MARÍA
Gómez Brandón
Associate Professor
RESEARCH OVERVIEW
My research interests lie in the field of microbial ecology, soil biodiversity and waste management. Simply put, I have been “engaged” to microorganisms since I began my scientific journey and studying them under different scenarios has always been my major focus of interest. Generally speaking, microorganisms play key roles in carbon and nutrient cycling, plant and animal health, and agriculture. Changes in their diversity and activities will have an influence on the resilience of all other organisms and hence on the ecosystem functioning. It is therefore crucial to broaden our knowledge about the microbial “unseen” majority because although invisible to the naked eye, they are vital components of our lives. I currently work on three main lines of research.
SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS
2026
96) Kooch Y., Tavakoli M., Heidari F., Gómez-Brandón M., 2026. Consequences of natural vegetation conversion to cropland in semiarid regions: evidence from soil multifunctionality indicators. Journal of Environmental Management 401, 128957.
2025
95) Marín C. et al., 2025. Open Letter: A global call to strengthen national soil biodiversity action through coordination and harmonization. Plants People Planet DOI: 10.1002/ppp3.70121
94) van Galen L. G. et al., 2025. A global database of soil microbial phospholipid fatty acids and enzyme activities. Scientific Data 12:1568.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-05759-2
93) Lopes I.G. Gómez-Brandón M., Praeg N., Claeys J., Yakti W., Bitterlich M., Jones J.J., Geilfus C.M., Klammsteiner T., 2025. Bugbook: Critical considerations for evaluating and applying frass, Journal of Insects as Food and Feed, https://dx.doi.org/10.1163/23524588-bja10254
92) Jiang S-Y, Shen K-W, Gómez-Brandón M, Lu S-B, Tomberlin JK, Tang X-T, Wang H, Xiang F-M, Chen X-X, Zhang Z-J., 2025. Using black soldier fly larval frass to restore soil health. Bioresource Technology 432, 132701.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2025.132701
91) Gómez-Brandón M., Beesigamukama D., Probst M., Klammsteiner T., Su J.-Q., Zhu Y.-G., Tanga C., 2025. Microbial composition and bioremediation in frass fertilizers from insect-based agri-food waste valorization. Journal of Environmental Management 386:125774. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.125774
90) Gómez-Brandón M., Aira M., Probst M., Liu N., Zhang Z., Zhu Y.-G., Domínguez J., 2025. Earthworms attenuate antibiotic resistance genes and mobile genetic elements during vermicomposting of sewage sludge. Journal of Environmental Management 384:125562.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.125562
JOINING THE TEAM
I am looking for motivated and engaged (under)graduate students that have a specific interest in microbial ecology or environmental research related to the fields on this website. I am also opened to discuss some other research questions within the field of soil ecology and waste management you may be interested in. Please do not hesitate to get in touch for further details!
TEAM AND COLLABORATORS
I strongly believe that establishing collaborations is an important value in science. It gives you the possibility to exchange ideas and face new challenges that will help you to grow as a scientist and as a person. Here it is my scientific collaboration network (always looking to add to it!):
NEWS
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February 2026: Another year celebrating the "International Day of Women and Girls in Science" in Carballo with LandraCiencia and at CEIP Pintor Laxeiro in Vigo. Happy to contribute to these initiatives!
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November 2025: Together with Lucía, we spent a great time teaching about soil biodiversity to students from primary school at CEIP Pintor Laxeiro in Vigo. Motivation begins at earlier ages. We´ll be back soon!
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October 2025: Glad to share the participation in an Open Letter to fight for and strengthen Soil Biodiversity action. Thanks to Cesar Marín and colleagues for this initiative!
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September 2025: Happy to share that our joint paper dealing with a global database of soil phospholipid fatty acids and enzyme actities is finally available in Scientific data. Massive effort from all the authors´ network, and especially from Laura G. Van Galen and Johan van den Hoogen.
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June 2025: Three new publications dealing with insect frass and its role as soil fertiliser! Thanks to all the contributors for their effort and hard work! These publications are aligned with the project CNS2023-145509 funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by the European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR.
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June 2025: Lucía Hervella successfully defended her Bachelor thesis dealing with the potential of Tenebrio molitor larvae for waste bioconversion. Well done Lucía!
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March 2025: Glad to celebrate the World Wildlife Day with a research activity about "Soil Biodiversity" in collaboration with the Unidad de Cultura Científica de la Uvigo. We visited a primary and secondary school to give an interactive seminar about the importance of biodiversity and soil health. We highlighted that soils are home to a diverse range of organisms, from microorganisms to invertebrates, providing essential ecosystem services for human-well being. This activity was also aligned with the project CNS2023-145509 funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by the European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR. Here is the link to the activity: https://www.uvigo.gal/universidade/comunicacion/duvi/ucci-convida-cidadania-identificar-fotografar-biodiversidade-flora-fauna-campus-vigo
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February 2025: Glad to contribute to "II Feira do Día da Muller e a Nena na Ciencia" in my hometown in Carballo (A Coruña, Galicia). We explained why insect larvae are promising waste converters and the potential of insect frass as soil amendment and fertiliser. This activity fell within the project CNS2023-145509 funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by the European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR. Here is the link to the activity: https://www.carballo.org/novas.php?id=9705&idioma=gl&sec=30
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July 2024: Two new publications in Agronomy and Applied Soil Ecology in collaboration with the University of Innsbruck and Tarbiat Modares University, respectively. Thanks to all the collaborators for their joint effort!
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February 2024: Glad to participate in "Día da Muller e a Nena na Ciencia" in my hometown. Thanks for the invitation! I had a great time. Here is the link: https://www.carballo.org/novas.php?id=9277&idioma=gl&sec=30.
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January 2024: New publication in Waste Management together with colleagues from the University of Innsbruck (Austria), Icipe research center (Kenia) and Institute of Urban Environment (Chinese Academy of Sciences). We showed the potential of insect larvae for organic waste biconversion with a special focus on microbiome and resistome changes. More to come very soon. Endless thanks for this joint effort!