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Laura Mugnai, Italy

Personal info

Laura Mugnai was born in Florence on 16.03.1958. She graduated in Forestry Sciences at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences in the University of Florence and since 1983 she carried out research at the Istituto di Patologia e Zoologia forestale e agraria in Florence (now DiBA, Sezione di Patologia vegetale) and at other scientific Institutions, both from Italy and abroad. She has received CNR (National Research Council) study grants, including one for the Commonwealth Mycological Institute at Kew (UK) where she worked at the chemiotaxonomic characterization of species within the genus Beauveria.

Since 1992 she has been working, first as a researcher, and then, since 2000, as Associate Professor in Plant pathology at the Faculty of Agriculture in Florence. She is author of more than 100 publications. She has conducted or collaborated in research on various aspects of plant pathology, first in forestry and later also in agricultural pathology, where she focused on different aspects of taxonomy, as in the description of a new intersterility group of Heterobasidion annnosum, and of the characterization of new pathogenic fungi and also of bacteria, also by the application of molecular biology techniques.

She has experience in biological control against root rot diseases. In more recent years she gave a special attention to olive and grapevine diseases, also working within a wide research project on esca disease of grapevine. On the subject she was called as an invited speaker to give seminars and lectures both in Italy and in many foreign countries. She is the Chair person of the Subject Matter Committee on “Grapevine trunk diseases” (www.icgtd.org) within the International Society of Plant Pathology and co-Editor in Chief of the international journal Phytopathologia Mediterranea (www.fupress.com/pm). From 1999 she is responsible of teaching courses in Plant pathology of grapevine and in Postharvest diseases.

She published almost 170 papers; she is a member of the Italian Society for Plant pathology, of the Mediterranean Phytopathologica Union, of the Australasian Phytopathological Society and the American Phytopathological Society.

 

Teaching

I level degree in Viticulture and Enology: course in Grape plant pathology

I level degree in Food technology: course in “Postharvest plant pathology”.

II level degree in Agricultural Science and technology:  course in "Viral and fungal disease of crops”.

 

Scientific interest areas

Fungal and bacterial diseases of grapevine, in particular wood diseases. Fungal diseases of agricultural crops.

 

Publications

• Andolfi, A. Cimmino, A. Evidente, M. Iannacone, R. Capparelli, L. Mugnai, G. Surico (2009). A new flow cytometry technique to identify Phaeomoniella chlamydospora exopolysaccharides and study mechanisms of esca grapevine foliar symptoms. PLANT DISEASE, vol. 93; p. 680-684, ISSN: 0191-2917 
• G. Surico, Mugnai L., G. Marchi (2008). The Esca Disease Complex. In: A. Ciancio, K. Mukerji. Integrated Management of Diseases Caused by Fungi, Phytoplasma and Bacteria. p. 119-136, Heidelberg: Springer, ISBN/ISSN: 978-1-4020-8570-3 
• Calamassi R., B. Mori, F. Moscatelli, S. Alberghini, A. Battisti, L. Mugnai, and G. Surico (2008). Aleppo pine knot disease: histology of the knots, detection of casual agent and mode of transmission. Phytopathologia Mediterranea47:61-71.
• Burruano S., V. Mondello, G. Conigliaro, A. Alfonzo, Spagnolo A., and L. Mugnai (2008).Grapevine decline in Italy caused by Lasiodiplodia theobromae. Phytopathologia Mediterranea 47:132-136.
• Essakhi S., L. Mugnai, P.W. Crous, J.Z. Groenewald, and G. Surico (2008).Molecular and phenotypic characterisation of novel Phaeoacremonium species isolated from esca diseased grapevines. Persoonia 21:119-134.
• Martos S., A. Andolfi, J. Luque, L. Mugnai, G. Surico, and A. Evidente (2008).Production of phytotoxic metabolites by five species of Botryosphaeriaceae causing decline on grapevines, with special interest in the species Neofusicoccum luteum and N. parvum. European Journal of Plant Pathology 121:451-461.
• Surico G., L. Mugnai, and G. Marchi (2006). Older and more recent observations on esca:  acritical overview. Phytopathologia Mediterranea 45:S68-S86. Marchi G., F. Peduto, L. Mugnai, S. Di Marco, F. Calzarano, and G. Surico (2006).Some observations on the relationship of manifest and hidden esca to rainfall. Phytopathologia Mediterranea 45:117-126.
• Surico G., R. Bandinelli, G. Marchi, L. Mugnai, P. Braccini, S. Di Marco, and C. Parrini (2004).On the factors that may have influenced the esca epidemic in Tuscany in the eighties. Phytopathologia Mediterranea 43:136-143.
• Marchi G., Roberti S., D'Ovidio R., Mugnai L., Surico G., 2001. Pectic enzyme production by Phaeomoniella chlamydospora. Phytopathol. Mediterr.,
• Troccoli L., Calamassi R., Mori B., Mugnai L. and G. Surico, 2001. Phaeomoniella chlamydospora-grapevine interaction: histochemical reactions to fungal infection. Phytopathol. Mediterr., 40, Supplement, S400-S406.
• Amalfitano C., Evidente A., Surico G., Tegli S., Bertelli E., Mugnai L., 2000. Phenols and stilbene polyphenols in the wood of esca-diseased grapevines. Phytopathol. Mediterr., 39, 178-183.
• Mugnai L., Graniti A., Surico G., 1999. Esca (Black Measles) and Brown Wood Streaking: two old and elusive diseases of grapevines. Plant Disease, 83, 404-418.
• Surico G., Mugnai L., Pastorelli R., Giovannetti L., Stead D.E., 1996. Erwinia alni, a new species causing bark cankers of alder (Alnus Miller) species. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol., 46, 720-726.
• Sutton B.C., Mugnai L., Sanguineti G., 1996. Ciliochora calabrica sp. nov. isolated from Fagus sylvatica in Italy. Mycol. Res., 100, 405-408.

• Mugnai L., Surico G., A. Esposito, 1996. Micoflora associata al mal dell’esca della vite in Toscana. Inf.tore fitopatol., 46 (11), 49-55.
  Mugnai L., Giovannetti L., Ventura S., Surico G., 1994. The grouping of strains of Pseudomonas syringae subsp. savastanoi by DNA restriction fingerprinting. J. Phytopathology, 142, 209-218.
• Capretti P., Korhonen K., Mugnai L., Romagnoli C., 1990 An intersterility group of Heterobasidion annosum specialized to Abies alba. Eur. J. For. Path., 20, 231-240.