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
2025
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
2024
89) Kooch Y., Heidari F., Gómez-Brandón M., Meurer, K.H.E., 2024. Restoration of soil multifunctional indicators requires more than thirty years in degraded shrubland of a semi-arid mountainous ecosystem. Journal of Environmental Management 371:123140.
88) Kurzemann F.R., Fernández-Delgado Juárez M., Probst M., Gómez-Brandón M., Spiegel H., Resch R., Insam H., Pötsch E.M., 2024. Biomass ash as a substitute for lime and its impact on grassland soil, forage, and soil microbiota. Agronomy 14:1568. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14071568
87) Kooch Y., Heidari F., Haghverdi K., Gómez-Brandón M., Kartalaei Z.M., 2024. The type of land cover and management affect differently soil functional indicators in a semi-arid ecosystem. Applied Soil Ecology 202:105553. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2024.105553
86) Quintela-Sabarís C., Fernández Dosouto, A., Gómez-Brandón M., Domínguez J., 2024. Can vermicomposting be used to process hyperaccumulator biomass in nickel agromining? Ecological Research 39:611-620. DOI: 10.1111/1440-1703.12479.
85) Gómez-Brandón M., Beesigamukama D., Probst M., Klammsteiner T., Zhou Y., Zhu Y.-G., Tanga, C., 2024. Garden fruit chafer (Pachnoda sinuata L.) accelerates recycling and bioremediation of animal waste. Waste Management 173:131-140.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2023.11.019
84) Muñiz-González A.B., Mendes L.A., Gómez-Brandón M., Quintela-Sabarís C., Rupani P., Domínguez J., 2024. Earthworms and microplastics: transport from sewage sludge to soil, antibiotic-resistance genes, and soil remediation. In: Huang K., Bhat S.A., Li F., Kumar V. (Eds). Earthworm technology in organic waste management. Elsevier, pp. 207-220.
83) Santini G., Probst M., Gómez-Brandón M., Manfredi C., Ceccherini M.T., Pietramellara G., Santorufo L., Maisto G., 2024. Microbiome dynamics of soils covered by plastic and bioplastic mulches. Biology and Fertility of Soils 60:183-198.https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-023-01781-x
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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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!
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September 2023: Happy to contribute to the G-Night ("Noite Galega das Persoas Investigadoras") with the activity "Diving into soil" promoted by Unidade de Cultura Científica at the University of Vigo. Here is the link:http://gnight.gal/expo-feira-cientifica-no-berbes/. We had a lot of fun!
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September 2023: Glad to participate in the initiative "Quero ser Investigadora" promoted by Unidade de Cultura Científica at the University of Vigo. Thanks for the invitation! Here is the link: http://ucc.webs.uvigo.es/quero-ser-investigadora-3/
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July 2023: Alejandro, Adrián and Xoaquín successfully defended their Bachelor theses. Congrats to all!
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July 2023: Susana successfully defended her Master thesis on waste valorisation with insect larvae. Well done!
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June 2023: New publication in Journal of Environmental Management together with Prof. Yahya Kooch from Tarbiat Modares University. Thanks for this nice collaboration!
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March 2023: New publication in Applied Soil Ecology dealing with fungal-bacterial interactions in urban allotment gardens. Thanks to all the co-authors!