6th Theodor Escherich Symposium 28th - 29th November 2019 ABSTRACT BOOK Mit freundlicher Unterstützung durch Bristol-Myers Squibb Thursday, 28.11.2019 8:15 Registration and setup 8:50 Welcome note Session 1: Microbiology 9:00 Ariane Briegel Three-dimensional insights into microbial ultrastructure 9:35 Simon Lax (BioTechMed-Graz Lecture) Microbial interaction between humans and the built environment 10:10 Maximilian Mora: The International Space Station selects for microorganisms adapted to the extreme environment, but does not induce lasting genomic and physiological changes relevant for human health 10:20 Friederike Hilbert: Genome sequences of bacteriophages from Escherichia coli 10:30 Charlotte Neumann: Impact of Medication, Nutrition and Probiotics in the First Three Weeks of Life: Comparison of Preterm Infants´ Gut Microbiomes in Three Neonatal Intensive Care Units 10:40 Coffee break Session 2: Microbial Functions 11:15 David Berry Function of the intestinal microbiolty in health and disease 11:45 Kornelia Smalla The transferable resistome 12:15 Gabriele Berg, Peter Abuja Introduction of Microbiome Support and INTIMIC 12:30 Poster Pitches 12:50 Lunch break and Poster Session I Session 3: Immune Response and bacterial Vesicle Physiology 14:30 Sylvia Knapp Immune-homeostasis and microbiome dynamics in lungs after birth and injury 15:00 Stefan Schild Patho-physiology of bacterial vesiculation 15:35 Coffee break 16:00 Session 4: Public lectures (in German) Christine Moissl-Eichinger Mikrobiom: Stand der Forschung Christoph Högenauer Therapeutische Beeinflussung des Mikrobioms Gregor Gorkiewicz Mikrobiomdiagnostik Robert Krause Antibiotikaresistenzen im Mikrobiom Peter Holzer Die Darm-Gehirn-Achse 19:00 Speakers‘ dinner (for invited speakers) Mit freundlicher WLAN vouchers Unterstützung von: available at the desk! Abstract book available online: www.medunigraz.at/tes Friday, 29.11.2019 Session 5: Vesicles and beyond 9:00 Leo Eberl Binary signalling between bacteria through vesicles 9:30 Martin F. Polz Can we define biologically meaningful bacterial populations? 10:00 Irma Schabussova: Extracellular vesicles derived from the probiotic strain E. coli O83: A novel nano-scale tool for the management of the allergic diseases 10:10 Alexander Mahnert: Virulome, resistome, stress mastering, and metabolic capabilities of archaeal Metagenome Assembled Genomes from the human gut 10:20 Coffee break and Poster Session II Session 6a: Plant Microbiome 11:00 Lise Korsten The food microbiome and biosafety aspects 11:30 Adam Schikora Plants as hosts for human pathogens with focus on Salmonella 12:00 Birgit Wassermann: A backup for the next generation - vertical transmission of microbiota in alpine plant seeds 12:10 Matthias Schweitzer: Microbial volatiles - Deciphering the diversity of 1-alkene producers 12:20 Christina A. Müller Bogotá : The plant-associated antibiotic resistome 12:30 Light lunch break Session 6b: Plant Microbiome 13:00 Jesus Mercado Blanco Belowground microbiota and the health of trees 13:30 Rita Grosch Soil microbiota and the health of vegetables 14:00 Poster awards and talk award, closing remarks, end of the symposium, sparkling wine reception and goodbye! ABSTRACTS | CONTRIBUTED TALKS Session 1: Microbiology Thursday 28.11.2019, 9:00-10:40 The International Space Station selects for microorganisms adapted to the extreme environment, but does not induce lasting genomic and physiological changes relevant for human health Maximilian Mora1,2, Lisa Wink1, Ines Kögler1, Alexander Mahnert1, Petra Rettberg3, Petra Schwendner4, René Demets5, Charles Cockell4, Tatiana Alekhova6, Andreas Klingl7, Robert Krause1,8, Anna Zolotariof4, Alina Alexandrova6 & Christine Moissl-Eichinger1,8 1 Medical University of Graz, Austria. 2 Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology, Graz, Austria 3 German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Radiation Biology Department, Cologne, Germany. 4 University of Edinburgh, School of Physics and Astronomy, Edinburgh, UK. 5 European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC), Noordwijk, The Netherlands. 6 Lomonosov Moscow State University, Biological Faculty, Moscow, Russia. 7 Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Plant Development and Electron Microscopy, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany. 8 BioTechMed-Graz, Austria The International Space Station (ISS) is a unique, completely confined habitat for the human crew and co- inhabiting microorganisms. Here, we report on the results of the ISS experiment EXTREMOPHILES as recently published. We aimed to exploit the microbial information obtained from three sampling events aboard the ISS during increments 51 and 52 (2017) with respect to: i) microbial sources, diversity and distribution within the ISS, ii) functional capacity of microbiome and microbial isolates, iii) extremotolerance and antibiotics- resistance, and iv) microbial behavior towards ISS-relevant materials. We used wipe samples and analyzed them by amplicon and metagenomics sequencing, cultivation, comparative physiological studies, antibiotic resistance tests, genome analysis of isolates and co-incubation experiments with ISS-relevant materials. The major findings were: i) the ISS microbiome profile is highly similar to ground-based confined indoor environments, ii) the ISS microbiome is subject to fluctuations and indicative for the location , although a core microbiome was present over time and independent from location, iii) the ISS selects for microorganisms adapted to the extreme environment, but does not necessarily induce genomic and physiological changes iv) cleanrooms and cargo seems to be a minor source of microbial contamination aboard, and v) microorganisms can attach to and grow on ISS-relevant materials. Biofilm formation might be a threat for spacecraft materials integrity. We conclude that our data do not raise direct reason for concern with respect to crew health, but indicate a potential threat towards biofilm formation and material integrity in moist areas. Genome Sequences of Bacteriophages from Escherichia coli Cátia Pacífico1,2, Miriam Hilbert2, Dmitrij Sofka1, Christoph Aspöck2,3, Ildiko-Julia Pap3, Friederike Hilbert1* 1Institute of Food Safety, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria, 2Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Krems an der Donau, Austria, 3Institute of Hygiene and Microbiology, University Clinic St. Pölten, St. Pölten, Austria Funded in part by NFB grant number LS14-006 Escherichia coli is the main cause of bloodstream infections in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. Despite it is controversially discussed to what extent E. coli from food of animal origin contributes to human bloodstream infections, these microorganisms may enter the human host via food and may pass to the intestinal tract. Furthermore they can find their way to the urinary tract and may finally cause bloodstream infections. Recent studies show that not only bacteriophage associate with bacterial pathogens at infection sites, but the phage-bacterial interaction is relevant for virulence, intensity of disease and possible bacterial clearance. Here we describe coliphages isolated from food of animal origin, human blood and urinary tract infections/colonisation using whole genome sequencing. Phages isolated, belong to Siphoviridae, Myoviridae. Podoviridae and may harbour foreign DNA including virulence genes and antimicrobial resistance genes. Impact of Medication, Nutrition and Probiotics in the First Three Weeks of Life: Comparison of Preterm Infants´ Gut Microbiomes in Three Neonatal Intensive Care Units Charlotte Neumann, Stefan Kurath-Koller, Berndt Urlesberger, Christine Moissl-Eichinger Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria The first weeks in life are crucial for the development of the infant´s microbiome. For research on necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), the microbiome development is of great interest, as no specific cause of this disease has been identified yet and its anamnesis is most likely linked to a microbial component. For preterm-born infants spending their first days in hospital, factors shaping their microbiome are mainly the neonatal intensive care unit´s environment including parents’ microbiome, nutrition and medication. Therefore, the influence of these factors was compared in a cohort of 56 infants born in three Austrian hospitals which follow different NEC prophylaxis regimes regarding medication, probiotic administration and nutrition (details available at: Kurath-Koller et al., 2017): Hospital A B C Probiotics Lactobacillus Bifidobacterium, None Lactobacillus Antibiotics Gentamycin None Gentamycin Antimycotics Nystatin Fluconazole Nystatin Feeding Mainly breastmilk Mainly formula milk Mainly breastmilk The development of the infants’ gut microbiome during the first three weeks of life was investigated by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing in overall 388 samples. Our results indicate, that the microbiomes are more similar in the first days but diverge with increasing age, shaping three significantly distinguishable clusters respective of the three hospitals. Even after correction for the differences in the probiotic regime, the microbiome profiles remained indicative for the hospital. This study shows that the hospitals´ regimes have major impact on the formation of the neonatal gut microbiome. For a better understanding of the anamnesis of NEC in this consideration, further investigations on these aspects need to be performed. Session 5: Vesicles and beyond Friday 29.11.2019, 9:00-10:20 Extracellular vesicles derived from