Marcus Vinicius da Silva Rodrigues

Contact

Marcus Vinicius da Silva Rodrigues
PhD student

Working Group Microbial Data Science

Department of Computational Biology and Chemistry
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ
Permoserstr. 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany

Phone +55 11 989674370
marcusr@alunos.utfpr.edu.br

Scientific Career

01/2025 present

PhD student - Bioinformatics at Federal Technological University of Parana - UFPR - Cornélio Procópio, Parana, Brazil

02/2023 12/2024

MSc Degree - Bioinformatics at Federal Technological University of Parana, Cornélio Procópio, Parana, Brazil

03/2018 03/2023

BSc Degree - BSc Degree in Biological Sciences at State University of Northern Parana, Bandeirantes, Parana, Brazil

Research interests

Since my undergraduate studies in Biological Sciences, when I first explored the intersection between genetics and data analysis, I have been passionate about using science and technology to address environmental and agricultural challenges. During my Master’s in Bioinformatics, I focused on genome assembly, gene mining, and experimental validation of plant growth-promoting microorganisms, integrating in silico predictions with laboratory assays. In 2025, I decided to expand my work by applying computational tools, including machine learning and large-scale ecological datasets, to understand microbial diversity and develop biotechnological solutions for sustainable agriculture.

My current research focuses on the development and application of machine learning methods to encode and analyze fungal communities at a global scale using ITS (ITS1 and ITS2) sequencing data from the GlobalFungi database. The approach combines ensemble learning with latent-space representations to model relationships between fungal composition and relative abundance and local environmental variables, such as pH, temperature, precipitation, and soil type. The goal is to generate scalable, low-cost predictive models for environmental monitoring, with applications in conservation, agricultural management, and climate change adaptation.

Publications

Teixeira, G. M., Cordeiro Montanari, G. C., Nicoletto, M. L. A., da Silva, D. V., Noriler, S. A., de Oliveira, J. P., da Silva Rodrigues, M. V., Sipoli Sanches, D., de Pádua Pereira, U., Nunes da Rocha, U., & Oliveira, A. G. (2024). Draft genome of Bacillus velezensis CMRP6330, a suitable biocontrol agent for disease management in crops. Microbiology Resource Announcements, 13(1), e00657-24.
Domingues, A. L., Rodrigues, M. V. S., Gobatto, V. H. N., Israel, M. E., Bevilacqua, A. S., Gonçalves, D. S. M., Sartori, P. V. V., Breunig, K. P., Vicentin, J. M. C., Kubo, F. S., & Mello Peixoto, E. C. T. (2023). Implantação de hortas comunitárias agroecológicas como contribuição estratégica aos Objetivos de Desenvolvimento Sustentável - ODS. Peer Review, 5, 335-347.