Project: Intervention of antimicrobial resistance transfer into the food chain

Acronym INART (Reference Number: JPIAMR_2017_P003)
Duration 01/02/2018 - 31/01/2021
Project Topic Soil and water have been identified as reservoirs of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and thefood chain as the most likely mode of AMR transfer into human and animal pathogens. Manureis reused as soil fertiliser in which food plants grow and is a source of AMR. We hypothesisethat pre-treatment of manure will reduce and remove the abundance and diversity of AMRgenes and pathogenic bacteria of high priority from entering the food chain. Alleviating AMRelements from entering the food chain will reduce the transfer and uptake of mobile AMRgenes and pathogens by human and animals. This project will focus on chicken and pigmanure as both have been demonstrated to carry a wide variety and abundance of mobile AMR genes of clinical relevance. Our intervention is to pre-treat the manure in order to reduceor remove the burden of AMR in the manure prior to reuse as fertiliser. The microbiomes ofchicken and pig manure differ, but the AMR genes and mobile elements overlap. Our study will investigate if the same pre-treatments will reduce or remove AMR prior to application andif these reductions or removal are maintained on the food plants or grass, and in the soil. Wewill also identify the main microbiome changes mediated by the intervention and analyse if these bacterial changes are important in the mitigation of AMR. Reducing or removing thethreat of AMR at the start of the food chain will reduce the potential for selection and transferof such AMR genes and pathogens further along the food chain. By stopping or reducing the continuous transfer of AMR genes and mobile elements along the food chain we will reduce the burden of AMR in pathogenic bacteria
Website visit project website
Network JPI AMR
Call 5th Joint Call of JPIAMR

Project partner

Number Name Role Country
1 Maynooth University Coordinator Ireland
2 University of Western Ontario Partner Canada
3 University of Warsaw Partner Poland
4 Agriculture Research Organisation Partner Israel
5 Albstadt-Sigmaringen University Observer Germany
6 Teagasc Environmental Research Centre Partner Ireland
7 University of Zurich Partner Switzerland