MITOGENOMICS AND EVOLUTION

RESEARCH UNIT 

 

Marco Passamonti, PhD

Researcher

 

Department of Biologia Evoluzionistica Sperimentale

University of Bologna (Italy)

 

Tel. +39 051 209 4173

Fax +39 051 209 4286

 

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  

 


Marco was born in Trento (Italy), the 4th of June 1969.

 

  

 

Education

 

1989 – 1993   Master’s Degree in Biology
1993 – 1997   PhD in Animal Biology

 

Positions held to date


1997 – 1998   “Canziani” fellowship
1998 – 2000    Post Doctoral fellowship
2000 – 2006   “Assegno di Ricerca” fellowship
2001 – 2004    Visiting Scientist at the DOE Joint Genome Institute, Walnut Creek, CA, USA.
2006 –             Researcher at the Department of "Biologia Evoluzionistica Sperimentale” of the University of Bologna

 

Research interests

 

Mitochondrial Genomics; structure and evolution of the Mitochondrial Genome in bivalve mollusks and Insecta Phasmida;
Characterization of Doubly Uniparental Inheritance Mitochondrial Systems (DUI) in bivalves;
Phylogenetics and reproductive biology of stick insects (Phasmida);
Speciation mechanisms and phylogeography of circum-mediterranean stick insects (Phasmida);
New methodological approaches to Mitochondrial DNA characterization;
Ribosomal DNA structure and evolution in stick insects (Phasmida);
Satellite DNA structure and evolution in stick insects and venerid bivalves;
Biochemical and molecular taxonomy of venerid bivalves and decapod crustaceans;
Biochemical characterization protocols in bivalve species of commercial interest.

 

Current scientific collaborations


Transcriptome analysis in DUI species (S. Nuzhdin and D. Hedgecock, University of Southern California, USA)
Analisi dei SINE nei Bivalvia (Prof. N. Okada - Tokio Inst. of Technology, Japan)

 

Recently awarded research grants


2007 PRIN07 (Italian Ministry of University) – Title: Structure, evolution and inheritance of the Mitochondrial genome of Bivalvia.
2009 PRIN09 (Italian Ministry of University) – Title: Targeting mitochondrial inheritance and genome evolution with the Doubly Uniparental Inheritance (DUI) unusual model system.

 

 

Professional Memberships


Member of the Italian Society of Zoology (UZI)
Member and co-founder of the Italian Society for Evolutionary Biology (SIBE-ISEB)

 

Recent services as Reviewer


BMC Evolutionary Biology, Journal of Molecular Evolution, Gene, Genetics, Genetica, Heredity, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, Mitochondrion, Molecular Biology and Evolution, Systematic Biology, Trends in Ecology and Evolution.

Teaching activity


2006 –            Evolutionary Biology (LT, Natural Sciences)
2007 –            Animal Biology (LM, Pharmacy)
2007 – 2008  Biology of the Marine Populations (LM, Nature conservation and management).
2008 – 2009  Animal biodiversity and evolution (LT, Biology)
2008 – 2010   Animal Biology (LM, Chemistry and Pharmacological Technology, CTF)
2009 –            Advanced Evolutionary Biology (LM, Biodiversity and Evolution)

 

Other activities


Member of the Teaching Board and secretary of the PhD Course in Biodiversity and Evolution
Tutor of the “Collegio Superiore” of the University of Bologna
Organizing Committee of the Summer School “Genome Evolution of Eukaryotes (GEE)” 
Organizer, teacher and expedition head of the “Darwin Project: the evolution of the marine organisms of the Galapagos Islands”.

Organizing Committee of the 72° Congress of the "Unione Zoologica Italiana" (UZI).