MARCO GRECO

PhD Graduate

PhD program:: XXXVII



Thesis title: Valorization of bio-wastes from olive oil extraction and related biorefinery as inducers of plant disease resistance and growth biostimulants

Olive oil production generates significant amounts of olive mill wastes, often disposed of in soil with negative environmental and agricultural impacts. Some olive oil mills valorise these wastes by converting two-phase olive pomace into bioenergy via biogas production, but this process generates digestate, a partially degraded fraction used as a soil amendment. While digestate offers agronomic benefits, its application may pose risks, such as ammonia emissions and greenhouse gas release. Additionally, excessive chemical inputs in agriculture threaten human health and promote plant diseases spread. In a circular economy perspective, this project valorises twophase olive pomace and related digestate as phytovaccines and growth biostimulants to enhance plant defences and productivity. Chemical analysis revealed that the liquid fraction of two-phase olive pomace is enriched in oligosaccharides and phenolic compounds, which were extracted and tested for defence-inducing properties in Arabidopsis thaliana and Solanum lycopersicum. Treatments triggered defence responses and reduced Botrytis cinerea and Pseudomonas syringae infections. Phenolic compounds also exhibited antimicrobial activity against Xylella fastidiosa, P. syringae, Pectobacterium carotovorum, Fusarium graminearum, Colletotrichum graminicola, and B. cinerea. Soil application of raw digestate and its fractions enhanced Arabidopsis growth in controlled conditions and improved tomato productivity in field trials. However, the digestate liquid fraction had a lower biostimulant effect due to its microbial population. To further exploit digestate microbes, they were processed to extract proteins with potential defence-inducing activities. These microbial proteins activated defence responses in Arabidopsis and tomato, enhancing disease resistance. Overall, these findings highlight two-phase olive pomace and related digestate as valuable agro-industrial byproducts,16 serving as plant defence inducers and growth biostimulants to promote sustainable agriculture

Research products

11573/1714018 - 2024 - Pull the fuzes: Processing protein precursors to generate apoplastic danger signals for triggering plant immunity
Del Corpo, D.; Coculo, D.; Greco, M.; De Lorenzo, G.; Lionetti, V. - 01g Articolo di rassegna (Review)
paper: PLANT COMMUNICATIONS ([Cambridge MA]: published by the Plant Communications Shanghai Editorial Office in association with Cell Press an imprint of Elsevier Inc.) pp. - - issn: 2590-3462 - wos: WOS:001294847300001 (8) - scopus: 2-s2.0-85195375755 (8)

11573/1709214 - 2024 - UPCYCLING BY-PRODUCTS FROM AGROINDUSTRY AND BIOREFINERIES IN SUSTAINABLE AGROBIOLOGICALS
Greco, Marco; Agresti, Savino; De Lorenzo, Giulia; Lionetti, Vincenzo - 04d Abstract in atti di convegno
conference: ShareScience Multidisciplina e Trasferimento Tecnologico (Roma)
book: Poster in Workshop ShareScience: Multidisciplina e Trasferimento Tecnologico - ()

11573/1719772 - 2024 - Two-phase olive pomace is enriched in oligosaccharides activators of plant immunity
Greco, Marco; Coculo, D.; Kouzounis, D.; Schols, H.; Mélida, H.; Fuertes-Rabanal, M.; Lionetti, V. - 04d Abstract in atti di convegno
conference: XVII FISV Congress (Padua)
book: Poster in XVII FISV Congress - ()

11573/1709215 - 2024 - UPCYCLING BY-PRODUCTS FROM AGROINDUSTRY AND BIOREFINERIES IN SUSTAINABLE PHYTOVACCINES AND FERTILIZERS FOR PLANT AND SOIL HEALTH
Greco, Marco; Coculo, Daniele; Agresti, Savino; De Lorenzo, Giulia; Lionetti, Vincenzo - 04f Poster
conference: Rome Technopole: ricerca applicata, sviluppo tecnologico, innovazione e infrastrutture di ricerca (Roma)
book: Poster in Workshop Rome Technopole: ricerca applicata, sviluppo tecnologico, innovazione e infrastrutture di ricerca - ()

11573/1709216 - 2024 - LIQUID FRACTION OF TWO-PHASE OLIVE POMACE IS ENRICHED IN OLIGOSACCHARIDES ACTIVATORS OF PLANT IMMUNITY
Greco, Marco; Coculo, Daniele; Kouzounis, Dimitrios; Schols, Henk; Melida, Hugo; De Lorenzo, Giulia; Lionetti, Vincenzo - 04d Abstract in atti di convegno
conference: Workshop on Plant Biology 2024 (Bertinoro (FC))
book: Abstract book Workshop on Plant Biology 2024 - ()

11573/1716601 - 2024 - PLANT DEFENSE MOLECULES HIDDEN IN OLIVE MILL WASTES
Greco, Marco; Coculo, Daniele; Kouzounis, Dimitrios; Schols, Henk; Melida, Hugo; Lionetti, Vincenzo - 04d Abstract in atti di convegno
conference: 8th International Conference on Plant Cell Wall Biology (Santiago)
book: Abstract book 8th International Conference on Plant Cell Wall Biology 2024 - ()

11573/1724176 - 2024 - Phenolic compounds-enriched extract recovered from two-phase olive pomace serves as plant immunostimulants and broad-spectrum antimicrobials against phytopathogens including Xylella fastidiosa
Greco, Marco; Fuertes-Rabanal, María; Frey, Carlos; Grosso, Carmine Del; Coculo, Daniele; Moretti, Pasquale; Saldarelli, Pasquale; Agresti, Savino; Caliandro, Rosanna; Mélida, Hugo; Lionetti, Vincenzo - 01a Articolo in rivista
paper: PLANT STRESS (Amsterdam: Elsevier B.V.) pp. - - issn: 2667-064X - wos: WOS:001348574900001 (3) - scopus: 2-s2.0-85207797201 (3)

11573/1722935 - 2024 - Upcycling olive pomace into pectic elicitors for plant immunity and disease protection
Greco, Marco; Kouzounis, Dimitrios; Fuertes-Rabanal, María; Gentile, Mariagrazia; Agresti, Savino; Schols, Henk A.; Mélida, Hugo; Lionetti, Vincenzo - 01a Articolo in rivista
paper: PLANT PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY (-Paris: Elsevier 1998- -Montrouge Cedex France: Gauthier-Villars) pp. 1-12 - issn: 0981-9428 - wos: WOS:001342566200001 (8) - scopus: 2-s2.0-85206912597 (8)

11573/1696992 - 2023 - Protein precursors for effective plant immunity: the case of pectin methylesterases
Coculo, Daniele; Greco, Marco; Del Corpo, Daniele; Lionetti, Vincenzo - 04d Abstract in atti di convegno
conference: XII Congress of the Italian Society of Plant Biology (Bari, Italy)
book: Abstract book XII Congress of the Italian Society of Plant Biology - ()

11573/1696006 - 2023 - Valorization of biowastes from olive oil mill as inducers of plant defence responses
Greco, Marco; De Lorenzo, Giulia; Mélida, Hugo; Lionetti, Vincenzo - 04d Abstract in atti di convegno
conference: Plant cell wall meeting XVI (Malaga)
book: Abstract book Plant cell wall meeting XVI 2023 - ()

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