Description du projet
Tirer parti de la puissance des virus bactériens pour combattre la résistance aux antimicrobiens
Les bactéries ont la capacité inhérente de transférer de l’ADN entre elles dans des communautés microbiennes. Il s’agit d’un mécanisme évolutif qui leur permet de s’adapter à de nouveaux environnements. Cependant, ce transfert horizontal implique également la propagation de gènes de résistance aux antimicrobiens (GRA), qui sont responsables de l’émergence de bactéries résistantes aux médicaments. Le projet Phage POWER, financé par l’UE, propose d’utiliser des virus qui infectent les bactéries – appelés bactériophages – pour stopper le transfert des GRA. Dans le cadre d’une approche pluridisciplinaire, les chercheurs isoleront et caractériseront les bactériophages et étudieront leur capacité à réduire le transfert horizontal de gènes entre les bactéries résistantes aux médicaments.
Objectif
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global public health concern that forebodes a dramatic scenario for the coming decades. This crisis is worsened by the ability of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria to spread their antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) between and within microbial communities by horizontal transfer, and especially by conjugation in wastewater environments. Therefore, these environments are hotspots and potential control points in the spread of clinically relevant ARGs. Viruses that attack plasmid-bearing bacteria via plasmid-encoded structures have been described. They were mainly isolated several decades ago where they were instrumental in understanding plasmid biology, but many of them are no longer available and have not been documented comprehensively. It has been demonstrated that they reduce the rate of conjugation in pure culture studies; however, their effect in microbial communities is still unknown. Can we leverage some of these natural ‘enemies’ of plasmids to mitigate the spread of AMR in the diverse microbial communities that are typical of biological water treatment? Can we fight evolution with evolution? This is the ambition of this proposal. The research will be divided into four packages: plasmid collection, phage isolation, phage characterization and phage efficiency assessment. Plasmids involved in the epidemic dissemination of carbapenem and multiple antibiotic resistance will be studied. Phages will fluorescently labelled and used to measure the reduction in transfer rate of ARGs in environmental bacterial communities by fluorescence activated cell sorting. The multidisciplinary nature of the project is strong, involving a combination of environmental microbiology, molecular biology, metagenomics and virology. This innovative approach will increase the skills of the experienced researcher, both research-related and transferable ones, leading to improved career prospects, and contributing to solving the global crisis of AMR.
Champ scientifique
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencespublic health
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologybacteriology
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologyvirology
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacydrug resistanceantibiotic resistance
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesmolecular biology
Mots‑clés
Programme(s)
Régime de financement
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinateur
2800 Kongens Lyngby
Danemark