Environmental Microbiology and Biotechnology Research Group

Group leader: Dr. Mónika Molnár

The Research & Development profile of the Environmental Microbiology and Biotechnology Research Group at the Faculty of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology, Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME VBK), covers a wide range of topics from soil and groundwater remediation through waste utilisation and environmental toxicology to microbial communication.

For more than 30 years, the group has been working on the remediation of sites contaminated with organic pollutants and/or metals resulting from industrial and mining activities, offering innovative and environmentally friendly technological solutions to mitigate environmental and health risks through upscaled technology development. To support technology monitoring and risk assessment, the group develops problem-specific integrated monitoring toolboxes, with a strong emphasis on microbiological and environmental toxicological methods that enable the characterization of the actual risks posed by pollutants.

The group’s recent research focuses on the following areas: a) development and application of sensitive environmental toxicology test systems, b) investigation of the ecotoxicological and microbiological effects of nanomaterials, c) soil improvement coupled with waste valorisation, d) bioleaching of critical raw materials from red mud, in addition e) investigation and modulation of microbial communication.

In education, the group contributes to the BME Bioengineering and Environmental Engineering programs primarily through teaching courses such as Microbiology, Environmental Risk Management, Soil Protection, Environmental Microbiology and Remediation, Environmental Microbiology and Biotechnology, Environmental Toxicology, Sustainable Environment, Toxicology and Ecotoxicology, as well as through supervising individual projects, BSc and MSc theses, and PhD dissertations.

The research group has established the dynamically developing KÖRINFO Environmental Knowledge Base and Decision Support System (https://enfo.hu/), which aims to make information on the environment, environmental protection, and environmentally conscious thinking widely accessible.

The group’s competencies are closely aligned with the sustainable development goals of European Research and Innovation Programs (e.g., H2020, HORIZON, EJP).

• Ecotoxicity assessment of the chemical substances and environmental matrices; development and application of sensitive environmental toxicology methods for the assessment and characterization of the effects of micropollutants.
• Ecotoxicology and environmental risk assessment of nanomaterials; effect assessment using a multimarker approach at molecular, physiological, behavioural and community levels through the application of environmental toxicology tests.
• Innovative bioremediation of soils contaminated with recalcitrant hydrocarbons; development and application of microcosm systems to support technology development, combined with comprehensive monitoring strategies.
• Soil amelioration with biochar and composite products produced from organic waste for the effective improvement of degraded soils with unfavourable properties; supporting site-specific soil agroecosystem functions and climate change mitigation.
• Investigation and modulation of microbial communication (quorum sensing); development of methods to influence microbial cooperation with particular emphasis on inhibiting biofilm formation, a key virulence factor of opportunistic pathogenic microorganisms.
• Bioleaching of valuable elements from red mud through the development of biotechnology-based red mud processing technologies; investigation of the microbial composition of red mud and isolation of microbial strains with potential biotechnological applications

 

Márton, R., Hermann, H., Kiss, V. T., Fenyvesi, É., Szente, L., & Molnár, M. (2025). Cyclodextrins in action: Modulating Candida albicans Biofilm Formation and Morphology. Biotechnology Reports (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 47, e00912. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.btre.2025.e00912

Fekete-Kertész, I., Berkl, Z., Buda, K., Fenyvesi, É., Szente, L., & Molnár, M. (2024). Quorum quenching Effect of Cyclodextrins on the Pyocyanin and Pyoverdine Production of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 108(1), 271. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-024-13104-7

Feigl, V., Medgyes-Horváth, A., Kari, A., Török, Á., Bombolya, N., Berkl, Z., Farkas, É., & Fekete-Kertész, I. (2023). The potential of Hungarian Bauxite Residue Isolates for Biotechnological Applications. Biotechnology Reports (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 41, e00825. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.btre.2023.e00825

Németh, I., László, K., Bulátkó, A., Vaszita, E., & Molnár, M. (2023). Ecotoxicity Assessment of Graphene Oxides Using Test Organisms from Three Hierarchical Trophic Levels to Evaluate Their Potential Environmental Risk. Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland), 13(21), 2858. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13212858

Molnár, M., Fenyvesi, E., Berkl, Zs., Németh, I., Fekete-Kertész , I., Márton, R., Vaszita, E., Varga., E., Ujj, D., Szente, L. (2021) Cyclodextrin-mediated Quorum Quenching in the Aliivibrio fischeri Bioluminescence Model System – Modulation of Bacterial Communication, International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 594, 120150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpharm.2020.120150

Farkas, É., Feigl, V., Gruiz, K., Vaszita, E., Fekete-Kertész, I., Tolner, M., Kerekes, I., Pusztai, É., Kari, A., Uzinger, N., Rékási, M., Kirchkeszner, C., & Molnár, M. (2020). Long-term Effects of Grain Husk and Paper Fibre Sludge Biochar on Acidic and Calcareous Sandy Soils - A Scale-up Field Experiment Applying a Complex Monitoring Toolkit. The Science of the Total Environment, 731, 138988. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138988

Fekete-Kertész, I., László, K., Terebesi, C., Gyarmati, B. S., Farah, S., Márton, R., & Molnár, M. (2020). Ecotoxicity Assessment of Graphene Oxide by Daphnia magna through a Multimarker Approach from the Molecular to the Physiological Level including Behavioral Changes. Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland), 10(10), 2048. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10102048

Feigl, V., Ujaczki, É., Vaszita, E., & Molnár, M. (2017). Influence of Red Mud on Soil Microbial Communities: Application and Comprehensive Evaluation of the Biolog EcoPlate Approach as a Tool in Soil Microbiological Studies. The Science of the Total Environment, 595, 903–911. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.03.266

Gruiz, K., Fekete-Kertész, I., Kunglné-Nagy, Z., Hajdu, C., Feigl, V., Vaszita, E., & Molnár, M. (2016). Direct Toxicity Assessment - Methods, Evaluation, Interpretation. The Science of the Total Environment, 563–564, 803–812. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.01.007

Nagy, Z. M., Molnár, M., Fekete-Kertész, I., Molnár-Perl, I., Fenyvesi, É., & Gruiz, K. (2014). Removal of Emerging Micropollutants from Water Using Cyclodextrin. The Science of the Total Environment, 485–486, 711–719. Https://Doi.Org/10.1016/J.Scitotenv.2014.04.003

National cooperations:

Agrofutura Hungary Ltd. – Túrkeve, Hungary

Albitech Ltd. Laboratory – Budapest, Hungary

BIOFIL Microbiological, Genetechnological, and Biochemical Ltd.– Budapest, Hungary

University of Debrecen Institutes for Agricultural Research and Educational Farm – Nyíregyháza, Hungary

ELGOSCAR Environmental Technology Ltd. – Budapest, Hungary

HUN-REN Centre for Agricultural Research Institute for Soil Sciences – Budapest, Hungary

PYROWATT Ltd. – Kiskunmajsa, Hungary

WSP Global Engineering and Professional Services Firm  – Budapest, Hungary

 

International cooperations:

Agroscope Eidgenössisches Departement für Wirtschaft  – Zürich, Switzerland

University of Brescia  –  Brescia, Italy

École Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Rennes – Rennes, France

Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek – Osijek, Croatia

Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research – Ås, Norway

University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, School of Life Sciences – Zürich, Switzerland

University of Duisburg-Essen – Essen, Germany