TROCAR

Translational Research on Combating Antimicrobial Resistance

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'The health care systems of most European countries are based on a continuum from acute care hospitals, though other health care facilities to the community. Such a framework provides the perfect opportunity for the wide-spread dissemination of high-risk resistant clones or genetic resistant elements. The driving concept of TROCAR is to investigate the fundamentals of the epidemiology of new highly virulent multiresistant strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus spp., Extended-spectrum, metallo- and acquired AmpC beta-lactamase producing Enterobacteriaceae, multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii will focus on three major strategic aims: 1. The definition of the major high-risk resistant clones based on an appropriate representative collection and new clinical strains obtained during molecular epidemiological studies, in hospitals and laboratories collaborating with their respective National Excellence Laboratories in European countries using a standardised protocol. 2. The promotion of collaborative European research to investigate, by genomic and proteomic approaches, specific traits associated with virulence, transmission, persistence and resistance of epidemic clones in comparison with non-epidemic clones as well as resistance determinants and their genetic location in horizontal gene transfer units and their genetic environment. 3. The development of bioinformatics tools to fully exploit the genomics data and allow the rapid identification of resistant strains with heightened epidemic potential. By combining the outputs of the project it will be possible to provide tools for monitoring the spread of key community and nosocomial pathogens, to provide the scientific basis for an early warning system when isolates of a particular epidemicity appear in the community and nosocomial settings, to characterise specific genetic elements carrying resistance genes encoding, and to establish t'

Introduzione (Teaser)

Through most of Europe, the healthcare system ranges from acute care in hospital to other care facilities in the community. Unfortunately, this system facilitates the spread of drug-resistant bacteria.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

The 'Translational research on combating antimicrobial resistance' (Trocar) project aims to define major high-risk clones (HiRiCs) that are largely responsible for spreading resistance. By providing the basis from which to create suitable bioinformatics tools and the proper infrastructure, the Trocar project will realise its end goal of being able to recommend novel control measures to limit or prevent the spread of highly virulent multi-drug resistant clones

Two catalogues of strains, one for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and another for vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus spp. (VRE) have been obtained. From these, five MRSA- and two VRE-specific HiRiCs were chosen to generate genome sequences.

Project partners have also identified four Pseudomonas aeruginosa and two Acinetobacter baumannii HiRiCs, which are currently being sequenced. In parallel, they have developed an interactive web-based mapping tool that displays the geographical abundance of clones of S. aureus/MRSA using a Google-map interface.

To model the evolution of HiRiCs, Trocar researchers have studied the dynamics and persistence of Enterococcus faecium clones in an ongoing collection from bacteremic patients, who have traces of bacteria in their blood. Large volumes of sequence data down to nucleotide level from major bacterial disease agents have been generated.

The resistome, the set of antibiotic-resistant genes of A. baumannii is under investigation. Study results showing that biofilm formation of aggregates of bacteria increases survival rate on dry surfaces. This contributes to its persistence in the hospital environment.

The Trocar website provides more information on the project's activities to date. Details of project impact and goals for the future as well as intricate information on each of the eight workpackages is clearly outlined.

By being able to monitor the spread of key community and hospital pathogens, an early warning system can be set up when certain isolates appear in hospital and community settings.