Evaluation of microbial communities involved in the composting process of olive mill waste by traditional and molecular approaches

Composting of Olive Mill Waste (OMW) may represent an easy and convenient solution to the disposal of such biowaste. We investigated the microbial community dynamics during OMW composting to better understand the role of microorganisms during this process. Physicochemical analyses indicated that a strong microbial activity, particularly during the thermophilic phase, led to the biotransformation of OMW into an high-quality compost. Culture-dependent and cultureindependent microbiological analyses showed strong modifications of both the size and the diversity of the bacterial community that were clearly related to the different phases of OMW composting. Taken together these results suggest the rapid succession of specialized bacterial populations with key roles in the organic matter transformation process.