VIANELLI ALBERTO | Università degli studi dell'Insubria

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0332 42 1408

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Ricerca

Current (2018 – present) research activity

My research has recently taken mainly an historical (and in part philosophical) turn. A privileged point of view in my studies is the analysis of the information flux between the “scientists” communicating to each other, with their patrons and/or political/social referents, more than to the one, if any, from them to the public, which is of course connected to it, but already well investigated in the literature.

I am particularly interested in the question of problematic dissent in science, historically situated.

My approach tries to make past and present dialogue in a “Blochian” perspective, by looking at periods in which technological advances, like the industrial revolution (1) and the biotechnological one (2) act as possible disruption factors:

1.”Past”. First of all, I am focusing on the period between XVIII and XIX century which is considered crucial for the emergence of science as we know it. I am currently focusing, in my Master 2 Mémoire at University of Paris 1 (under the guidance of Jean-Luc Chappey) in particular on the community of the Professors of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris and on the birth and the infance of its new scientific journal , the Annales du Muséum of Histoire Naturelle, in the troubled transition period between Republic and Empire (1802-1809).

1b. In connection to this, I am also studying the role and the economy of images and its consequences for the natural history/scientific publications of the period, particularly those of animals, discussing it in the frame of the rise of the “animal question” during the French Revolution (participating to the FMSH Séminaire “Histoire Mondiale des Animaux”, coordinated by Pierre Serna, University of Paris 1)

2. “Present”.During my 2018/19 visit at Centre Cavaillès, ENS, Paris, I started conducting historical inquiries (published literature, archives, oral history) concerning, as a case study the discovery of viral overlapping genes in the 1970’s and the debate in the same years on the origins of novelty in evolution involving French and American biologists.

2b. Connected to this, the recent demonstrations (2000’s)of the diffuse presence of overlapping genes not only in viruses but also in cellular organisms led me to investigate, in collaboration with informaticians and philosophers of biology, its consequences for the concept of genetic program (in collaboration with Giuseppe Longo, ENS et CNRS, Paris), and of the role of stochasticity in biology (in collaboration with philosophers Francesca Merlin, IHPST , CNRS et Université Paris 1 and Marco Casali, IHPST and Sapienza). I believe this could be an example of what I have previously referred to as problematic dissent in science, especially concerning the question of the theories addressing the origins of cancer.

Research on the biology of overlapping genes (2009-2018)

My previous experience as a biologist since 2009 in the investigation of overlapping genes in viruses (see Publications), addressing the problems of the biological significance and the evolution of this peculiar genetic arrangement in relation with viral genome size, the structure of the capsid, the generation of novelties should help in untangling the more technical questions, hopefully in the respect of the historical detached view.

Previous research activity (1983-2008)

Before 2009, I did experimental work in virology studying the role of some bacteriophage T4 proteins involved in head and tail self-assembly and in the first steps of infection; besides, since 1986 I have been conducting researches on both the regulatory and stress factor roles played by light in photosynthesis, studying both plants and photosynthetic bacteria, focusing in particular on the involvement of light harvesting complex II in plants and on chlorosomes in green bacteria.

At the beginning of my research career, as a university student (1983-1985) I have worked in the field of the molecular biology of development, on the isolation, characterization and distribution of specific messenger RNAs (coding for alpha- and beta-tubulin, main constituents of microtubules) in the early phases of the embryo development of the animal model Xenopus laevis and their possible role in the early phases (induction) of neural tube development of vertebrates.

Portale IRInSubria

Pubblicazioni in evidenza

1)Overlapping genes in viruses; molecular biology of viruses

Pavesi, A., A.Vianelli, N.Chirico, Y.Bao, R. Belshaw, O.Blinkova, A.Firth, and Karlin, D. (2018) Overlapping genes and the proteins they encode differ significantly in their sequence composition from non-overlapping genes. PLoS ONE, 13(10): e0202513 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0202513

Chirico, N., A.Vianelli, R.Belshaw (2010). Why genes overlap in viruses. Proc. Roy. Soc. B (Biol. Sci.) 277: 3809-3817.

Vianelli, A., G.R.Wang, M.Gingery, R.L.Duda, F.A.Eiserling and E.B.Goldberg (2000) Bacteriophage T4 Self-Assembly: Localization of gp3 and Its Role in Determining Tail Length. J.Bacteriol. 182: 680-688.

Wang, G.R., A.Vianelli and E.B.Goldberg (2000) Bacteriophage T4 Self-Assembly: In Vitro Reconstitution of Recombinant gp2 into Infectious Phage. J.Bacteriol. 182: 672-679.

2)Plant stress

Cannone, N., T.Corinti, F.Malfasi, P.Gerola, A.Vianelli, I .Vanetti, S.Zaccara, P.Convey, M.Guglielmin (2017) Moss survival through in situ cryptobiosis after six centuries of glacier burial. Sci. Rep. 7, 4438.

Ronchini, M., L.Cherchi, S.Cantamessa M.Lanfranchi, P.D.Gerola, G.Berta and A.Fumagalli (2015) Palladium uptake by Pisum sativum: partitioning and effects on growth and reproduction. Environ.Sci.Pollut.Res.Int. 22: 7600-7611.

Fior, S., A. Vianelli and P.D.Gerola (2009). A novel method for fluorometric continuous measurement of Beta-glucuronidase (GUS) activity using 4-methyl-umbelliferyl-beta-D-glucuronide (MUG) as substrate. Plant Sci. 176:130-135.

Pierce, S., B.Cerabolini and A.Vianelli (2005) From ancient genes to modern communities: the cellular stress response and the evolution of plant strategies. Functional Ecology 19: 763-776.

Tarantino, D., A.Vianelli, L.Carraro and C.Soave (1999) A nuclear mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana selected for enhanced sensitivity to light-chill stress is altered in PS II electron transport activity. Physiol.Plant., 107, 361-371.

3)Light harvesting and its regulation in plants

Cseh, Z., A.Vianelli, S.Rajagopal, S.Krumova, L.Kovacs, V.Barzda, R.Jennings ans G.Garab (2005) Thermo-optically induced reorganizations in the main light harvesting antenna of plants. I .Non-Arrhenius type of temperature dependence and linear light-intensity dependencies. Photosynth. Res. 86:263-273.

Barzda, V., I.Simidijev, A.Vianelli , R.Jennings and G.Garab (1995) Light induced reversible structural changes in chirally organed macroaggregates of purified chlorophyll a/b protein complexes. In: Photosynthesis: from Light to Biosphere (P.Mathis, ed.), Vol.I, 315-318. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.

Finazzi, G., R.Bianchi, A.Vianelli, A.M.Ehrenheim and G.Forti (1995) Inhibition of photosystem 2 primary photochemistry by photogenerated protons. Photosynth.Res. 46, 379-392.

Jennings, R.C., G.Zucchelli, R.Bassi, A.Vianelli, and F.M.Garlaschi (1993) The relation between the minor chlorophyll spectral forms and fluorescence quenching in aggregated light harvesting chlorophyll a/b complex II. Biochim. Biophys. Acta, 1184, 279-283.

Jennings, R.C., F.M.Garlaschi, R.Bassi, G.Zucchelli, A.Vianelli and P.Dainese (1993) A study of Photosystem II fluorescenc emission in terms of the antenna chlorophyll-protein complexes. Biochim. Biophys. Acta, 1183, 194-200.

Jennings, R.C., G.Zucchelli, F.M.Garlaschi and A.Vianelli (1992) A comparison of the light-induced, non-reversible fluorescence quenching in Photosystem II with quenching due to open reaction centres in terms of the chlorophyll emission spectral forms. Biochim.Biophys.Acta 1101:79-83.

Ehrenheim, A.M., A.Vianelli, G.Finazzi and G.Forti (1992) Regulation by localized protons of Photosystem II photochemical efficiency. Biochim. Biophys. Acta, 1100, 299-302.

Forti, G. and A.Vianelli (1988) Influence of thylakoid protein phosphorylation on photosystem I photochemistry. FEBS Lett., 231, 95-98.

4)Light harvesting and its regulation in green photosynthetic bacteria

Di Valentin, M., D.Malorni, A.L.Maniero, G.Agostini, G.Giacometti, A.Vianelli, A.G.Cattaneo, L.-C.Brunel and D.Carbonera (2002) Structural investigation of oxidized chlorosomes from green bacteria using multifrequency Electron Paramagnetic Resonance up to 330 GHz. Photosynth.Res. 71: 33-44.

Bordignon, E., M.Scarzello, G.Agostini, G.Giacometti, A.Vianelli, C.Vannini and D.Carbonera (2002) Optically detected magnetic resonance of intact membranes from Chloroflexus aurantiacus. Evidence for exciton interaction between the RC and the B806-866 complex. Photosynth.Res. 71: 45-57.

Carbonera, D., E.Bordignon, G.Agostini, A.Vianelli, C.Vannini and G.Giacometti (2001) Fluorescence and absorption detected magnetic resonance of chlorosomes from green bacteria Chlorobium tepidum and Chloroflexus aurantiacus. A comparative study. J.Phys.Chem.B 105, 246-255.

Vannini, C., M.Granata, M.T.Balsemin, P.D.Gerola and A.Vianelli(1998) Light intensity acclimation of the photosynthetic apparatus in Chlorobium tepidum. In: Photosynthesis: Mechanisms and Effects (G.Garab, ed.), Vol.III, 2269-2272. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.

Carbonera, D., G.Giacometti, C.Vannini, P.D.Gerola, A.Vianelli, A.L.Maniero and L.C.Brunel (1998) Electron magnetic resonance of the chlorosomes from green sulfur bacterium Chlorobium tepidum. In: Photosynthesis: Mechanisms and Effects (G.Garab, ed.), Vol.I, 109-112. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.