The University of Catania (UNICT for its acronym in Italian) is a public institution founded in 1434, made up of 17 Departments, 34 research centres and a school of excellence and has about 40,000 students. The university offers 101 study courses and a postgraduate academic programme including 18 PhD courses and over 30 first and second level masters.
Within UNICT, the Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences (DSBGA for its acronym in Italian), was established in January 2011 following the merger of different structures, and now includes three sections: Earth Sciences, Plant Biology and Animal Biology with over 50 researchers engaged in teaching, scientific research and environmental education activities, together with administrative staff and technicians.
The Plant Biology section of the DSBGA has a solid scientific background in the fields of systematic botany, ecology, plant diversity and its conservation, management and environmental education. It has several laboratories, an Herbarium (CAT), a Botanical Garden and a Germplasm Bank (BGS-CT for its acronym in Italian). The department affirms its scientific role at both national and international levels, participating in multiple actions related to the conservation of native species and environmental restoration, also supporting the identification of new Natura 2000 network sites in Sicily, with targeted scientific research.
It has a solid international reputation, demonstrating high technical and managerial competence in many EU-funded research projects both as coordinator and as partner: GENMEDOC – The Mediterranean seed bank network – (INTERREG IIIB); SEMCLIMED Impact of climate change on Mediterranean plants (INTERREG IIIB); ECONET COHAST (INTERREG IIIB); SIMBIOTIC Improving cross-border island connectivity BIOgeographic Sicily-Malta (PO Italy-Malta 2007-2013) SO.PRO.ME (PON Research & Competitiveness 2007-2013); CAREMEDIFLORA Conservation actions for threatened Mediterranean island flora: joint actions ex situ and in situ and now SIMASEED (INTERREG V-A Italy-Malta 2014-2020).
The Germplasm Bank, active since 2004, is part of the RIBES network (Italian Network of Germplasm Banks; https://www.reteribes.it/), of the GENMEDA network (Network of Mediterranean Plant Conservation Centres; http://www.genmeda.net/en/) and the University Museum System (SiMuA; https://www.unict.it/it/terza-missione/collezioni/banca-del-germoplasma; http://www.dipbiogeo.unict.it/content/germplasm-bank). BGS-CT actively works for the conservation, safeguarding and enhancement of Sicily’s plant diversity and the Mediterranean area in general, through the ex situ conservation of germplasm of spontaneous species (seed bank and living collections) and its use for in situ interventions.
