Ph. D. Student
Integrative Marine Ecology Department
Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn
Villa Comunale
80121 Napoli - Italia
Tel.: +39 333 4797838
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Contatto Skype: alessandra.mussi96
Director of Studies: Wiebe H.C.F. Kooistra
Internal Supervisor(s): Diana Sarno
External Supervisor: Bente Edvardsen
Program: Open University, XXIV cycle
Research Interests
Chaetocerotaceae constitutes a cosmopolitan family of marine planktonic diatoms, which includes two genera: Chaetoceros and Bacteriastrum (Round et al. 1990). The hallmark of the family constitutes the setae; spine-like siliceous extensions that grow out of the frustule. Vegetative cells of many species can form spores, which can remain dormant for years. The family is particularly diversified in the Gulf of Naples (GoN). Monitori ng efforts incorporate Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) meta-barcoding methods to screen this diversity through the season; such efforts are also proceeding in the GoN (see BioDiversItalia). Tasks include: assessing morphological and molecular genetic diversity of the family in the GoN and exploration of species diversity in a NGS sequence dataset of the variable V4 region of the SSU rDNA generated from plankton samples gathered over subsequent seasonal cycles at the LTER MC. In practice, my studies take place in the lab, using unialgal cultures, as well as in the field. I use light and electron microscopy as well as various molecular methods.
