Ferdinando Flagiello

Self-presentation:

Ferdinando is a biologist by background, and currently a PhD student at the Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production at the University of Naples Federico II. His research activity is to evaluate the effect of self-DNA in a vertebrate organism as Danio rerio.

Project:

Investigating the inhibitory effects of self-DNA in zebrafish

Self-DNA, which is the DNA of an organism released during apoptotic and necrotic events, has known to have an inhibitory effect on organisms of the same species. This has been demonstrated in plants, where negative soil-plant feedback is attributed to the presence of self-DNA, as well as in invertebrates, such as Caenorhabditis elegans. Aging is also considered one of the main physiological processes leading to self-DNA accumulation. My PhD project intends to validate the self-inhibitory activity of DNA in vertebrates. To this aim, I will conduct a series of analysis and experiments to test the self-inhibitory activity hypothesis in the teleost fish zebrafish, Danio rerio

Supervisior:

Prof. Paolo de Girolamo
Full Professor of Anatomy of Domestic Animals
Chief Veterinary Officer Ethical Animal Care and Use Committee
Scientific Director "Museum of Veterinary Anatomy" (MAVet)
University of Naples Federico II
Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Productions