Project: Specific Targeting of Antimicrobial Resistant Strains in situ using Targeted-Antibacterial-Plasmids
| Acronym | STARS-TAP (Reference Number: JPIAMR_2021_P015) |
| Duration | 04/04/2022 - 03/04/2025 |
| Project Topic | One health research programs are needed to tackle the problem of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), which is a major concern worldwide. The STARS-TAP innovative strategy is based on Targeted-Antibacterial-Plasmids (TAPs) that use DNA conjugation to deliver CRISPR/Cas systems exerting an antibacterial activity on specifically targeted multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains. In vitro, we have shown that TAPs can selectively kill MDR strains by targeting the chromosome or restore their susceptibility by targeting drug-resistance plasmids, without affecting non-targeted strains present in the bacterial population. Translating this in vitro proof of concept to various in situ settings would undoubtedly have a true impact by opening new intervention options to eliminate MDR strains from various ecosystems. Hence, we will develop a library of TAPs directed against a range of clinically and environmentally relevant MDR strains or against specific genes conferring resistance to expanded-spectrum beta-lactams and carbapenems. We will evaluate TAPs ability to specifically eliminate MDR strains or plasmids from the microbiotas associated with the animal gut or from hospital wastewater. We will also address TAPs dissemination and ability to eliminate AMR strains or plasmids from environmental soil or the plant rhizosphere. This unexplored and versatile antibacterial strategy could be a promising approach for preventive treatment of human and animals gut colonized with MDR strains, or even to avoid AMR spread within anthropized environmental reservoirs such as agricultural soils and wastewater. |
| Website | visit project website |
| Network | JPIAMR-ACTION |
| Call | 1st JPIAMR-ACTION Joint Call 2021 |
Project partner
| Number | Name | Role | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) – DR07 | Coordinator | France |
| 2 | UCL - Université Catholique de Louvain | Partner | Belgium |
| 3 | French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment | Partner | France |
| 4 | Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation – State Research Institute | Partner | Poland |
| 5 | French National Institute of Health and Medical Research | Partner | France |