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H2020Individual fellowship2019–2023

ENVIROSTOME · Exploring the contribution of bacteriophages to the emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance in environmental settings

Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Duration
2019-04-01 → 2023-01-21
EU contribution
€170,122
Participants
1
Scheme
MSCA-IF

Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.

Results in brief

Exploring the contribution of bacteriophages to the emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance in environmental settings

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global health crisis and is acknowledged by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the silent pandemic. AMR has been widely studied in clinical settings, but its transmission from the environment to clinical settings is not well-understood. Therefore, the ENVIROSTOME project was set to understand further the role of bacteriophages (phages) in this spread, and to advise on actions to mitigate AMR spread by phage in the water sector. Water pollution by antimicrobials, industrial and domestic wastewater discharges, agricultural runoff, and animal feeding operations may provide the ideal conditions for the horizontal exchange of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) into antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB). Previously, our research group in ICRA documented that environmental phages contain a large diversity of ARGs and can transmit this resistance between bacteria (Figure 1). ENVIROSTOME’s aims were to: - determine the contribution of phages to the horizontal transfer of ARGs in water, - explore strategies to mitigate this problem, particularly using disinfection. Also, an intersectoral collaboration with the water sector in Europe, allowed the project to: - deliver actionable insights on the status of applicable technologies to treat phage/ARG contamination by WWTPs, and - provide advice and advance policy and regulations of AMR in the water sector.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

Antibiotic resistance has become a global public health concern. Although this phenomenon has been widely studied in clinical settings, its impact has not been extensively explored in environmental settings. The environment is continually exposed to a wide variety of antimicrobials and their metabolites through wastewater treatment plant discharges, agricultural runoff, and animal feeding operations which may contribute to the emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance. Moreover, the large-scale mixing of environmental bacteria with exogenous bacteria from anthropogenic sources provides the ideal selective and ecological conditions for the emergence of resistant bacteria. As a consequence, aquatic environments may provide ideal settings for the horizontal exchange of antibiotic resistance genes. Our working hypothesis is that bacteriophages (phages) play an important (and overlooked) role in the acquisition, maintenance and spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in environmental settings, particularly under anthropogenic disturbances. The specific aims of the ENVIROSTOME project are (i) to determine the contribution of phages to the horizontal transfer of ARGs in aquatic environments, and (ii) to investigate the impact of conventional and novel disinfection approaches in wastewater treatment on the prevalence of ARG-carrying phages in aquatic environments. Dr. Balcazár’s group have demonstrated that environmental phages contain a large diversity of ARGs, which warrants further research to clarify their contribution to the emergence of antibiotic resistance among environmental bacteria, as well as to investigate their control through disinfection. The results of this research are expected to deliver critical insights for tackling the global crisis of antibiotic resistance. The project is also supported by an intersectoral secondment with the world-class water intelligence company BlueTech Research and by its founder and CEO, Paul O'Callaghan.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

  • FUNDACIO INSTITUT CATALA DE RECERCA DE L'AIGUA · GironaCoordinatorSpain

Links

Data: CORDIS, © European Union