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Research on antibiotic resistance of meat associated microorganisms
Project
Project code: MRI-FL-08-1031
Contract period: 01.01.2001
- 31.12.2021
Purpose of research: Basic research
Possibly one of the biggest public health challenges currently is the increasing antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacteria. In meats, these bacteria, however, represent only a very small part within the bacterial associations. Antibiotics have been extensively used in animal production and are still used in large amounts. Therefore, antibiotic resistant bacteria are frequently detected on carcasses and meat products. At present, monitoring is mostly limited to common pathogenic bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus, and there are almost no data for other considerably more abundant species. It is well known that resistance genes can be readily exchanged within and between species if they provide a competitive growth advantage. Abundance and distribution of antibiotic resistances (AR) and their genetic determinants as well as of mobile genetic elements (MGE's) which may contribute to the horizontal spread of resistance genes are poorly or not at all studied when it comes to meat associated pseudomonads and (coagulase-negative) staphylococci. MGE's may play a crucial role for the distribution of antibiotic resistances via horizontal gene transfer. This holds especially for microorganisms such as pseudomonads and staphylococci, which under the conditions of meat ripening and storage may reach high population densities and, at the same time, are directly connected to the gene pool of important human pathogens. Relevant bacterial isolates / strains from different meat systems (poultry, pork, beef) are screened for the abundance and distribution of AR and their genetic determinants as well MGE's (transposons). The studies are important for the preventive health protection of consumers and performed in close cooperation with the MRI Department of Microbiology and Biotechnology.
Section overview
Subjects
- Food microbiology