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project info
Start date: 30 December 2016
End date: 30 June 2021
funding
Fund: European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
Total budget: 229 900,00 €
EU contribution: 125 180,55 € (54,45%)
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programme
Programming period: 2014-2021
Programme: Multi-regional Spain - ERDF
Managing authority: Subdirección General de Gestión del FEDER, de la Dirección General de Fondos Europeos del Ministerio de Hacienda.
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theme
Research and innovation
intervention field
Research and innovation activities in public research centres and centres of competence including networking
beneficiary
University of León

IDENTIFICATION OF ROUTES AND TRANSMISSION MECHANISMS OF RESISTANCE TO ANTIBIOTICS THROUGH THE FOOD CHAIN USING CULTURE-DEPENDENT AND INDEPENDENT TECHNIQUES

ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE (ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE AMR) IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES FACING HUMANITY. THE ACQUIRED RESISTANCE TO CERTAIN ANTIMICROBIAL AGENTS IS ALREADY OF SUCH MAGNITUDE THAT THEIR ABILITY TO TREAT INFECTIONS IS AT STAKE. THE EMERGENCE AND DISSEMINATION OF AMR IS USUALLY ATTRIBUTED TO THE INDISCRIMINATE USE OF ANTIBIOTICS AS THERAPEUTIC AGENTS IN HUMAN OR VETERINARY MEDICINE OR AS GROWTH PROMOTERS IN ANIMAL PRODUCTION. IN ADDITION, THE FOOD CHAIN HAS ALSO BEEN IDENTIFIED AS A POSSIBLE TRANSMISSION ROUTE OF AMR. IN FACT, RESEARCH CARRIED OUT IN THE LAST DECADE HAS SUGGESTED THE IMPORTANCE THAT CERTAIN INDUSTRIAL ENVIRONMENTS HAVE AS RESERVOIRS OF RESISTANT MICROORGANISMS AND ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE GENES AND HAVE IDENTIFIED THE USE OF BIOCIDES AND MICROBIAL EXPOSURE TO ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS FACTORS AND FOOD PROCESSING TECHNOLOGIES AS POSSIBLE RISK FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THE DEVELOPMENT AND DISPERSION OF AMR. HOWEVER, EXISTING STUDIES IN RELATION TO MECHANISMS OF CO-RESISTANCE OR CROSS RESISTANCE TO ANTIBIOTICS MEDIATED BY BACTERIA ARE LIMITED TO A LIMITED NUMBER OF SPECIES. THE STARTING HYPOTHESIS OF THE PROJECT IS THAT CERTAIN CLEANING AND DISINFECTION PRACTICES AND FOOD PROCESSING TECHNOLOGIES USED BOTH IN SLAUGHTERHOUSES AND IN AGRI-FOOD INDUSTRIES ARE EXERTING A SELECTIVE PRESSURE THAT FAVORS THE EMERGENCE AND DISSEMINATION OF MICROORGANISMS RESISTANT TO ANTIBIOTICS, COMPROMISING THE INTEGRITY AND SAFETY OF THE FOOD CHAIN. THE METARESISTBUGS PROJECT AIMS, IN THE FIRST PLACE, TO INVESTIGATE THE IMPACT THAT THE EXPOSURE OF MICROORGANISMS OF FOOD INTEREST TO BIOCIDES, ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS CONDITIONS AND PROCESSING TECHNOLOGIES HAS ON THE ACQUISITION OF STABLE RESISTANCE TO ANTIBIOTICS, THE EXPRESSION OF ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE GENES AND THE HORIZONTAL TRANSFER OF GENETIC DETERMINANTS FROM AMR. A WIDE RANGE OF INDICATOR MICROORGANISMS WILL BE USED, BOTH PATHOGENS, SAFE OR BENEFICIAL MICROORGANISMS, CULTURE MEDIA, FOOD MODELS AND FOOD PROPER. SECONDLY, THE METARESISTBUGS PROJECT PROPOSES THE STUDY USING TECHNIQUES DEPENDENT AND INDEPENDENT OF CULTIVATION OF STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL CHANGES THAT OCCUR IN MICROBIAL POPULATIONS THAT COLONISE SLAUGHTERHOUSE ENVIRONMENTS AND AGRO-FOOD INDUSTRIES THAT EMPLOY DIFFERENT CLEANING, DISINFECTION AND FOOD PROCESSING STRATEGIES. THESE ANALYSES WILL ALLOW MONITORING THE DISTRIBUTION OF RESISTANT MICROORGANISMS, ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE GENES AND MOVABLE GENETIC ELEMENTS IN INDUSTRIAL ENVIRONMENTS PROVIDING THE NECESSARY INFORMATION TO IMPLEMENT QUANTITATIVE RISK ANALYSIS SCHEMES THAT ALLOW THE IDENTIFICATION OF RESERVOIRS AND TRANSMISSION ROUTES OF AMR THROUGH THE FOOD CHAIN. OVERALL, THE RESULTS OBTAINED DURING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROJECT WILL MAKE IT POSSIBLE TO CLARIFY NEW MECHANISMS FOR THE ACQUISITION AND TRANSFER OF AMR IN INDUSTRIAL ENVIRONMENTS AND FACILITATE THE IDENTIFICATION OF RISK FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THE EMERGENCY AND DISPERSION OF AMR FAVORING THE DEVELOPMENT OF PREVENTIVE INTERVENTIONS AND GUIDELINES OF RECOMMENDATIONS AIMED AT GUARANTEEING FOOD SECURITY.

Flag of Spain  León Province, Spain