Credits Vivai Cooperativi Rauscedo Elettra Highlights 2024–2025 174 Industrial Liaison Office News Facts & Figures During 2024, Elettra industrial collaborations involved both Italian and international corporate groups— leaders in their respective market sectors—as well as local companies in the pharmaceutical, automotive components, advanced lithography, and agricultural fields. New projects of interest were launched in the area of AI applied to pharmaceutical research and development. At Elettra, imaging techniques were combined with machine learning–based processing and analytics, providing powerful insights across the entire drug development pipeline. Microscopy and high-content imaging enabled detailed visualization of cellular and molecular responses to drug candidates, while histopathology imaging offered objective assessments of tissue changes in preclinical studies. The data collected were used to create simulation models useful for predicting the distribution of drug products in the human body. A highlight project in the agricultural sector involved the Italian company Vivai Cooperativi Rauscedo (VCR). VCR is currently a global leader in the grapevine nursery sector, with an annual production of over 80 million grafted vine cuttings and a strong presence in more than 30 countries worldwide. The subsequent sections outline the project and its main contributions. These projects will continue in 2025 while the construction of Elettra 2.0 takes place. Industrial activities involving internal offline laboratories and FERMI will proceed, and industrial collaborations requiring the use of the synchrotron will be supported by Elettra staff through access to other facilities Advancing Vineyard Cultivation through Imaging Technologies Elettra’s synchrotron radiation techniques and laboratories have played an increasingly important role in the agricultural sector by offering powerful, non-destructive tools to investigate the structure, composition, and function of biological materials at micro- and nanoscale resolution. These techniques provide critical data that drive innovation in crop production, sustainable farming, and food quality enhancement. The highly intense and tunable X-rays produced by synchrotron sources allows Elettra researchers to analyze plant tissues, soils, seeds, and agricultural products with exceptional precision. For example, synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence (XRF) can map the distribution of essential nutrients like iron, zinc, and phosphorus in plant tissues, offering insights into nutrient uptake and deficiencies. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) is used to study the chemical state of elements in soils and fertilizers, improving our understanding of nutrient bioavailability and environmental impacts. MicroCT (Computed Tomography) imaging provides 3D visualization of root systems and soil structures, supporting research on water and nutrient transport. These advanced techniques are also invaluable in plant breeding, helping identify traits related to stress resistance or yield improvement by analyzing tissue structure and mineral distribution. Since the late 1990s, imaging techniques have been employed to study plant growth under varying environmental conditions, tracking nutrient uptake, water distribution, and cellular changes in roots and shoots. They have been used to study grapevine showing how each variety use different sugars to repair water transport after drought, thereby revealing distinct strategies to survive dry conditions. Investigations of vessel dimensions and intervessel connections in grapevines have offered insights into vine physiology and resilience. In 2024, Elettra initiated the collaboration with the Italian company Vivai Cooperativi Rauscedo (VCR).. The company has always distinguished itself through a strong commitment to research and innovation, which led to the creation of the VCR Research Center, the first private research center dedicated to viticulture. This center has long been recognized both nationally and internationally as a key reference point in the field, providing grape growers with innovative and effective solutions tailored to the real needs of the grape and wine production sector. Elettra has supported these research efforts, collaborating on R&D projects focused on understanding the anatomy and three-dimensional organization of internal plant structures. This partnership has enabled the characterization of phloem development and xylem vessel connectivity, with the aim of identifying related morphological criteria and defining new automated methodologies for selecting highquality grafted vines. This represents a significant step forward in improving vine performance and ensuring the long-term sustainability of vineyard nurseries.
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