As part of my doctoral project, I am investigating the role of intestinal bacteria in the degradation of environmental chemicals such as pesticides and studying their transformation. This so-called biotransformation not only alters the structure of a chemical but also its properties such as water solubility or toxicity. Such changes can have adverse effects on intestinal bacteria or directly on humans. Particularly with chemicals like medications that intentionally come into contact with the human body, this is a primary focus in development. The intake of pesticides through food is one of the main exposure routes for humans, but at the same time, there are still limited published data on biotransformation in humans for pesticides, which is why my project primarily focuses on this class of chemicals.

Investigations into accurately describing or even predicting biotransformation are challenging due to the complexity and dynamics of the gut microbiome. To study this interaction in increasingly complex models, a step-by-step approach has been developed for the MibiTox project.

In close collaboration with cooperation partners, I have been involved in the project from the beginning, assisting in the selection of all test substances and collecting potential transformation products through literature research and prediction with algorithms. In the initial experiment, I examined the transformation products of pesticides and food additives in a simplified model with human intestinal bacteria (SIHUMIx, Simplified Human Gut Microbiome extended) and compared them with this data. The degradation capacity and resulting products will be published soon. Another study related to this experiment examines the impact of the tested chemicals on intestinal bacteria and was published in Frontiers in Microbiology (DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1349367). Subsequent experiments in the project include a comparison with an in vivo model, such as zebrafish, to also assess the effects on the entire organism.

The MibiTox project is being conducted by an interdisciplinary PhD consortium (ETOX, EAC, MOLTOX, AME, IMMU) and is funded by the Chemicals in the Environment (CITE) research unit from UFZ.

For the latest overview from the European Environment Agency on pesticides and their impact on the environment and humans, please see here (published April 2023, available only in English).