Sara Avesani obtained her bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology at the University of Verona in 2015. In 2018, at the same university, she graduated in Agro-Food Biotechnology with a thesis entitled “Strategies for the Extraction and Analysis of hormones from different plant matrices”. In 2020, after two years of working in a company, she began her Ph.D. in Agrifood and Environmental Sciences at the University of Trento on the “Volagrape” project. The goal was to clarify the mechanisms of plant-plant communications mediated by Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) against pathogens. In particular, she focused on the metabolic response of VOC-treated grapevine leaves and the potential activation of VOC-mediated resistance mechanisms against downy mildew disease. In 2024, she started working on the project “ROOMors – At the roots of motor intentions”. This project, directed by Prof. Umberto Castiello, involves tracking VOCs produced by plants during cooperative and competitive interaction to understand the intentionality of plant behaviors..

selected publications

2023 – Volatile linalool activates grapevine resistance against downy mildew withchanges in the leaf metabolome

2022 – Biogenic volatile organic compounds in the grapevine response to pathogens, beneficial microorganisms, resistance inducers, and abiotic factors

2019 – Untargeted and Targeted Metabolomics and Tryptophan Decarboxylase In Vivo Characterization Provide Novel Insight on the Development of Kiwifruits (Actinidia deliciosa)