Forschungsseminar: Vortrag von Prof. Dr. Yong-Guan Zhu

The microbiome contributes to ecosystem sustainability and human health through complex interactions between the physical environment and other organisms dwelling in that environment. Given the enormous diversity and functions performed by ecosystem microbiomes, in this presentation, Prof. Dr. Yong-Guan Zhu will use antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as an example to explore microbial connectivity across entire ecosystems. They find that both urban wastewater treatment plants and intensive animal farms are major sources of AMR pollution in the environment. Once anthropogenic AMR enters the environment, it can be spread through mass microbial movement within the ecosystem and transported through various pathways at regional and even global scales. He will highlight the application of single-cell methodologies for in situ analysis of AMR, specifically targeting the "distribution-diffusion-development" (3D) process of active antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB). Targeted single-cell sorting and metagenomics make it possible to pinpoint “who is doing what and how” in the most active ARB, and to track the physiological evolution of resistance and analyze the underlying genetic mechanisms. In summary, AMR within the ecosystem can be cycled between humans, animals, plants and the environment, and we should adopt the One Health framework in assessing microbial cycling.