Simona Masiero
Simona Masiero
e-mail:
affiliation: Università di Milano
research area(s): Developmental Biology, Genetics And Genomics
Course: Biomolecular Sciences
University/Istitution: Università di Milano
Education
14th January 2000 PhD in Genetics at Universita' degli Studi di Milano (Italy)
“The role of MADS-box family in Plant Architecture”. The PhD project aimed to isolate and characterise new MADS-box transcription factors involved in rice inflorescence and flower development.

Working experiences
November 2010 Dr. Masiero is appointed as assistant professor (BIO-01 Univerista' degli Studi di Milano).
July 2007 - October 2010 Dr. Masiero gets a fellowship in the frame of the ERA-PG FIRB 2006 project to identify target genes regulated by type I MADS-box transcription factors.
2005 - 2007 Dr. Masiero obtains a Marie Curie Re-Integration Grant to isolate and characterize those transcription factors involved in A. thaliana embryo development "Factors Regulating Embryo development (FRED) contract n° MERG-CT-2004-006346)”.
October 2000 - December 2004 Dr. Masiero works in Dr. Sommer laboratory at the Max-Planck-Institut für Züchtungsforschung, Koeln (Germany).
The project aimed uncover the genetic and molecular networks controlling the fate of Antirrhinum majus (snapdragon) reproductive organs (stamens and pistils). Her research was supported by:
1. Marie Curie Fellowship (Training and Mobility) "MADS-box transcription factors form ternary complexes and regulate flower development" (n° HPMF-CT200-00906).
2. “Max Planck Society” Post-doc fellowship.
During her career Dr. Masiero focused her attention to investigate MADS-box transcription factors as key regulators of several developmental process. Recently she characterized some MADS-box proteins involved in female gametophyte formation, and in this respect she is now also interested to investigate the role played by two hormones (auxin and gibberellin).

Her carrier can be summarised by this three main points:
1. MADS-box transcription factor network exploitation
MADS-box transcription factors act as homo- or hetero-dimers, thus the yeast two hybrid and the yeast ternary trap techniques was extensively employed by Dr. Masiero to uncover new protein-protein interactions involving MADS-box protein.

2. Morphological and molecular studies about floral meristem development in model species Dr. Masiero focused her attention to uncover the role played by MADS-box transcription factors in many model species like Antirrhinum majus, Malus domestica, Zea mays e Oryza sativa.

3. Physio- morphological studies on Arabidopsis thaliana developing gametophyte.
Dr. Masiero aims to highlight the molecular regulative network controlling embryo sac commitment and differentiation.

Colombo L., Marziani G., Masiero S., Wittich P.E., Schmidt R.J., Sari-Gorla M. and Pe’ M.E. (1998) BRANCHED SILKLESS mediates the transition from spikelet to floral meristem during Zea mays development. The Plant Journal 16, 355-363.

Kater M.M., Colombo L., Franken J., Busscher M., Masiero S., Van Lookeren-Champagne M. and Angenent G. (1998) Multiple AGAMOUS homologs from cucumber and petunia differ in their ability to induce reproductive organ fate. The Plant Cell 10, 171-182.

Masiero S., Imbriano C., Ravasio F., Favaro R., Pelucchi N., Sari-Gorla M., Mantovani R., Colombo L. and Kater M.M. (2002). Ternary complex formation between MADS-box transcription factors and the histone fold protein NF-YB. Journal of Biological Chemistry 277, 26429-26435

Pelucchi N., Fornara F., Favalli C., Masiero S., Lago C., Colombo L. and Kater M.M. (2002) Comparative analysis of rice MADS-box gene expressed during flower development. Sexual Plant Reproduction 15, 113-122.

Pesaresi P., Gardner N.A., Masiero S., Dietzmann A., Eichacker L., Wickner R., Salamini F. and Leister D. (2003) Cytoplasmic N-Terminal Protein Acetylation is Required for Efficient Photosynthesis in Arabidopsis. The Plant Cell 15, 1817-1832.

Fornara F., Parenicova L., Falasca G., Pelucchi N., Masiero S., Ciannamea S., Lopez Dee Z., Altamura M.M., Colombo L. and. Kater M.M. (2004). Functional characterization of OsMADS18, a member of the AP1/SQUA subfamily of MADS box genes. Plant Physiology 135, 2207-2219.

Masiero S., Li M.-A., Will I., Hartman U., Saedler H., Huijser P., Schwarz-Sommer S. and Sommer H. (2004) INCOMPOSITA: a MADS-box gene controlling prophyll development and floral meristem identity in Antirrhinum. Development 131, 5981-5990.

Colombo M., Masiero S, Kater M. and Colombo L. (2005) The MADS-box transcription factor family in Arabidopsis. “Recent Research Developments in Plant Molecular Biology”.

Roccaro M., Li Y., Masiero S., Saedler H. and Sommer H. (2005) ROSINA (RSI), a protein with DNA-binding capacity, acts during floral organ developemnt to modulate the activity of the MADS-box gene DEFICIENS in Antirrhinum majus. Plant Journal 43, 238-250.

Pesaresi P., Masiero S., Eubel H., Braun H.P., Bhushan S., Glaser E., Salamini F., Leister D. (2006) Nuclear photosynthetic gene expression is synergistically modulated by rates of protein synthesis in chloroplasts and mitochondria. The Plant Cell 18, 970-991.

Brambilla V., Battaglia R., Colombo M., Masiero S., Bencivenga S., Kater M., Colombo L. (2007) Genetic and molecular interactions between BELL1 and MADS Box factors support ovule development in Arabidopsis. The Plant Cell 19, 2544–2556

Colombo M.*, Masiero S.*, Vanzulli S., Lardelli P., Kater M.M., Colombo L (2008). AGL23, a type I MADS-box gene that controls female gametophyte and embryo development in Arabidopsis. Plant Journal 54, 1037-1048.

DalCorso G., Pesaresi P., Masiero S., Aseeva E., Schunemann D., Finazzi G., Joliot P., Barbato R., Leister D. (2008) A complex containing PGRL1 and PGR5 is involved in the switch between linear and cyclic electron flow in Arabidopsis. Cell 132, 273-85. Ed. Elsevier Inc.

Pesaresi P., Scharfenberg M., Weigel M., Granlund I., Schröder W.P., Finazzi G., Rappaport F., Masiero S., Furini A., Jahns P., Leister D. (2009) Mutants, overexpressors, and interactors of Arabidopsis plastocyanin isoforms: revised roles of plastocyanin in photosynthetic electron flow and thylakoid redox state. Mol Plant 2, 236-248.

Velasco R., Zahrkikh A., Affourtit J., Dhingra A., Cestaro A., Kalyanaraman A., Fontana P., Bhatnagar S., Troggio M., Pruss D., Salvi S., Pindo M., Baldi P., Cavaiolo M., Coppola G., Costa F., Cova V., Dal Ri A., Goremykin V., Komjanc M., Longhi S., Magnago P., Malacarne G., Malnoy M., Micheletti D., Moretto M., Perazzolli M., Si Ammour A., Vezzulli S., Zini E., Eldredge G., Fitzgerald LM., Gutin N., Lanchbury J., Macalma T., Mitchell JT., Reid J., Wardell B., Chen Z., Desany B., Niazi F., Palmer M., Jiwan D, Koepke T., Schaeffer S., Krishnan V., Wu C., Chu VT., King ST., Vick J., Tao Q., Mraz A., Stormo A., Stormo K., Bogden R., Ederle D., Stella A., Vecchietti A., Kater M., Masiero S., Lasserre P., Lespinasse Y., Allan AC., Bus V., Chagné D., Crowhurst R., Gleave A., Fawcett J., Proost S., Rouzè P., Sterck L., Toppo S., Lazzari B., Hellens
RP., Durel CE., Gutin A., Bumgarner RE., Gardiner SE., Skolnick M., Egholm M., Van de Peer Y., Salamini F., Viola R. (2010) The apple genome: polyploidy and fruit
formation in a major perennial crop. Nature Genetics 42, 833–839

Bencivenga S., Colombo L., Masiero S. (2011) Cross talk between the sporophyte and the megagametophyte during ovule development Sex Plant Reproduction 24, 113-21.

Masiero S, Colombo L, Grini PE, Schnittger A, Kater MM. (2011) The emerging importance of type I MADS box transcription factors for plant reproduction. The Plant Cell 23:865-72

No projects are available to students for the current accademic year.