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. Fields of science engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringwater treatment processeswastewater treatment processesnatural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologybacteriologynatural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologyvirologymedical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacypharmaceutical drugsantibioticsmedical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacydrug resistanceantibiotic resistance Keywords Horizontal gene transfer bacteriophages antibiotic resistance genes aquatic environments wastewater treatments disinfection Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Main Programme H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility Topic(s) MSCA-IF-2017 - Individual Fellowships Call for proposal H2020-MSCA-IF-2017 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF) Coordinator FUNDACIO INSTITUT CATALA DE RECERCA DE L'AIGUA Net EU contribution € 170 121,60 Address CALLE EMILI GRAHIT EDIFICI H20 101 17003 Girona Spain See on map Region Este Cataluña Girona Activity type Research Organisations Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 170 121,60
