Claudia Ruta, Assoc. Prof.

Claudia Ruta is an associate professor at the Department of Soil, Plant and Food Sciences, University of Bari.

She graduated in Agricultural Sciences, specialized in Plant Biotechnology at the University of Pisa and
obtained her PhD in Mediterranean Agronomy at the University of Bari. In the framework of her research
activity, she has been involved in the development of many in vitro technologies such as micropropagation,
organogenesis, somatic embryogenesis, synthetic seed technology, and secondary metabolite production,
for many plant species. Recently, the focus has been on innovative micropropagation approaches, both
aimed at the conservation of plant germplasm through slow-growing storage and cryopreservation, and the
application of scaling up and automation in micropropagation, with an attention on temporary immersion
systems. Another field of study is related to mycorrhizal symbiosis: biology of plant-fungus interactions on
ex vitro and in vivo plants, influence on the production and composition of active ingredients of medicinal
and aromatic plants, use in phytoremediation of soils contaminated by heavy metals or emerging
contaminants. Experiments on natural plant-derived biopesticides to improve the sustainable management
of crop systems are also of great interest for her research.