Actualitat ICRA

Research scientist (Ramon y Cajal), Water Quality Area

Contact Details
Catalan Institute for Water Research, ICRA
email: jlbalcazar@icra.cat

Phone: +34 972 183 380
Fax: +34 972 183 248

Short biography
Dr. Balcazar received his Ph.D. in Animal Pathology from the University of Zaragoza in 2006. He joined the Institute of Marine Research at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) in 2007, where his postdoctoral studies were concerned with the role of microbial communities in marine environments. In 2009, Dr. Balcazar began his current position at the Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA).

Research interests
Dr. Balcazar’s research interests are focused on the physiological, metabolic, and genetic diversity of environmental microorganisms using culture-dependent and -independent approaches. Research themes include:
• Host-microbe interactions in aquatic species.
• Aquatic microbial diversity and ecology.
• Antibiotic resistance in aquatic ecosystems.

Honours and Awards
Ramon y Cajal Research Fellow
Award to the best Ph.D. Thesis on Animal Health. Laboratorios SYVA, S.A.
Excellence Ph.D. Award. University of Zaragoza

Key publications
Marti E., Huerta B., Rodríguez-Mozaz S., Barcelo D., Jofre J., Balcazar J.L. 2014. Characterization of ciprofloxacin-resistant isolates from a wastewater treatment plant and its receiving river. Water Research (in press)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2014.05.006

Marti E., Variatza E., Balcazar J.L. 2014. Bacteriophages as a reservoir of extended-spectrum β-lactamase and fluoroquinolone resistance genes in the environment. Clinical Microbiology and Infection (in press)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1469-0691.12446

Marti E., Balcazar J.L. 2014. Use of pyrosequencing to explore the benthic bacterial community structure in a river impacted by wastewater treatment plant discharges. Research in Microbiology (in press)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.resmic.2014.04.002

Perez-Sanchez T., Ruiz-Zarzuela I., de Blas I., Balcazar J.L. 2014. Probiotics in aquaculture: a current assessment. Reviews in Aquaculture (in press).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/raq.12033

Sidrach-Cardona R., Hijosa-Valsero M., Marti E., Balcazar J.L., Becares E. 2014. Prevalence of antibiotic-resistant fecal bacteria in a river impacted by both an antibiotic production plant and urban treated discharges. Science of the Total Environment 488-489, 220-227.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.04.100

Marti E., Variatza E., Balcazar J.L. 2014. The role of aquatic ecosystems as reservoirs of antibiotic resistance. Trends in Microbiology 22, 36-41.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tim.2013.11.001

Marti E., Balcazar J.L. 2013. Antibiotic resistance in the aquatic environment. Comprehensive Analytical Chemistry. 62, 671-684.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-62657-8.00019-7

Marti E., Jofre J., Balcazar J.L. 2013. Prevalence of antibiotic resistance genes and bacterial community composition in a river influenced by a wastewater treatment plant. PLoS ONE 8, e78906.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0078906

Huerta B., Marti E., Gros M., López P., Pompêo M., Armengol J., Barceló D., Balcazar J.L., Rodríguez-Mozaz S., Marcé R. 2013. Exploring the links between antibiotic occurrence, antibiotic resistance, and bacterial communities in water supply reservoirs. Science of the Total Environment. 456-457, 161-170.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.03.071

Marti E., Balcazar J.L. 2013. Real-time PCR assays for quantification of qnr genes in environmental water samples and chicken feces. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 79, 1743-1745.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/AEM.03409-12

Marti E., Balcazar J.L. 2012. Multidrug resistance-encoding plasmid from Aeromonas sp. strain P2G1. Clinical Microbiology and Infection 18, E366-E368.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-0691.2012.03935.x

Zokaeifar H., Balcazar J.L., Saad C.R., Kamarudin M.S., Sijam K., Arshad A., Nejat N. 2012. Effects of Bacillus subtilis on the growth performance, digestive enzymes, immune gene expression and disease resistance of white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei. Fish and Shellfish Immunology 33, 683-689.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fsi.2012.05.027

Vendrell D., Serarols L., Balcazar J.L., Ruiz-Zarzuela I., de Blas I., Girones O., Muzquiz J.L. 2012. Accumulation and depletion kinetics of erythromycin in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Preventive Veterinary Medicine 105, 160-163.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2012.02.017

Marti E., Monclus H., Rodriguez-Roda I., Jofre J., Comas J., Balcazar J.L. 2011. Removal of microbial indicators from municipal wastewater by a membrane bioreactor (MBR). Bioresource Technology 102, 5004-5009.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2011.01.068

Perez-Sanchez T., Balcazar J.L., Merrifield D.L., Carnevali O., Gioacchini G., de Blas I., Ruiz-Zarzuela I. 2011. Expression of immune-related genes in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) induced by probiotic bacteria during Lactococcus garvieae infection. Fish and Shellfish Immunology 31, 196-201.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fsi.2011.05.005

Perez T., Balcazar J.L., Peix A., Valverde A., Velazquez E., de Blas I., Ruiz-Zarzuela I. 2011. Lactococcus lactis subsp. tructae subsp. nov. isolated from the intestinal mucus of brown trout (Salmo trutta) and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology 61, 1894-1898.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1099/ijs.0.023945-0

Perez T., Balcazar J.L. Ruiz-Zarzuela I., de Blas I., Muzquiz J.L. 2010. Host-microbiota interactions within the intestinal ecosystem: what is known about fish? Mucosal Immunology 3, 355-360.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/mi.2010.12

Balcazar J.L., de Blas I., Ruiz-Zarzuela I., Vendrell D., Muzquiz J.L. 2007. Quantitative detection of Aeromonas salmonicida in fish tissue by real-time PCR using self-quenched, fluorogenic primers. Journal of Medical Microbiology 56, 323-328.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.46647-0

Editorial activities
Academic Editor, PLoS ONE (Public Library of Science)
Editorial Board Member, Scientific Reports (Nature Publishing Group)
Editorial Board Member, BMC Microbiology (BioMed Central)

Other links
http://www.researcherid.com/rid/A-8390-2008