Project: MICROPLASTICS AS A VECTOR OF PATHOGENS CONTAMINATION, INFECTION AND RESISTANCE: A CASE OF Campylobacter IN POULTRY PRODUCTION AND PROCESSING

2023-01-01 – 2025-12-31

Abstract

Campylobacter are well adapted to life in the intestines of animals and humans, so it is surprising that they can also survive on the surface of meat and following the best cleaning used to remove organic matter from facilities and equipment. Researchers have recently solved this puzzle, showing the enormous benefit for Campylobacter from multispecies biofilm communities. We are aware of sites prone to biofilm formation, but we are not aware of the presence of microplastics in the environment of poultry processing. Such microplastics can enormously increase the attachment area for bacteria, and thus they can persist through the food production processes. The objective of the project is to understand the role of microplastics, as they provide an enormous surface area on which bacteria can attach, form biofilms, and potentially travel through the surrounding environments, each of which include the presence of variable microbial communities, food organic materials, and conditions such as the presence of antimicrobial drugs. Microplastics can promote the diversity of biofilm communities, which will vary while moving through the surrounding environment, with increased horizontal transfer of resistance genes between bacteria. The Project data will be original and will explain the importance of biofilm formation on microplastics, and the role of these microplastics in survival, persistence and virulence of the foodborne pathogen Campylobacter.