Projects

Background

Rivers play an essential role in supporting human health by supplying water for human consumption or irrigation and
providing natural environments for recreation. Rivers serve also as important receiving water bodies for communal
sewage disposal, imposing microbial faecal pollution hazards and a need for target-oriented health risk management.
Due to a limited research methodology in the past, very little is known on the health-related challenges rivers will face
due to global change phenomena (e.g. climatic, demographic, economic and technical changes, potential emerging
threats such as the growing navigation industry). The proposed project will establish a new cutting-edge combination of
microbiological and molecular biological parameters for river water of human-impacted large river catchments, allowing
the robust calibration and verification of health-related water quality simulation tools. Genetic microbial source tracking
markers for bacterial and viral faecal pollution and standardized indicators will be applied in concert for water quality
investigations. The recently developed simulation tool QMRAcatch will be used for faecal pollution and health-related
water quality modelling. A multidisciplinary team of scientists, governmental water and health experts, as well as
experienced practitioners from a leading water supply utility will formulate scenarios of timely and hitherto unsolved
global change problems for human-impacted large rivers. In a first step, the defined scenarios will be simulated to
predict health-related water quality challenges for the Danube River at the Lower Austrian section. In a second step, the
detailed information from the Danube River will be used to extrapolate to other representative European large river
locations. The ultimate aim of the project is to establish a basic scientific understanding concerning the health-related
microbiological water quality aspects of river water resources, facing future global change phenomena. The project will
also guide optimal water quality management strategies and bring the latest research developments to the Lower
Austrian governmental bodies and local authorities as well as water suppliers. The established methodology will also be
of great interest for riverine water resources outside Europe, guiding sustainable health-related management in a vastly
changing world.

Background

Vibrio cholerae is a natural inhabitant of aquatic ecosystems and the causative agent of the devastating disease cholera. Cholera is caused by toxigenic strains belonging to the serogroups O1 and O139. However nontoxigenic V.cholerae (NTVC) cause several other kinds of infections with potential fatal outcome. In the past 20 years, NTVC infections have been significantly increasing in Europe in association with global warming. In Lower Austria, two extreme cases occurred for the first time in 2015. Both cases were associated with bathing activities during an extreme summer heatwave. To date, the decisive factors controlling NTVC occurrence in inland bathing waters are not clear.
Such information and the availability of reliable NTVC quantification methods are prerequisite to enable prediction models and early warning systems of NTVC occurrence. Besides cultivation on microbiological media, molecular and cell-based methods have been developed. So far, cell-based detection combining fluorescence labelling (FISH) and solid phase cytometry (SPC) proved most successful for NTVC quantification. However, FISH/SPC does not differentiate V.cholerae from closely related species, and it is extremely labor intensive and expensive. In this project, an approach based on alternative molecular recognition molecules –APTAMERS– are proposed. Aptamers are short oligonucleotides that bind their target with high selectivity and affinity. They have proven equally efficient as antibodies in many applications. Once an aptamer is identified, unlimited amounts can be produced at low costs. To date, however, there are no aptamers available for V.cholerae.
Two main goals shall be achieved. First, NTVC abundance shall be comprehensively monitored with state-of-the-art methods along environmental and spatiotemporal gradients in representative bathing waters, and second, a new cutting-edge aptamer technology shall be developed for tailored quantification of NTVC and V.cholerae O1/O139. Prediction models of NTVC abundance in bathing waters shall be delivered as tools for risk assessment and easy protocols for culture-independent quantification of V.cholerae. This will significantly contribute to improved disease preparedness and public health concerning NTVC in bathing waters and toxigenic V.cholerae in water resources. The resulting aptamer products, applications and intellectual property may be exploited in follow-up translational projects, in form of spin-off companies or transfer to local third-party enterprises. The proposal is directly contributing to the prioritised research area “Intelligent Indication Systems and Diagnostics” within the recent FTI strategy for Lower Austria. Sustainable collaborations will be stimulated between the project partners within the Interuniversity Cooperation Centre Water & Health, a research centre to pioneer cutting edge water quality research. Thus, the project will contribute in a sustainable manner to the welfare of Lower Austria.

Background

The rise in antimicrobial resistances is a global threat to human health. Apart from hospitals, where multi-resistant bacteria pose an acute problem, the spread of human-derived antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and resistance genes (ARG) from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) into river ecosystems is of growing concern as river water is used for a variety of purposes (drinking water production, recreation, irrigation). Although an increasing number of studies have been published in recent years demonstrating the presence of human-derived ARB and ARG in rivers, no comprehensive quantitative concept exists that describes and explains the distribution patterns, and driving factors of human-derived ARB and ARG in these environments. For this project, a new quantitative concept was developed to study the distribution patterns, propagation pathways and driving factors of human-derived ARB and ARG along four rivers in Lower Austria exhibiting gradients in river size, land use, fecal pollution, hospital wastewater and potential co-selection factors. The following hypotheses shall be tested: (1) In water, human-derived ARB and ARG abundances are coupled to the extent of fecal pollution from WWTPs and to the extent of wastewater input from hospitals. This coupling is independent from the longitudinal development of the river. (2) In biofilms, human-derived ARB and ARG abundances can be uncoupled from the extent of fecal pollution and from hospital wastewater input. In the presence of specific ecological selection factors such as metals or pesticides, anamplification of ARB and ARG occurs. The new concept is based on the quantification of human-derived ARB and ARG in specific bacterial targets, determined in water and biofilms by a combined cultivation and DNA-based approach. This information will be linked with quantitative data on the extent and sources of fecal pollution (following the human wastewater path) and with a comprehensive assessment of the environmental conditions. This study will stimulate new ideas to understand and manage microbial water quality and antibiotic resistance in rivers.
At the global level, the proposal is directly addressing the fundamental requirements of the research agenda defined for water, sanitation and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) of the WHO Global Action Plan for AMR. At the European level it directly addresses the concrete action plan to close knowledge gaps on AMR within the EU AMR Action Plan. At the local level, it directly contributes to the prioritised research area “Organic trace substances” within the “Water” topic of the recent FTI strategy for Lower Austria. Sustainable collaborations will be stimulated between the project partners of the ICC Water & Health at KL Krems, of the department IFA-Tulln of the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna and of the Medical University Graz. By this, the project will contribute in a sustainable manner to the welfare of Lower Austria and beyond.

Background

Understanding fecal pollution sources as propagation pathways of antimicrobial resistance in the Danube
River: Establishing a quantitative whole river approach
The increase in antimicrobial resistances is a global threat to human and animal health. Outside of
hospitals, where multi-resistant bacteria are an acute problem, the spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria
(ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARG) into aquatic ecosystems is of growing importance, especially
in large river systems.
In this project, the River Danube - the second longest river in Europe and most international river in the world
- shall be investigated along its whole length, as well as its most important tributaries to assess the major
sources, propagation pathways and driving factors influencing the occurrence and spreading of ARB and
ARG. A new holistic, quantitative approach will be applied to test the following hypotheses: (i) In the water
compartment, the abundance of ARB and ARG is coupled to the extent of fecal pollution and further depend
on their persistence in the environment and the hydrological conditions. (ii) In biofilms and fine sediments,
ARB and ARG abundance are uncoupled from the extent of fecal pollution. Accumulation of ARB and ARG
occurs, dependent on specific ecological selection factors and qualitative changes of the fecal pollution
input. (iii) The patterns of ARB and ARG abundance may be different even between closely related species
and using only one bacterial model organism leads to a biased image of the occurrence and spread of
antibiotic resistances in aquatic environments.
The new concept is based on the quantification of ARB and ARG in multiple bacterial targets, determined in
the water and biofilm compartment by a combination of cultivation-based and DNA-based approaches. This
information will be combined with quantitative data on the extent and sources of fecal pollution and with a
comprehensive assessment of the environmental conditions obtained during the Joint Danube Survey (JDS),
the world´s biggest river research expedition. This river survey will be followed by a one-year survey at
selected critical sites. By this, the results will provide a comprehensive picture and promote new ideas to
understand and manage microbial water quality and antibiotic resistance at large rivers, fulfilling fundamental
requirements of the research agenda defined for water, sanitation and antimicrobial resistance of the WHO
Global Action Plan and the EU Action Plan on antimicrobial resistance.
The project will be led by Alexander Kirschner (Medical University Vienna), an expert in health-related water
microbiology, who has already coordinated the microbiology program of the two previous JDS. He will be
supported by the team of Andreas Farnleitner, the head of the Division Water Quality and Health at the Karl
Landsteiner University for Health Sciences at Krems, a top specialist in fecal pollution diagnostics and
microbial source tracking. All antibiotic resistance analysis will be coordinated by Gernot Zarfel and
Clemens Kittinger (Medical University Graz), who already were cooperation partners during the last JDS.

Background

Vibrio cholerae is a natural inhabitant of aquatic ecosystems and the causative agent of the devastating disease cholera. Cholera is caused by toxigenic strains belonging to the serogroups O1 and O139. However nontoxigenic V.cholerae (NTVC) cause several other kinds of infections with potential fatal outcome. In the past 20 years, NTVC infections have been significantly increasing in Europe in association with global warming. In Lower Austria, two extreme cases occurred for the first time in 2015. Both cases were associated with bathing activities during an extreme summer heatwave. To date, the decisive factors controlling NTVC occurrence in inland bathing waters are not clear.
Such information and the availability of reliable NTVC quantification methods are prerequisite to enable prediction models and early warning systems of NTVC occurrence. Besides cultivation on microbiological media, molecular and cell-based methods have been developed. So far, cell-based detection combining fluorescence labelling (FISH) and solid phase cytometry (SPC) proved most successful for NTVC quantification. However, FISH/SPC does not differentiate V.cholerae from closely related species, and it is extremely labor intensive and expensive. In this project, an approach based on alternative molecular recognition molecules –APTAMERS– are proposed. Aptamers are short oligonucleotides that bind their target with high selectivity and affinity. They have proven equally efficient as antibodies in many applications. Once an aptamer is identified, unlimited amounts can be produced at low costs. To date, however, there are no aptamers available for V.cholerae.
Two main goals shall be achieved. First, NTVC abundance shall be comprehensively monitored with state-of-the-art methods along environmental and spatiotemporal gradients in representative bathing waters, and second, a new cutting-edge aptamer technology shall be developed for tailored quantification of NTVC and V.cholerae O1/O139. Prediction models of NTVC abundance in bathing waters shall be delivered as tools for risk assessment and easy protocols for culture-independent quantification of V.cholerae. This will significantly contribute to improved disease preparedness and public health concerning NTVC in bathing waters and toxigenic V.cholerae in water resources. The resulting aptamer products, applications and intellectual property may be exploited in follow-up translational projects, in form of spin-off companies or transfer to local third-party enterprises. The proposal is directly contributing to the prioritised research area “Intelligent Indication Systems and Diagnostics” within the recent FTI strategy for Lower Austria. Sustainable collaborations will be stimulated between the project partners within the Interuniversity Cooperation Centre Water & Health, a research centre to pioneer cutting edge water quality research. Thus, the project will contribute in a sustainable manner to the welfare of Lower Austria.

Background

Rare earths are used in electronic devices such as mobile phones, computers and energy-saving bulbs. However, they are scarce and cannot be recycled using eco-friendly methods. Complex and expensive mining, coupled with scarce supply, means that the prices of rare earths on the world market are rising steadily. Due to continuous technical advances, we can already predict that the supply situation for rare earths will become critical in future, which in turn could pose a threat to the development of innovative technologies.

The project partners aim to counter this trend using a new technology. This involves an approach that has never been used before: recycling by means of microorganisms (bacteria and algae). The goal of the international project partner consortium is to develop a practicable recycling technology in collaboration with regional industry, with a view to reclaiming rare earths from electronic waste and subsequently making the technology available to businesses. The consortium liaises regularly with its strategic partners, which guarantees that market needs and the technological limitations of business are taken into account in the development process.