The LIFE MySOIL project was recently showcased at the Green Deal in Biotechnology Congress, organized by the European Federation of Biotechnology and held in Aveiro, Portugal, from 26 to 28 May 2025.
Dr. Alessandro D’Annibale, Associate Professor at the University of Tuscia and one of the project’s partners, presented the Italian pilot case in a selected oral communication during Session 1: Innovative Solutions in Bioremediation.
His talk, titled “Scaling up mycoremediation: a full-scale pilot study on hydrocarbon-contaminated soil”, opened the session and received significant attention from an international audience of researchers and professionals in environmental biotechnology.
The presentation focused on the full-scale application of mycoremediation in Italy. The pilot relied on the use of spent mushroom substrates (SMS) from Pleurotus ostreatus and Agaricus bisporus as soil amendments and fungal inoculants for the bioremediation of hydrocarbon-contaminated soils. This strategy exemplifies circular economy principles by valorizing an agri-food by-product while tackling soil pollution.
Key results from the Italian case study included:
- A measurable early-phase acceleration in hydrocarbon degradation (C12-C40) in the treated soil (mycopile) compared to the control.
- Observations on the low persistence of the introduced fungal species, likely due to competitive interactions with native soil fungi.
- Insights into microbial dynamics and community diversity, including metagenomic analysis and differential abundance of hydrocarbonoclastic bacteria like Flavobacterium and Rhodanobacter.
You can download the full presentation here:
The talk highlighted how the project contributes to validating mycoremediation at field scale and supports the drafting of European guidelines for this green remediation approach, one of LIFE MySOIL’s main objectives.
The meeting brought together scientists and professionals from academia and various sectors of industry sharing the common interest in resource recovery and environmental biotechnology for development of new technologies supporting bioeconomy.
