Group Leader,
Bacteriology
International Centre for Genetic Engineering
and Biotechnology
Padriciano 99
34149 Trieste, Italy
E-mail: [email protected]
Tel: +39-040-3757319/17
Professor, African Genome Center
University Mohammed VI Polytechnic (UM6P) Ben Guerir, Morocco
Facilities:
Strains4Plants
Education
University of Edinburgh, UK, BSc (Hons in Molecular Biology) in Biological Sciences, 1998
University of Utrecht, Netherlands, PhD, Department of Molecular Genetics, Thesis: “Gene regulation of siderophore-mediated iron assimilation in Pseudomonas putida”, 2014
Career History
Since July 2024, Professor, African Genome Center, University Mohammed VI Polytechnic (UM6P), Ben Guerir, Morocco
Since March 1997, Group Leader, Bacteriology Group of the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), Trieste, Italy
Nov 2019-June 2024, Scientific Coordinator, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB)
1995-1997, Postdoctoral fellow, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), Trieste, Italy
1990-1995, PhD Student, Department of Molecular Genetics, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
1989-1990, EU Fellow, International Centre for Cellular and Molecular Pathology, University of Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
Scientific Activity
Research focuses on fundamental aspects of cell–cell signaling in bacterial communities, particularly in plant-associated bacteria and plant microbiomes, with an application-oriented perspective aimed at sustainable agriculture.
Expertise includes bacterial genetics, microbial genomics, metabolomics, and plant–microbe interactions.
Research currently focuses exclusively on Africa, including the technology transfer of priority microbial inoculants and fostering collaboration between ICGEB and UM6P.
Professor Venturi is a molecular microbiologist with long-standing expertise in the genetics, genomics, and ecology of plant-associated bacteria. His research focuses on the fundamental mechanisms of cell-cell signaling in bacterial communities, with an application-oriented perspective toward sustainable agriculture, particularly in developing countries. He has led the Bacteriology Group at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) in Trieste since 1997 and served as Scientific Coordinator of ICGEB from 2019 to 2024.
Since 2024, he has been a Professor at the African Genome Center, University Mohammed VI Polytechnic (UM6P), Morocco, where his activities focus exclusively on Africa, including technology transfer of mature priority microbial inoculants for food and agriculture. He teaches microbiology to medical and pharmacy students and is committed to building strong scientific, training, and innovation bridges between UM6P and ICGEB. He has published over 190 peer-reviewed research articles, reflecting extensive collaborations with scientists from developing countries, and has supervised and hosted numerous PhD students, postdoctoral fellows, and short-term fellows from developing countries.
Teaching Activity
Teaching microbiology to medical and pharmacy students at UM6P.
Supervision and hosting of numerous PhD students, postdoctoral fellows, and short-term fellows, predominantly from developing countries.
Extensive international research collaborations, particularly with scientists from developing countries, as evidenced by co-authored peer-reviewed publications.
Editor of two international journals and active reviewer for journals and funding agencies.
Organizer of several international workshops and conferences
Selected publications
Author of over 190 peer-reviewed research articles: Google scholar citations
Mosquito, S. et al. In planta colonization and role of T6SS in two rice Kosakonia endophytes. Mol Plant Microbe Interact 33, 349-363 (2020).
Mosquito, S. et al. LuxR solos in the plant endophyte Kosakonia sp. strain KO348. Appl Environ Microbiol 86 (2020).
Musonerimana, S. et al. Pathobiomes revealed that Pseudomonas fuscovaginae and Sarocladium oryzae are independently associated with rice sheath rot. Microb Ecol 80, 627-642 (2020).
Bez, C., Covaceuszach, S., Bertani, I., Choudhary, K.S. & Venturi, V. LuxR solos from environmental fluorescent Pseudomonads. mSphere 6, e01322-01320 (2021).
Bez, C. et al. The rice foot rot pathogen Dickeya zeae alters the in-field plant microbiome. Environ Microbiol 23, 7671-7687 (2021).
Venturi, V. & Bez, C. A call to arms for cell-cell interactions between bacteria in the plant microbiome. Trends Plant Sci 26, 1126-1132 (2021).
Venturi, V. T4BSS-dependent biocontrol by plant-beneficial Pseudomonas. Nat Microbiol 7, 1508-1509 (2022).
Bez, C., Geller, A.M., Levy, A. & Venturi, V. Cell-cell signaling proteobacterial LuxR solos: a treasure trove of subgroups having different origins, ligands, and ecological roles. mSystems 8, e0103922 (2023).
Spacapan, M., Bez, C. & Venturi, V. Quorum sensing going wild. iScience 26, 108000 (2023).
Venturi, V. & Bez, C. Novel T4ASS effector with quorum quenching activity. ISME J 17, 1523-1525 (2023).
Khouri Chalouhi, D. et al. An in Planta Enrichment Route to Identify Bacterial Root Endophytes. Environ Microbiol Rep 17, e70136 (2025).
Kumar, C. et al. AHL quorum sensing regulates T6SS and volatiles production in rice root-colonizing Enterobacter asburiae AG129. FEMS Microbiol Ecol (2025).