Michele Bellucci

Michele Bellucci serves as a Senior Researcher at the Institute of Biosciences and BioResources (IBBR), part of Italy's National Research Council (CNR), based at the Perugia branch. His research spans plant biotechnology with particular expertise in plastid engineering, molecular farming, and plant secretory pathways.

Dr. Bellucci earned his degree (1992) and PhD (2003) from the University of Perugia. His career at CNR began with fellowships at the Istituto di Ricerche sul Miglioramento Genetico delle Piante Foraggere (1995-1999), followed by positions as Technician (1999-2006), Researcher (2006-2020), and Senior Researcher (2020-present) at the Institute of Plant Genetics, which became IBBR in 2013.

His primary research focuses on plastid biotechnology, where he has developed protocols for tobacco plastid transformation to accumulate recombinant proteins in chloroplasts, later extending this to sugar beet. He investigates non-food crops through molecular farming, expressing human enzymes and protein bioplastics in plants. His work on hop (Humulus lupulus L.) genetics examines genetic diversity in wild Central Italian populations. A significant portion of his research explores secretory protein traffic to the endoplasmic reticulum or vacuole, where he demonstrated the existence of protein quality control pathways in the ER for degradation directed to plant vacuoles.

Dr. Bellucci's publication record demonstrates expertise across multiple disciplines including CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing in polyploid crops like alfalfa, hybridization barriers in cleistogamous legumes such as Vicia ervilia, and the molecular mechanisms of apomixis in Paspalum species. His recent work (2021-2024) shows particular strength in protein biopolymer development, plant-based expression systems, and the intersection of plant developmental biology with agricultural applications.

He maintains extensive collaborations with the University of Perugia and other Italian research institutions, contributing to both fundamental plant science and practical agricultural biotechnology applications. His work bridges basic research on plant cellular processes with potential applications in sustainable biomaterial production and crop improvement.