Microbiological safety of food of animal origin
Applications of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) protocols to the identification and quantitative analysis of zoonotic agents (e.g. Salmonella, Campylobacter, Listeria, Staphylococcus, Psuedomonas, Clostridium) in animals, foods and environments.
Genotypic characterization of pathogenic bacteria isolated from animals, foods, environments and humans in order to trace their sources and transmission routes. The techniques used include automated ribotyping, pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis (RAPD), plasmid profile and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP).
Investigation of the resistance to tetracycline, macrolides, quinolones and fluoroquinolones in Salmonella and Campylobacter. The phenotypic expression of this character is evaluated along with the optimization of PCR and hybridisation protocols to identify the genes responsible for antibiotic resistance and their localization in the genome or within mobile genetic elements.Study of the survival and virulence properties of Campylobacter, with particular focus on the species Campylobacter jejuni. The prognosis of this bacteria is calculated in different foods and environmental conditions. The factors allowing to some genetically well-characterized strains to cause human diseases are investigated comparing their virulence factors (i.e. toxin production, adhesiveness, invasiveness and motility) to those of human strains.
Poultry feeding and meat quality
Evaluation of the effects of qualitative and quantitative feed restrictions on fat deposition and carcass quality of broiler chickens.
Use of different dietary levels of enzymes (i.e. xilanase, beta-glucanase, cellulase, pectinase and amylase) in white skinned broiler chickens to improve the digestibility of no starch polysaccarides (NSP) of cereals.
Enrichment of meat and broiler tissues with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and with conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) by using diets containing different lipid sources.
Evaluation of meat and carcass quality, fatness and fatty acid composition of tissues.
Effects of the combined use of n-3 PUFA and synthetic (vitamin E) and natural (rosemary extracts) antioxidants on the oxidative stability and on sensory properties of broiler meat.
Water distribution and evaluation of water holding capacity of meats by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) at low resolution.
Evaluation of the incidence of anomalous chicken meat with pale colour and functional properties not suitable for processing, through the objective measurement of colour.
Effects of technological processes on the safety and quality of meat and meat products.
Egg-laying hen feeding and egg quality
Improvement of the nutritional properties of table eggs by using animal and vegetable lipid sources (i.e. fish oil, marine algae, linseed) in hen feeding in order to increase the n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) content in egg yolk.
Modification of the functional properties of eggs feeding hens with diets with a low protein content but with an adequate level of essential amino acids.
Effects of either different dietary doses of vitamin E or combined with vitamin C on sensory and functional properties of eggs.
Effectiveness of natural antioxidants of vegetable origin (i.e. rosemary and grape seed extracts, polyphenols extracts from green tea leaves) added to the egg-laying hen diet on the oxidative stability of fresh, stored and cooked eggs. Evaluation of colouring effect of synthetic compounds and pigment extracted from vegetable matrixes on the egg yolk of laying hen.
Welfare of broiler chicken and environmental impact of poultry rearing
Evaluation of the environmental impact of intensive poultry productions (i.e. broiler chickens, turkeys and laying hens) on nitrogen emission with the aim to establish the maximum load of reared birds per hectare of soil (EU Directive on Nitrate).
Evaluation of the influence of low protein diets supplemented with synthetic essential amino acids on the reduction of nitrogen excretion in laying hen.
Effects of low rearing density, short light regimen and high litter depth on the incidence of foot pad and skin lesions, on productive traits and behaviour of broiler chickens, carcass traits and meat quality. Monitoring of the environmental conditions of broiler chickens reared in the Emilia Romagna region.
Reproduction of avian species
Study of the effect of dialysis and of different energy levels of He-Ne laser irradiation on turkey sperm quality.
Evaluation of high doses of vitamin E added to the rooster diet on sperm production and on the quality of fresh, refrigerated and stored sperms.
Rabbit rearing and feeding and meat quality
Enrichment of rabbit meat with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) by feeding animals with diet supplemented with linseed: evaluation of the effects on the quality of meat and further processed products.
Analysis of water distribution and evaluation of water holding capacity of meat using Low Resolution Magnetic Resonance (NMR).
Effects of technological processes on the safety and quality of meat and meat products.
Effect of management and environmental conditions on rabbit production and reproductive traits.
Evaluation of the relationships between kit number of a nest and productive performances of rabbits.
Wild animals studies
Study on diet and foraging ecology of aquatic (Great Cormorant, Gulls, Terns, Herons) and terrestrial (Ownl, Fox) predatory animals to estimate and prevent possible damages to human productive activities as well as to evaluate positive and negative effects depending on environment conditions, including anthropic use of territory, on population conservation. Evaluation of composition and structure of micro mammal, aquatic and terrestrial bird communities in relation to environmental conditions and trophic resource availability, which aside from the classical method, is carried out by the guild or trophyc class and measuring their abundance as consuming biomass.
Effects derived from solid urban waste discharges on animal community characteristics and population dynamics and space behavior of some species
Rearing and pathology of fish production
Population monitoring, damage, diseases and method for controlling the diffusion of swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) in the inner wetlands of Bonifica Renana (reclaimed land of Reno river).
Pathological investigations of rearing and wild fish species and other aquatic organisms.
Fresh-water native crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes and Astacus astacus) breeding and restocking in rice-fields and controlled environments.
Monitoring of diseases in Apicolture
Monitoring of American Foulbrood disease. Evaluation of natural substance effectiveness, with particular regard to linoleic acid, in infested beehive treatment in order to eliminate the antibiotic residue problem. Monitoring of content of ethanol in honey as index of fermentation process.