Biofilm Adaptation to Biocides and Impact on Antibioresistance – BAoBAb

The objectives of the BAoBAb project are to better understand bacterial adaptation strategies to disinfectant biocides used in the food industry, to evaluate the impact of this collective adaptation on the development of resistance to antibiotics and to identify the underlying mechanisms. The role of biocides in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) dissemination will also be addressed by investigating the recolonization abilities of AMR variants selected in biofilm during biocide exposure and the impact of biocide residues on horizontal gene transfer in biofilms. For this purpose, an approche combining methods of experimental evolution in biofilm, comparative genomics and advanced fluorescence imaging will be applied. The results will be used to better assess the risk associated with the use of biocides in relation to AMR and ultimately identify molecular and phenotypic markers of adaptation and development of cross-resistance that can be used to develop surveillance tool on the food chain.