Ana Zubiaga, professor of Genetics at the UPV/EHU and president of Jakiunde, delivered the third Ricardo Echepare Conference on September 15th at the Miramar Palace in San Sebastián, as part of the UPV/EHU Summer Courses. Under the title "One Planet, One Health: The Biology of an Interconnected World," she addressed the connections between human, animal, and environmental health. In this interview, Zubiaga explains the importance of the One Health approach, global health challenges, advances in genetics, and the need for increasingly interdisciplinary science.
Zubiaga emphasizes that biology does not recognize the boundaries we have established between human, animal, and environmental health. We share evolution, genes, biological functions, and even diseases and microorganisms with other animals. Therefore, when an alteration occurs in one of these areas, it normally affects the others, as they are all interdependent. Our health depends on the health of everything around us.
The fact that we share genes is the clearest example of our connection. We share about 99% of our genes with chimpanzees, but even with species more distantly related, like fish or mice, we share approximately 80%. Even with pumpkins, we share up to 50%. We not only share genes but also biological functions. A striking example is the human PAX6 gene, involved in eye development, which, if inserted into a fly, enables it to generate an eye.
Zubiaga points out that environmental degradation and pollution are the threats we most underestimate and which could trigger the next major health crisis. Pollutants do not stay in one place but spread through ecosystems via air, soil, or food, reaching numerous living beings and potentially accumulating. She is also concerned about the potential malicious use of advanced AI to create or modify pathogens for bioterrorism.
Antimicrobial resistance is another clear example of why the One Health approach is needed. Bacteria acquire resistance in various ways, and resistant genes and microorganisms are spreading globally. The use of antibiotics in farm animals also contributes to the emergence of resistance. Therefore, global policies are required, as it is not enough for one region to set strict rules if its neighbor does not do the same.
After four decades in genetics, Zubiaga highlights the ability to sequence genomes as the scientific advance she would have found most difficult to imagine at the start of her career. Technological and computational advancements have allowed for the analysis of all genes in a cell at once, offering a much broader perspective. She notes that universities and research centers are still not fully prepared for truly interdisciplinary work, although initiatives like the Basque One Health Node are underway.
She also addresses the recurring difficulty of translating scientific knowledge into political and social decisions, using climate change as an example. Scientists' responsibility is to generate rigorous knowledge, communicate it comprehensibly, and participate in public debate. Finally, she confesses that the great question that still intrigues her is understanding the connections between the different systems of an organism and between living beings in ecosystems, a challenge that will require artificial intelligence tools.
