Department of Veterinary Sciences

Selected research products

• Rubiola S, Pasquariello L, Panebianco F, Capucchio MT, Colombino E, Bordese F, Giobbio E, Fioriello L, Braghin S, Korpysa-Dzirba W, Różycki M, Chiesa F, 2023. Macroscopic sarcocystosis in a pig carcass from an Italian abattoir. Veterinary Research Communications. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11259-023-10137-7
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• Rubiola S, Macori G, Civera T, Fanning S, Mitchell M, Chiesa F, 2022. Comparison Between Full-Length 16S rRNA Metabarcoding and Whole Metagenome Sequencing Suggests the Use of Either Is Suitable for Large-Scale Microbiome Studies. Foodborne Pathogens and Disease 19(7): 495-504. https://doi.org/10.1089/fpd.2022.0027
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• Rubiola S, Macori G, Chiesa F, Panebianco F, Moretti R, Fanning S, Civera T, 2022. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing of bulk tank milk filters reveals the role of Moraxellaceae and Enterobacteriaceae as carriers of antimicrobial resistance genes. Food Research International 158, 111579. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2022.111579
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• Di Ciccio P, Rubiola S, Panebianco F, Lomonaco S, Allard M, Bianchi DM, Civera T, Chiesa F, 2022. Biofilm formation and genomic features of Listeria monocytogenes strains isolated from meat and dairy industries located in Piedmont (Italy). International Journal of Food Microbiology 378, 109784. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2022.109784
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• Rubiola S, Civera T, Panebianco F, Vercellino D, Chiesa F, 2021. Molecular detection of cattle Sarcocystis spp. in North-West Italy highlights their association with bovine eosinophilic myositis. Parasites Vectors 14, 223. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-021-04722-5
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• Rubiola, S, Chiesa, F, Dalmasso, A, Di Ciccio, P, Civera, T (2020). Detection of Antimicrobial Resistance Genes in the Milk Production Environment: Impact of Host DNA and Sequencing Depth.
  Front. Microbiol. 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2020.01983
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• Rubiola, S, Civera, T, Ferroglio, E, Zanet, S, Zaccaria, T, Brossa, S, Cipriani, R, Chiesa, F (2020). Molecular differentiation of cattle Sarcocystis spp. by multiplex PCR targeting 18S and COI genes following identification of Sarcocystis hominis in human stool samples.
  https://iris.unito.it/handle/2318/1733028
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• Di Ciccio, P, Rubiola, S, Grassi, MA, Civera, T, Abbate, F, Chiesa, F (2020). Fate of Listeria monocytogenes in the presence of resident cheese microbiota on common packaging materials. Front. Microbiol. 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2020.00830
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• Rubiola, S, Chiesa, F, Zanet, S, Civera, T (2018). Molecular identification of Sarcocystis spp. in cattle: partial sequencing of Cytochrome C Oxidase subunit 1(COI). Italian Journal of Food Safety, 7(4): 7725. doi: 10.4081/ijfs.2018.7725

Courses

• Igiene, qualità e certificazione degli alimenti di O.A. (VET0212B)
  Corso di Laurea in Produzioni e Gestione degli Animali in Allevamento e Selvatici - PGAAS
• Tecnologia, igiene e qualità degli alimenti (VET0212)
  Corso di Laurea in Produzioni e Gestione degli Animali in Allevamento e Selvatici - PGAAS

Research topics

PhD Project

The extensive use of antibiotics in the livestock production systems can lead to the presence of AMR genes in bacteria that contaminate or naturally occur in milk and dairy products, thereby introducing them into the food chain. In this context, Whole Shotgun Metagenomic Sequencing (WMS) allows the generation of a vast amount of data which can be interrogated to generate the desired evidence, including the resistome. However, the host DNA poses a challenge to metagenome analysis.
Given the current paucity of literature concerning the application of Whole Shotgun Metagenomic Sequencing (WMS) on milk, the aim of our project is to evaluate the effect of different sequencing depths, host DNA depletion methods and matrices in order to characterize the resistome of a milk production environment; secondly, taking advantage of the previous results, we plan to investigate the resistome and the microbiome of dairy farms with different management practices.

Side Projects

Foodborne pathogens are a major public health threat; among them, emerging foodborne parasites remain often neglected. Therefore, we aim to apply molecular methods on the investigation of foodborne parasites, focusing on protozoa, neglected trematodiases and cestodes.

Academic bodies

• Commissione Terza Missione
• Consiglio di Dipartimento

• Consiglio di Corso di Studio

• Consiglio Integrato dei Corsi di Studio in PGAAS/SIZOS/TAVET

• Consiglio del Corso di Laurea Magistrale in Medicina Veterinaria

Office hours