Mario C. De Tullio

 

            University of Bari าAldo Moroำ, Biology Department

            Via Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy

            Tel. +39 080 5442157 detullio@botanica.uniba.it

 

            Research interests

1.    Biochemistry and functions of vitamin C

2.    Redox regulation of plant development

3.    Science communication - Science and Literature

 

 


Assistant Professor of Plant Biology. He received his M.A. in Biology and his Ph.D in Plant Physiology from the University of Bari, and followed that with postdoctoral positions at the University of Kassel (Germany), the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (The Netherlands) and the University of London, Royal Holloway College (Egham, UK). In 2007 he was a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at the University of California–Berkeley, where he worked on the role of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) in the redox regulation of plant development.

Currently, teaches classes in Plant Biology, Plant Morphology and Physiology, Plant Biotechnology, Phycology, Plant Developmental Biology, Techniques in Plant Biology, and Science Teaching. His interest in science communication is a consequence of the continuing debate on the necessity of developing new teaching tools.

Manuscript reviewer for several journals, Editor-in-Chief of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry. Lead Editor of Nature Education - Topic room on Cell Origins and Metabolism

 


Selected publications

Ÿ    De Tullio MC 2010 Antioxidants and redox regulation: changing notions in a changing world. Plant Physiol Biochem 48:289-291

Ÿ    De Tullio MC, Jiang K, Feldman LJ 2010 Redox regulation of root apical meristem organization: connecting root development to its environment. Plant Physiol Biochem 48:328-336

Ÿ    Caputo E, Ceglie V, Lippolis M, La Rocca N, De Tullio MC 2010 Identification of a NaCl-induced ascorbate oxidase activity from Chaetomorpha linum suggests a novel mechanism of adaptation to increased salinity. Environ Exp Bot 69:63-67

Ÿ    Fotopoulos V, De Tullio MC, Barnes J, Kanellis AK 2008 Altered stomatal dynamics in ascorbate oxidase over-expressing tobacco plants suggest a role for dehydroascorbate signalling. J Exp Bot 59:729-737

Ÿ    De Tullio MC, Ciraci S, Liso R, Arrigoni O 2007 Ascorbic acid oxidase is dynamically regulated by light and oxygen. A tool for oxygen management in plants? J Plant Physiol.164: 39-46.

Ÿ    Grano A, De Tullio MC 2007 Ascorbic acid as a sensor of oxidative stress and a regulator of gene expression: The Yin and Yang of vitamin C. Med Hypoth 69: 953-954

Ÿ    Attolico AD, De Tullio MC 2007 Contrasting effects of increased ascorbate content on growth and development of long-day and short-day grown Brassica rapa. Caryologia 60: 185-187

Ÿ    Attolico AD, De Tullio MC 2006 Increased ascorbate content delays flowering in long-day grown  Arabidopsis thaliana (Heyn.). Plant Physiol Biochem 44: 462-466

Ÿ    Barth C, De Tullio MC, Conklin P 2006 The role of ascorbic acid in the control of flowering time and the onset of senescence. J Exp Bot 57: 1657-1665

Ÿ    Liso R, De Tullio MC, Ciraci S, Balestrini R, La Rocca N, Bruno L, Chiappetta A, Bitonti MB, Bonfante P, Arrigoni O 2004 Localization of ascorbic acid, ascorbic acid oxidase and glutathione in roots of Cucurbita maxima L. J Exp Bot 55: 2589-2597

Ÿ    De Tullio MC, Liso R, Arrigoni O 2004 Ascorbic acid oxidase: an enzyme in search of a role. Biol Plant 48:161-166

Ÿ    De Tullio MC, Arrigoni O 2004 Hopes, disillusions and more hopes from vitamin C. Cell Mol Life Sci 60: 109-119

Ÿ    De Tullio MC 2004 How does ascorbic acid prevent scurvy? A survey of the non-antioxidant functions of vitamin C. In Vitamin C, its functions and biochemistry in animals and plants, pp. 159-172, Smirnoff N., May J. and Asard H. (eds.), Bios Scientific Publishers, Oxford, U.K.

Ÿ    De Tullio MC, Arrigoni O 2003 The ascorbic acid system in seeds: to protect and to serve. Seed Sci Res 13:249-60

Ÿ    Arrigoni O, De Tullio MC 2002 Ascorbic acid: much more than just an antioxidant. Biochim Biophys Acta, 1569:1-9

Ÿ    Paciolla C, De Tullio MC, Chiappetta A, Bitonti MB, Innocenti AM, Liso R, Arrigoni O 2001 Short- and long term effects of dehydroascorbate in Lupinus albus and Allium cepa roots. Plant Cell Physiol 42: 857-863

Ÿ    Arrigoni O, De Tullio MC 2000 The role of ascorbic acid in cell metabolism: between gene-directed functions and unpredictable chemical reactions. J. Plant Physiol 157: 481-488

Ÿ    De Tullio MC, Paciolla C, Dalla Vecchia F, Rascio N, D'Emerico S, De Gara L, Liso R, Arrigoni O 1999 Changes in onion root development induced by the inhibition of peptidyl-prolyl hydroxylase and influence of the ascorbate system on cell division and elongation. Planta 209: 424-434

Ÿ    Brugnoli E, Scartazza A, De Tullio MC, Monteverdi MC, Lauteri M, Augusti A 1998 Zeaxanthin and non-photochemical quenching in sun and shade leaves of C3 and C4 plants. Physiol Plant 104: 727-734

Ÿ    De Tullio MC, De Gara L, Paciolla C, Arrigoni O 1998 Dehydroascorbate reducing proteins in maize are induced by the ascorbate biosynthesis inhibitor lycorine. Plant Physiol Biochem 36: 433-440

Ÿ    Morell S, Follmann H, De Tullio M, Haeberlein 1997 Dehydroascorbate and dehydroascorbate reductase are phantom indicators of oxidative stress in plants. FEBS Lett 414: 567-570

Selected publications on science communication

- De Tullio MC, 2011, GMOs, Primo Levi, ivory towers and communication. VIPCA Meeting าPlant Transformation Technologies IIำ, Vienna, Austria

- De Tullio MC, 2010, The Mystery of Vitamin C. Nature Education  3(9):48

- De Tullio MC 2007 How literature can help science: a practical approach to bridging the Two Cultures. Plant Biology ASPB Meeting Chicago (IL, USA)

- De Tullio MC, Roberto R 2004 Informing the public on the risks and benefits of plant biotechnologies: the role of teacher training and the importance of new teaching tools. Plant Biology, ASPB Meeting , Orlando (FL, USA)

- De Tullio MC (2002) Disseminating plant biology: how and what for? FESPB alert n.2 (9)