The UniBiome project: microbiome-inspired approaches for a sustainable urban regeneration of Universities

Urban environments have progressively become our new natural habitats. The transformative impact of modernization has triggered ecological shifts affecting organisms from the micro to the macro scale. While the past few decades showed human advancements in nutrition and sanitation, we've also witnessed a surge in non-communicable diseases. These are the health-related consequences of a staggering loss of biodiversity. The evolutionary mismatch between our slow-adapting immunity and the sudden vanishing of microbial species resulted indeed in unpredicted diseases of civilization. The clarion call for biodiversity restoration resonates with urgency, yet there is little consensus on actions to safeguard microbial diversity. Filling this void with evidence-based directives, we present the UniBiome Project, a collaborative endeavor between scientists and students, intended to characterize the salubrity of two Italian universities – the University Milano-Bicocca and Politecnico di Milano - from a microbial perspective. Woven into the broader fabric of the MUSA initiative (Multilayered Urban Sustainability Action funded by the European Union NextGenerationEU under the NRRP) that is paving the way for Milan's transformation towards sustainability, the project kicked off in May 2023. More than 160 volunteer students contributed with skin and gut microbiome samples and we collected 520 environmental samples. Samples will be characterized with amplicon-based sequencing and bioinformatics analysis will be performed. We're poised to replicate this extensive sampling in the forthcoming autumn, encompassing the same participants and locations. The results will chart the intricate interplay between human and environmental microbiomes, and elucidate the differences in microbial signatures across diverse urban areas. This comprehensive mapping will inspire science-based and microbiome-oriented interventions that can harmonize urban renovation with human and environmental health.