Maria Cristina GaglianoWetsus · Department of Microbiology
Maria Cristina Gagliano
PhD in Environmental Science
Scientific project manager and Theme Coordinator
About
45
Publications
17,640
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Introduction
Maria Cristina Gagliano currently works at Wetsus, european centre of excellence for sustainable water technology.
Her research focus on many aspects of Water Treatment and Environmental Micriobiology, with particular attention on Anaerobic Microbiology, EPS production and Biofilm growth. Main methods involve fluorescence and confocal microscopy investigations to explore the function of complex microbial communities in several lab-scale setup.
At Wetsus, she is also Theme Coordinator for the topic Biofilms, making connections between water companies and universities to build-up effective solutions for problems related to the the drinking water distribution networks.
Additional affiliations
October 2009 - June 2014
Publications
Publications (45)
Recently, methanogenic archaea belonging to the genus Methanothrix were reported to have a fundamental role in maintaining stable ecosystem functioning in anaerobic bioreactors under different configurations/conditions. In this study, we reconstructed three Methanothrix metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) from granular sludge collected from saline...
Anaerobic granulation at elevated salinities has been discussed in several analytical and engineering based studies. They report either enhanced or decreased efficiencies in relation to different Na+ levels. To evaluate this discrepancy, we focused on the microbial and structural dynamics of granules formed in two upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (U...
Presence of biofilms in drinking water distribution systems (DWDS) can be a nuisance, leading to several operational and maintenance issues (i.e., increased secondary disinfectants demand, pipe damage or increased flow resistance), and so far, no single control practice was found to be sufficiently effective. Here, we propose poly (sulfobetaine met...
Reverse electrodialysis (RED) is a process to harvest renewable energy from the salinity gradient obtained by the controlled mixing of river and seawater. When using natural waters, (bio)fouling is an inevitable process which has a negative impact on the obtained power density. Specific characteristics of RED do not allow the direct transfer of kno...
This paper aims to elucidate the role of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in regulating anion and cation concentrations and toxicity towards microorganisms in anaerobic granular sludges adapted to low (0.22 M of Na⁺) and high salinity (0.87 M of Na⁺). The ion exchange properties of EPS were studied with a novel approach, where EPS were enta...
Reverse electrodialysis (RED) is a promising technology to harvest salinity gradient power (SGP) that is available where fresh and sea water mix, using anion (AEM) and cation exchange membranes (CEM) in a stack. Fouling of the membranes is one of the main challenges for RED, since it leads to a reduction in attainable net power output. In this stud...
Dissolved air flotation (DAF) waste, a byproduct with high lipid content separated from dairy wastewater, is disposed of by land spreading and causing environmental pollution. To develop a sustainable treatment for DAF waste, this study investigated the effects of food to inoculum (F/I) ratio and ultrasound pre-treatment on the anaerobic digestion...
Biological oxygen-dosed activated carbon (BODAC) filters in an Ultrapure water plant were demonstrated to have the potential to further treat secondary wastewater treatment effluent. The BODAC filters were operated for 11 years without carbon regeneration or replacement, while still functioning as pre-treatment step to reverse osmosis (RO) membrane...
Facilitating the anaerobic degradation of long chain fatty acids (LCFA) is the key to unlock the energy potential of lipids-rich wastewater. In this study, the feasibility of psychrophilic anaerobic treatment of LCFA-containing dairy wastewater was assessed and compared to mesophilic anaerobic treatment. The results showed that psychrophilic treatm...
Biofilm formation and detachment in drinking water distribution systems (DWDS) can lead to several operational issues. Here, an alternative biofilm control strategy of limiting bacterial adhesion by application of a poly(N-isopropylmethacrylamide)-based nanogel coating on DWDS pipe walls was investigated. The nanogel coatings were successfully depo...
Reverse Electrodialysis (RED) has shown to be a promising technology for electricity production but membrane fouling can influence the energy yield, thus, it is crucial to gain knowledge on the impact and prevention of fouling. We used a sequence of pre-treatments (dual-media filter, microfilter and activated carbon filter) to fractionate foulants...
Soluble Extracellular Polymeric Substances (sEPS) are a mixture of microbial soluble polymers produced during aerobic or anaerobic treatment of wastewater. Gel layers mainly consisting of sEPS are usually present in the fouling layers of membrane bioreactors (MBRs) and in the dynamic membranes (DMs) of dynamic membrane bioreactors (DMBRs), and thei...
In the recent years anaerobic sludge granulation at elevated salinities in upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors has been investigated in few engineering based studies, never addressing the microbial community structural role in driving aggregation and keeping granules stability. In this study, the combination of different techniques was...
The potential effect of different Ca2+ additions (150, 300, 450, 600 and 1000 mg/L) on microbial activity and aggregation, during anaerobic digestion at moderate (8 g/L Na+) and high salinity (20 g/L Na+) has been investigated. Batch tests were carried out in duplicate serum bottles and operated for 30 days at 37 °C. At 8 g/L Na+, methanogenic acti...
Microbial extracellular polymeric substances (EPS)were produced in two membrane bioreactors, each separately treating fresh and saline synthetic wastewater (consisting of glycerol and ethanol), with the purpose of applying them as sustainable bioflocculants. The reactors were operated under nitrogen-rich (COD/N ratios of 5 and 20)and limited (COD/N...
Increasing amounts of saline (waste)water with high concentrations of organic pollutants are generated globally. In the anaerobic (waste)water treatment domain, high salt concentrations are repeatedly reported to inhibit methanogenic activity and strategies to overcome this toxicity are needed. Current research focuses on the use of potential osmol...
A system using a two-phase anaerobic configuration (mesophilic/thermophilic) was tested by feeding waste activated sludge (WAS). The first acidogenic stage presented a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 3 days, while the second methanogenic stage had an HRT of 10 days. Both raw and ultrasonically pretreated WAS samples were utilized for the experime...
It is commonly accepted that high salt concentrations negatively affect microbial activity in biological wastewater treatment reactors such as upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors. Microbial aggregation in such reactors is equally important. It is well documented that anaerobic granules, when exposed to high salinity become weak and disi...
For the anaerobic biological treatment of saline wastewater, Anaerobic Digestion (AD) is currently a possibility, even though elevated salt concentrations can be a major obstacle. Anaerobic consortia and especially methanogenic archaea are very sensitive to fluctuations in salinity. When working with Upflow Sludge Blanket Reactor (UASB) technology,...
A system using an original two-phase anaerobic configuration (mesophilic/thermophilic) was implemented to study the effects of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) accumulation under thermophilic conditions; the system was fed with waste activated sludge (WAS), raw and ultrasonically pre-treated. The first acidogenic stage presented a hydraulic retention ti...
Methanogenic biomass plays a key role with regards methane production during anaerobic bioconversion of organic substrates. In this study, the effect of two different acclimated inocula on digestion performances was investigated by means of anaerobic batch tests on untreated and sonicated waste activated sludge. Organics solubilisation and removal...
This work aimed to isolate and characterize organisms able to store polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), from a mixed microbial culture (MMC) selected under feast and famine conditions, using hardwood sulfite spent liquor (HSSL), a by-product of the pulp and paper industry, as the carbon source. The MMC was able to accumulate PHA from the different HSSL c...
Novel processing routes for effective sewage sludge management -
Enhanced stabilization processes
Thermal hydrolysis pretreatment coupled with Thermophilic Anaerobic Digestion (TAD) for Waste Activated Sludge (WAS) treatment is a promising combination to improve biodegradation kinetics during stabilization. However, to date there is a limited knowledge of the anaerobic biomass composition and its impact on TAD process performances. In this stud...
Thermophilic bacteria have been isolated from several terrestrial, marine and industrial environments. Anaerobic digesters treating organic wastes are often an important source of these microorganisms, which catalyze a wide array of metabolic processes. Moreover, organic wastes are primarily composed of proteins, whose degradation is often incomple...
Thermophilic bacteria have recently attracted greater attention because of their potential application in improving different biochemical processes like anaerobic digestion of various substrates, wastewater treatment or hydrogen production. In this study we report on the design of a specific 16S rRNA-targeted oligonucleotide probe for detecting mem...
Anaerobic digestion (AD) is one of the few sustainable technologies that both produce energy and treat waste streams. Driven by a complex and diverse community of microbes, AD may be affected by different factors, many of which also influence the composition and activity of the microbial community. In this study, the biodiversity of microbial popul...
The requirement for enhanced stabilization processes to obtain a more stable, pathogen-free sludge for agricultural use is an increasing challenge to comply with in the waste hierarchy. With this in mind, the Routes European project ('Novel processing routes for effective sewage sludge management') is addressed to assess innovative solutions with t...
Ultrasounds pretreatment aims to convert waste activated sludge, characterized by recalcitrant particulate organics, into a soluble, more biodegradable form, maximizing anaerobic stabilization and biogas recovery. Objective of this work was the assessment of the efficiency of high frequency ultrasounds, as 200 kHz, to improve sludge anaerobic diges...
In this work the potential of high frequency ultrasounds as pretreatment for sludge anaerobic digestion has been assessed. Irradiation with 200kHz ultrasounds was efficient in disintegrating the floc structure increasing the available fraction of soluble organic matter (up to seven times at 25,000kJ/kgTS). Batch anaerobic digestion tests were carri...
Questions
Question (1)
Hello everyone,
I had multiple PCR products after doing the colony PCR on white colonies (primers SP6-T7, annealing temp 55 degrees) which are supposed to contain only one insert. I cloned a bacterial 16S (about 1500 bp), into a Promega pGEM vector (about 3000 bp). The previous analysis about the 16S cloned insert (gel visualization, purification, concentration measurement) were ok. The cloning procedure was ok (as usual).
As you can see in the photo, in lane 4, 5 and 8, besides the 1500 bp insert there is a smaller one at 1000 bp and a bigger insert above 3000 bp.In lane 8 the bigger inserts were three... (The marker is Generuler 1 kb)
I have some ideas about the reason but I'm curious to know your experience about this.
Thank you for your replies
Cristina
