BACKGROUND

Global contamination of soil and aquatic ecosystems by pharmaceutical and microbiological pollutants (such as antimicrobial-resistant microorganisms and/or pathogens) raises severe concerns about impacts on ecosystem health and repercussions on humans and animals. Preserving ecosystems from adverse ecotoxicological effects of pharmaceuticals and their transformation products, and limiting the environmental spread of antimicrobial resistance and pathogens is imperative to reach several UN Sustainable Development Goals as well as the European Green Deal, Water Framework Directive and Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. In this context, the main scientific objective of Pharm-ERA is to develop and implement innovative concepts, methods and strategies to improve the monitoring and assessment of the environmental effects and risks of pharmaceuticals, their transformation products, antimicrobial resistances and pathogens from terrestrial to aquatic environments. The ultimate goal is to provide scientific evidence and expertise to contribute to reducing the environmental spread and impact of these chemical and microbiological contaminants and to preserve microbial diversity and functions across the soil-water-sediment continuum.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PhD PROJECT

Antibiotics and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) pollution in urban rivers receiving waste water treatment plants (WWTP) effluents is common, but their fate, and environmental risk remains poorly studied in river sediment. Context-dependency (ecological abiotic and biotic factors) influences the assembly of natural communities of bacteria and may affect their sensitivity to antibiotics and AMR. This PhD project will provide new knowledge on the interactions between pollutants (residues of antibiotics and AMR) and sediment bacteria, under altered abiotic and biotic contexts: a gradient of microbial diversity, pre-exposure history and/or pollution levels. Experimental studies using natural microbial communities in microcosms facilities and field sampling will be implemented for hypothesis testing. Effects will be quantitatively assessed by linking microbial composition and function using a combination of molecular tools such as metagenomics, quantitative PCR, and eco(tox)logical methods such as nitrogen turnover processes and antibiotics transformation rates.
Ana Luisa joined the Algal and Microbial Ecotoxicology Lab at the University of Gothenburg (Sweden) and works with experimental testing, environmental microbiology, molecular approaches, microbial functions, and sequencing-based tools. In addition, she has hand-on isolation of antibiotics resistance bacteria and antibiotics turnover in collaboration with the Agroécologie Laboratory at INRAE BFC, Dijon (France) and on environmental analytical chemistry in collaboration with IDAEA-CSIC, Barcelona (Spain).