Francesco Dal Grande

Sequencing a botanical monument: a chromosome-level assembly of the 400-year-old Goethe's Palm (Chamaerops humilis L.) at the Botanical Garden of the University of Padua (Italy)

This study presents the first chromosome-level genome assembly of the 400-year-old Goethe's Palm, providing insights into its TE landscape and miRNA annotation for conservation genomics.

AI-based prediction of herbarium sequencing success across the plant tree of life

The paper develops an AI model to predict successful genomic DNA sequencing from herbarium specimens using morphological, metadata, and DNA quantity features.

Protein kinase gene declines linearly with elevation: a shared genomic feature across species and continents in lichenized fungi suggests role in climate adaptation

The paper examines gene content variation in lichenized fungi across elevation gradients, finding a linear decline in protein kinase gene abundance with elevation.

Genome mining as a biotechnological tool for the discovery of novel biosynthetic genes in lichens

This study mines lichen-forming fungal genomes to identify novel biosynthetic genes, finding 43 potentially novel gene clusters encoding structurally and functionally unknown natural products.

A candidate gene cluster for the bioactive natural product gyrophoric acid in lichen-forming fungi

The paper identifies the biosynthetic gene cluster for gyrophoric acid in lichen-forming fungi using long-read sequencing and bioinformatics.

Transposable elements in the genome of the lichen-forming fungus Umbilicaria pustulata, and their distribution in different climate zones along elevation

The paper identifies transposable elements in the genome of a lichen-forming fungus and examines their distribution across elevation gradients in different climate zones.

Depside and depsidone synthesis in lichenized fungi comes into focus through a genome-wide comparison of the olivetoric and physodic acid chemotype of Pseudevernia furfuracea

This study identifies a gene cluster and FAS responsible for depside and depsidone biosynthesis in lichenized fungi through comparative genomics and metatranscriptomics.

What is in a lichen? A metagenomic approach to reconstruct the holo-genome of Umbilicaria pustulata

The paper assembles the holo-genome of the lichen Umbilicaria pustulata using metagenomic data, revealing genome structures and abundance ratios of its symbiotic components.