Jobangebote
Wir suchen motivierte und kompetente Mitarbeiter/innen und bieten ein breites Angebot an Stellen in fachlich unterschiedlichen Bereichen:
PhD programm on "Effects of ozone-enriched storage atmosphere of fruit postharvest quality"
Laimburg Research Centre announces a PhD scholarship for the PhD programme "Agrifood and Environmental Sciences” in collaboration with the University of Trento – Università degli Studi di Trento on the following topic:
Effects of ozone-enriched storage atmosphere of fruit postharvest quality
|
Description of the topic: |
Ozone, a highly unstable triatomic oxygen molecule, is one of the most powerful oxidants with several advantages, such as the absence of detectable residues on treated products. The application of ozone in the food industry has significantly increased both at experimental and commercial levels, as a sanitizer in the food industry aiming at inactivation of microorganisms, or as a removal agent of toxic substances such as mycotoxins and pesticide residues. In recent years, ozone has been also applied in the postharvest of fruit for the improvement of potential storability through the ozone-mediated oxidation of ethylene.
The use of ozone in management of post-harvest quality of horticultural products has been recently extensively studied. However, currently available data on fruit changes are limited and fragmented in addition to a scarce knowledge about optimal concentrations of the gas and times of treatments according to the fruit characteristics. It is known that, when applied incorrectly, ozone can also have a negative impact on fruit qualitative attributes. For a reliable optimization of fruit post-harvest ozonation management and a prolongation of shelf life, the PhD project aims at:
● Optimising the production and the distribution of the gas in a pilot lab setup.
● Studying the effect of the gas on the metabolic processes of a selection of both climacteric (apples and pears) and non-climacteric fruits (strawberries, cherries, and raspberries).
● Studying the influence of ozone on mechanical and chemical attributes and on
micro-structural properties.
● Studying the effective role of the ozone in activating the antioxidant defense
mechanism in plant cells and metabolising reactive oxygen species (ROS).
● Scaling the technology in a semi-industrial plant.
● Transcriptome analysis to dissect the physiological impact of ozone treated fruit.
|
Contract duration: 36 months, full time, start in November 2024 |
|
Applications must arrive by and not later than: May 28th, 2024 – 12 am under: https://www.unitn.it/en/ateneo/80909/announcement-of-selection |
|
Additional information: |
A major part of the work in the PhD programme is carried out at Laimburg Research Centre.
For further information about the PhD programmes and the application procedure, please visit the correspondent website of the University of Trento:
https://www.unitn.it/en/ateneo/80909/announcement-of-selection
For questions regarding Laimburg Research Centre, please contact jennifer.berger@laimburg.it.
Downloads
