eLTER H2020 Project, Grant/Award Number: 654359; Italian Ministry of University and Research, Grant/Award Numbers: CNR DBA.AD003.139, CNR DTA.AD003.474; National Research Council of Italy, Department of Biology, Agriculture, and Food Secures, Grant/Award Number: 71951

The effects of short‐term extreme events on tree functioning and physiology are still rather elusive. European beech is one of the most sensitive species to late frost and water shortage. We investigated the intra‐annual C dynamics in stems under such conditions. Wood formation and stem CO₂ efflux were monitored in a Mediterranean beech forest for 3 years (2015–2017), including a late frost (2016) and a summer drought (2017). The late frost reduced radial growth and, consequently, the amount of carbon fixed in the stem biomass by 80%.

 Journals BMC Genomics  volume 21, Article number: 317 (2020)

The investigation of transcriptome profiles using short reads in non-model organisms, which lack of well-annotated genomes, is limited by partial gene reconstruction and isoform detection. In contrast, long-reads sequencing techniques revealed their potential to generate complete transcript assemblies even when a reference genome is lacking. Cynara cardunculus var. altilis (DC) (cultivated cardoon) is a perennial hardy crop adapted to dry environments with many industrial and nutraceutical applications due to the richness of secondary metabolites mostly produced in flower heads.