Prof. Mario A. Pagnotta is associate professor of Agricultural genetics at University of Tuscia. Graduated in Agricultural Sciences at the University of Perugia in 1984, he got his Ph.D. in Genetic-Ecology at Reading University (UK) in 1991.

His activities included project management, student supervising, lecture and participation in several national and international projects. The research activity focuses mainly on the assessment of the genetic variability in natural populations, landraces and the characterization of plant germplasm of several species, and the relationship between genetic variation and edaphic factors, as well as on topics related with the biodiversity conservation, adaptation and the variety identification. The analyses are conducted using traditional and advanced methodologies, based on different kinds of molecular markers. Particular attention is paid to the resistance to abiotic stress, especially drought stress, looking also at the distribution and identification of SNP markers for genes related to drought and salt tolerance.