Reducing Antibiotic Resistance in Agriculture via Anaerobic Digestion

Aleksandra Atanasova, PhD student in ENVIRE, attended the conference “Junior Scientist Zoonoses Meeting 2023” in Münster 16.06.2023, „10. Leipziger Doktorandenforum“ in Leipzig 13.07.2023, “Zoonoses 2023 - International Symposium on Zoonoses Research” in Berlin 9.-11.10.2023 and Robert-Koch-Doktorandenkolleg (RoKoCon) „Climate Change, Environment And Health" in Berlin 17.-18.10.2023, where the poster „Assessment of treatments to reduce the amount of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in chicken manure" won in nomination the best poster.

Currently, ATB is focusing on the reduction of antibiotic resistant bacteria in chicken manure by anaerobic digestion. During anaerobic digestion treatment, biowaste is degraded by several group of bacteria without oxygen access. By this process biogas is produced, which serves as an alternative energy source, and pathogens and bacteria are reduced. Our goal is to investigate the effects of temperature and C/N ratio on the abundance of total Escherichia coli, ESBL-producing and Fluoroquinolone-resistant E. coli during anaerobic digestion. Resistant and total E. coli show the same reduction kinetics and temperature was identified as the major factor influencing the bacterial decrease. In parallel, we monitor parameters as biogas production and chemical composition changes during the treatments. The characteristics of the input material are important because they have a main impact on the process and biogas quality. Chicken manure has a naturally low C/N ratio compared to other types of manure. Based on preliminary results, E. coli reduction is fast at 37°C compared to 30°C and biogas production (CH₄:CO₂ ratio) is more efficient in samples with a higher C:N ratio compared to the natural ratio.

First Webinar launched

Cordial invitation to the webinar on March 3, 2023, at 1 pm! On this webinar, we will inform you about the status and scientific objectives of the ENVIRE research network, which focuses on interventions to prevent the spread of resistance from fattening poultry production via the environment to humans (www.envire-project.de). The work package leaders Roswitha Merle, Uwe Rösler and Lucie Collineau will give insights into the consortium's activities. Mindaugas Malakauskas will lead through the webinar.

The webinar will be held in English. You can participate without registering using this link.
Download the program here.