpose.