Browsing by Author "Cerqueira, Francisco"
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- Antibiotic resistance in wastewater treatment plants: tackling the black boxPublication . Manaia, Célia M.; Rocha, Jaqueline; Scaccia, Nazareno; Marano, Roberto; Radu, Elena; Biancullo, Francesco; Cerqueira, Francisco; Fortunato, Gianuário; Iakovides, Iakovos C.; Zammit, Ian; Kampouris, Ioannis; Vaz-Moreira, Ivone; Nunes, Olga C.Wastewater is among the most important reservoirs of antibiotic resistance in urban environments. The abundance of carbon sources and other nutrients, a variety of possible electron acceptors such as oxygen or nitrate, the presence of particles onto which bacteria can adsorb, or a fairly stable pH and temperature are examples of conditions favouring the remarkable diversity of microorganisms in this peculiar habitat. The wastewater microbiome brings together bacteria of environmental, human and animal origins, many harbouring antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Although numerous factors contribute, mostly in a complex interplay, for shaping this microbiome, the effect of specific potential selective pressures such as antimicrobial residues or metals, is supposedly determinant to dictate the fate of antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and ARGs during wastewater treatment. This paper aims to enrich the discussion on the ecology of ARB&ARGs in urban wastewater treatment plants (UWTPs), intending to serve as a guide for wastewater engineers or other professionals, who may be interested in studying or optimizing the wastewater treatment for the removal of ARB&ARGs. Fitting this aim, the paper overviews and discusses: i) aspects of the complexity of the wastewater system and/or treatment that may affect the fate of ARB&ARGs; ii) methods that can be used to explore the resistome, meaning the whole ARB&ARGs, in wastewater habitats; and iii) some frequently asked questions for which are proposed addressing modes. The paper aims at contributing to explore how ARB&ARGs behave in UWTPs having in mind that each plant is a unique system that will probably need a specific procedure to maximize ARB&ARGs removal.
- Making wavesPublication . Alygizakis, Nikiforos; Ng, Kelsey; Čirka, Ľuboš; Berendonk, Thomas; Cerqueira, Francisco; Cytryn, Eddie; Deviller, Geneviève; Fortunato, Gianuario; Iakovides, Iakovos C.; Kampouris, Ioannis; Michael-Kordatou, Irene; Lai, Foon Yin; Lundy, Lian; Manaia, Celia M.; Marano, Roberto B. M.; Paulus, Gabriela K.; Piña, Benjamin; Radu, Elena; Rizzo, Luigi; Ślipko, Katarzyna; Kreuzinger, Norbert; Thomaidis, Nikolaos S.; Ugolini, Valentina; Vaz-Moreira, Ivone; Slobodnik, Jaroslav; Fatta-Kassinos, DespoWith the global concerns on antibiotic resistance (AR) as a public health issue, it is pivotal to have data exchange platforms for studies on antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the environment. For this purpose, the NORMAN Association is hosting the NORMAN ARB&ARG database, which was developed within the European project ANSWER. The present article provides an overview on the database functionalities, the extraction and the contribution of data to the database. In this study, AR data from three studies from China and Nepal were extracted and imported into the NORMAN ARB&ARG in addition to the existing AR data from 11 studies (mainly European studies) on the database. This feasibility study demonstrates how the scientific community can share their data on AR to generate an international evidence base to inform AR mitigation strategies. The open and FAIR data are of high potential relevance for regulatory applications, including the development of emission limit values / environmental quality standards in relation to AR. The growth in sharing of data and analytical methods will foster collaboration on risk management of AR worldwide, and facilitate the harmonization in the effort for identification and surveillance of critical hotspots of AR. The NORMAN ARB&ARG database is publicly available at: https://www.norman-network.com/nds/bacteria/.