FEDER - ACTALIA - MOBIDIC PROJECT - ANR
Kohesio
ACTALIA
The protozoa Cryptosporidium spp, Giardia duodenalis and Toxoplasma gondii are recognized as priorities in terms of public health, in particular because of their possible transmission via water to humans. Currently, their detection in water is done by immunofluorescence (IF) after filtration of large volumes of water (20 to 100 L). However, this methodology suffers from numerous disadvantages: cost, time-consuming (filtration+IF), and dependent on experienced personnel. Furthermore, the results obtained by water filtration vary depending on the physicochemical and meteorological parameters, which are particularly important in the current context of climate change. This project proposes to use the bioaccumulation capacity of these protozoa by bivalve molluscs to assess the level of water contamination. Molluscs have the advantage of being representative of the environment in which they live, of having an integrating nature of contamination thus limiting the variability of measurements in time and space. In order to be able to implement water monitoring on a large geographic scale and allow comparison between different water sources (fresh and marine), two species of mussels will be considered: the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) and the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha). This innovative approach requires removing a certain number of obstacles: 1) having a sensitive procedure for the simultaneous extraction of the 3 protozoa, their detection and their quantification in the molluscs; 2) correlate water contamination levels with the load measured in mollusc tissues; 3) characterize the environmental and physiological parameters that modify the accumulation capacity of protozoa. Importance of co-financing with regard to the ACTALIA strategy: To date, ACTALIA Food Safety is recognized at the national level as a reference center in food virology. This positioning, supported by the Region for several years, was possible via the UMT ACTIA VIROCONTROL with the University of Nancy and through co-financed public research projects. ACTALIA is now the preferred partner of the Administration and manufacturers on this now proven biological danger. Protozoan parasites represent emerging dangers in raw plants and shellfish and water. It is therefore necessary to develop expertise which will be made available to professionals and competent authorities in the coming years, and ACTALIA aims to become the reference technical center for these dangers in food. This ANR project is part of the UMT ACTIA PROTORISK, in partnership with the University of Reims (2015-2019), which will contribute to the positioning of ACTALIA at the national level. Public research projects with reference laboratories and companies make it possible to develop this expertise and co-financing is necessary to carry out these 50% funded projects and consolidate ACTALIA's strategic positioning in food safety. Interest of this project for the region: The project is part of a current context of deterioration of water quality in Normandy. The new tool proposed to measure water quality in an integrative manner should make it possible to respond to the region's challenges aimed at maintaining the quality of its water intended for aquaculture and recreational activities. This approach could be extended to other pathogens of fecal origin (bacteria, viruses) in order to implement robust and comprehensive surveillance plans in areas considered to be at risk, in fresh water and sea water. In the long term, this project constitutes added value for Normandy, which will be reinforced in the territory, by the knowledge and expertise acquired by ACTALIA as part of this program.
Smarter Europe / Research and innovation / Technology transfer and university-enterprise cooperation primarily benefiting SMEs