Svetlana Selivanovskaya: ‘It's sad when they say ecologists are people who ban everything’

“Ecology is becoming more technologically advanced”

The Institute of Ecology, Biotechnology and Nature Management of Kazan Federal University grew out of the first ecology department in the USSR, which was opened in Kazan in 1989. In those years, ecology was an exotic profession. Please tell us, who is an ecologist today, what do they do?

We started talking about ecology 50 years ago. And let me remind you: our university opened not only the first ecology department. It grew out of the first nature conservation department in the USSR, which was opened at the biology department. Moreover, it was the specialists of our faculty who created the first state educational standard in the country, formed an idea of what ecology is and how it should be taught to students.

Ecology is the scientific basis for environmental protection and solving problems associated with it. Our institute brings together many specialists: both ecologists, meteorologists, mathematicians, experts in geoinformation systems, biotechnologists, and soil scientists. In short, those who can solve problems arising in the environment — both those caused by human activity and those arising for natural reasons.

To do this, firstly, we need to know how this or that organism lives in the environment, what processes normally occur in natural conditions. Secondly, we need to understand how they have changed under human influence. And thirdly, what can be done to either return them to their original state (which, of course, is hardly possible, because then we would have to return to the caves), or carry out some measures to minimize the negative effect, while maintaining human comfort. This is what an ecologist does, generally speaking.

And if we talk in particular? Where do your graduates work?

We train a generalist ecologist, erudite enough to be able to work in various fields. Firstly, it could be an oil company, because they need to solve issues of water and soil pollution and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Secondly, agricultural enterprises, which also harm nature. We cannot completely eliminate this burden, because humanity wants to eat. But agroecology will help us understand how to produce a crop or obtain livestock products with minimal impact on the environment. And we teach this too.

Thirdly, it is important to understand how to build processes at industrial enterprises, how to modify technological chains so that they cause the least harm? Here, knowledge of an environmental biotechnologist is required.

And, of course, various reserves, protected areas, where it is important to maintain the existence of living organisms in an undisturbed environment.

And in general, ecology is becoming more technological. Because knowledge of how the environment is structured is very important. But now it is not enough. Now it is important to know how to build interaction with the environment, improve its condition, minimize the negative effect — and all this requires certain technologies.

Knowledge of how the environment is structured is very important. But now it is not enough. Now it is important to know how to build interaction with the environment, improve its condition, minimize the negative effect

“As long as a person continues to manage the environment carelessly, we will have work”

And the economic effect must also be preserved.

Yes. The economy is developing, we are talking about technological breakthroughs, about technological leadership. And in this case, unfortunately, ecology is perceived as weights and shackles on the feet of people who want to run forward quickly. It always makes me said when they say ecologists are people who ban everything and allow nothing. This is, of course, wrong! Because it is necessary to find a golden mean in which both economic development would be maintained and the negative impact on the environment would be reduced.

After all, otherwise we can be well-fed, wear beautiful clothes and ride good transport, but at the same time our life will be terrible. Because we will breathe polluted air, drink dirty water, eat a lot of tasty products that will contain substances that negatively affect health, and our life will ultimately be shortened.

That is, we will live well, but not for long.

Yes.

So, your graduates work today in departments, and at enterprises, and in laboratories?

Yes, we can divide the organizations in which our graduates work into several categories. Firstly, these are, of course, government agencies. Our graduates are awaited by the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Tatarstan, they also work in the federal Ministry of Natural Resources. There are our ecologists in the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, and in other government organizations.

Secondly, there is a need to develop a huge amount of permitting documentation for enterprises. As a rule, enterprises try to outsource this. Many of our graduates work in this area, who at one time opened companies to develop such documents — and they also constantly need new personnel.

Thirdly, guys with our diplomas can work in various laboratories — both environmental and agricultural. We have institutes and universities that are also happy to hire our graduates.

I have already spoken about how urgently the industry and agriculture need ecologists and biotechnologists.

It turns out that an ecologist will never be out of work.

As long as a person continues to manage the environment carelessly, we will have work.

Antibiotic resistance and where it comes from

And what other interesting things do you do in the field of biotechnology?

We have many projects at the intersection of biotechnology and ecology. For example, this one: today the world community is faced with the big problem of antibiotic resistance. Sometimes antibiotics do not work even on a person who is taking this medicine for the first time. Why? How do microbes carrying resistance genes end up in the body of a person who has never taken this medicine before? Look at the interesting chain that is formed.

Antibiotics in huge quantities, much larger than in human medicine, are used in veterinary medicine — to increase the mass of animals. Pigs, cows, chickens receive drugs from birth. Then antibiotic-resistant bacteria are formed in their bodies, which get into the environment with faeces and urine — after all, manure and droppings from poultry farms and farms are taken out as fertilizer to fields and gardens. And then the most interesting thing begins. Bacteria can pass on antibiotic resistance not only to their offspring, but also to their neighbours. This is the so-called horizontal gene transfer, which only bacteria have. As a result, the soil microflora, which has never encountered antibiotics before, receives resistance genes. And then antibiotic-resistant bacteria can penetrate into the plant. Into lettuce, beets, and so on. And we successfully eat these bacteria in the “healthy” lettuce that we grew in our garden.

So there is no salvation anywhere, even in a completely natural farm?

There was an anecdotal case. We were conducting a large project on antibiotic resistance, trying to find a technology to break this chain. For control, we needed clean soil without bacteria with antibiotic resistance genes. We did not find it!

Don't be surprised: firstly, they are everywhere. Secondly, antibiotic resistance did not appear today. After all, these are evolutionarily created genes. Let me explain: when bacteria fight microscopic fungi, they can occupy the entire territory. And in order to prevent bacteria from multiplying, fungi can secrete substances that are antibiotics. And bacteria, in order to win, have evolutionarily developed mechanisms of resistance to antibiotics. They have them in their genotype. Therefore, this is not only a medical problem, but also an environmental one.

We can provide two recommendations for now. The first is that it is absolutely obvious that you cannot scatter fresh droppings or manure around your garden. At the very least, it should be composted, because during the composting process, the number of resistance genes decreases to almost zero. We can add this compost to the soil, and we will not find these genes in it during the season.

And the second recommendation is to wash greens well, heat-treat vegetables and meat.