Luca Masiello

Self-presentation:

Luca is a veterinary buiatrics, currently associated with the veterinary medicine department, specifically with the farm animals obstetrics department. His research is based on the study of the uterine and vaginal microbiome in the Italian Mediterranean buffalo.

Project:

Evaluation ofthe uterine and vaginal microbiota e correlations with post-IS fertility in buffalo Italian Mediterranean

Buffalo breeding represents a significant economic reality forItalian livestock farming. In the buffalo species, postpartum uterine infections, such as endometritis and metritis, are often causes infertility and lengthening ofthe interbirth period, which translates into huge losses economical. The aim of the project is to evaluate, using a metagenomic technique, the influence ofreproductive tract microbiome on oocyte competence, postconception rate insemination and embryonic mortality in buffalo. During the first year, liquid samples uterine and vaginal swabs will be collected from buffaloes inseminated in the different seasons ofthe year orderto characterize the microbiome,through next generation sequencing, and evaluate its influence on the success of pregnancies. Based on the results obtained, during the third year they will be corrective strategies hypothesized and tested in the field to appropriately remodulate the microbiome of genital tract and improve fertility.

Supervisior:

Prof. Bianca Gasparrini, DVM, PhD
Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production
University of Naples Federico II
Via F. Delpino 1, 80137 Naples