XXXVI CICLO | Garbini Gian Luigi

I am an ecobiologist specializing in the field of environmental pollution, currently engaged in a circular economy project. My research concern on the application of bioinformatics techniques, particularly metabarcoding, to analyze microbial communities. This work is integral to understanding and mitigating the impact of human stressors on ecosystems. As part of my involvement in circular economy initiatives, I am involved to identifying sustainable solutions to alleviate environmental degradation. The utilization of bioinformatics tools allows me to study the genetic diversity within microbial communities, unveil their potential roles in pollutant degradation and ecosystem resilience. Through rigorous analysis and a multidisciplinary approach, I aspire to contribute substantively to the understanding and resolution of environmental challenges.

The Circular Economy has the ambition to create a sustainable, low-carbon, resource-efficient, economy and microorganisms have a key role in it. In this PhD were evaluated the effects of two types of organic amendments on soil microbial communities and unveiling the role of microbial communities through two main experimentation. A first work has analysed the effect of addiction of cattle manure digestate and the sulfamethoxazole (SMX) antibiotic on a soil microbial communities, in terms of structure and functions. A second work has analysed if a municipal compost can increase the performance (energy production) of soil microbial fuel cells (MFCs), a recent biotechnology for produce electricity exploiting electrogenic bacteria. Compost addiction, significantly increased MFC efficiency in terms of power generation and voltage thanks to stimulation of electrogenic. The advantage of using cattle manure digestate and urban compost is in their low cost because they are a by-product, in line with circular economy.

• Garbini, G.L., Grenni, P., Rauseo, J. et al. Insights into structure and functioning of a soil microbial community amended with cattle manure digestate and sulfamethoxazole. J Soils Sediments 22, 2158–2173 (2022)

• Garbini, G. L., Caracciolo, A. B., Rolando, L., Visca, A., Borello, D., Cosentini, C., Gagliardi, G. G., Ieropoulos, I., & Grenni, P. (2023). Effects of municipal waste compost on microbial biodiversity and energy production in terrestrial microbial fuel cells. New Biotechnology, 78, 131–140.

• Garbini, G.L.; Barra Caracciolo, A.; Grenni, P. Electroactive Bacteria in Natural Ecosystems and Their Applications in Microbial Fuel Cells for Bioremediation: A Review. Microorganisms 2023, 11, 1255.