XXXVII CICLO | Narciso Alessandra

My name is Alessandra Narciso, I am a PhD student in Ecology and Sustainable Management of Environmental Resources at University of Tuscia (Viterbo-Italy) in collaboration with Water Research Institute of Council of National Research (IRSA-CNR) with the supervisor Prof. Claudio Carere and Dr. Anna Barra Caracciolo. I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Biology, consisted of three years and a master’s degree in Ecobiology, consisted of two years, at Sapienza University of Roma. My PhD project is focused on the effects of antibiotics, alone or in mixture with other contaminants, on soil and plant-associated microbial communities and on ecotoxicological model organisms. I have always been interested in the effects of chemicals on bacteria, plants, and animals. I have also recently become interested in the indirect effects of emerging contaminants in terms of resistance mechanisms put in place by microorganisms. I am fascinated by the ability of ecosystems to adapt to adverse conditions, and I think that a wide system view is the key to understanding these processes. The PhD help me in acquire awareness and self-confidence needed to organize my experiments, participate at meetings with supervisors and other researchers and create international scientific connections.

In recent years antibiotics residue founds in environment increased so much to be considered diffuse micro-contaminants in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Antibiotics (ABs) can influence ecosystem health, including human one, causing direct and indirect effects on exposed organisms. ABs can alter structure and functioning of natural microbial communities responsible of ecosystem services of regulation (e.g. water purification, maintenance of soil fertility, biodegradation of organic contaminants and xenobiotics) and promote the spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) among natural microbial communities and from them, by various ways, to humans. For these reasons, the “One Heath” and “Farm to Fork” concepts highlight the importance of considering the link between environmental and human health in government decision-making (Grenni et al., 2018; Barra Caracciolo et al., 2020). In this context, my research project, aims to evaluate the effects of antibiotic residues, alone or in mixture with other contaminants, on soil or plant-associated microbial community composition, antibiotic resistance gene dissemination and three model organism mortality or growth inhibition. Natural microbial communities will be characterized in terms of abundance, viability, enzymatic activity, and biodiversity. Moreover, ARGs will be quantify through qPCR and ecotoxicological tests ill be performed with Aliivibrio fischeri, Lepidium sativum and Daphnia magna.

• Mariani, L., Grenni, P., Caracciolo, A. B., Pescatore, T., Spataro, F., Rauseo, J., Narciso, A., Rolando, L., & Patrolecco, L. (2022). Use of the Heterocypris incongruens bioassay for assessing ecotoxicity of soils containing the anionic surfactant sodium lauryl ether sulphate (SLES). Ecological Indicators, 145, 109597. 
• Narciso, A., Caracciolo, A. B., & De Carolis, C. (2023). Overview of direct and indirect effects of antibiotics on terrestrial organisms. Antibiotics (Basel), 12(9), 1471.
• Narciso, A. C., Caracciolo, A. B., Grenni, P., Rauseo, J., Patrolecco, L., Spataro, F., & Mariani, L. (2023). Application of the Aliivibrio fischeri bacterium bioassay for assessing single and mixture effects of antibiotics and copper. FEMS Microbiology, Ecology (Print), 99(11).