Antibiotic Resistance in the Environment

Antibiotic contamination in global aquatic environment exhibits significant regional disparities with low-and-middle income countries experiencing higher levels of antibiotic pollution, according to a global assessment of spatial and temporal distribution of antibiotics in aquatic environments.

While small-sized microbes showed lower antibiotic resistance in groundwater, 62 species including 17 pathogens displayed enhanced tolerance to 10 antibiotics and 653 genes shared resistome with human gut microbiome of local residents, based on a field study at Bobai County, Southern China.

Plastic debris in Antarctic lakes and soils are hotspots for antibiotic resistant bacteria and genes, according to high throughput qPCR and 16S rRNA sequencing.

45% of 920 of cryospheric bacterial strains from Tibetan Plateau carry antibiotic-resistance genes with habitat-specific patterns, with 6.4% linked to mobile genetic elements, suggesting vertical inheritance in low-selection environments, based on analysis of strains from distinct habitats.

Microplastics interacting with cyanobacteria can alter microbial communities and functional genes, impacting carbon and nitrogen cycles in seagrass meadows and posing ecological risks, according to an in-situ incubation experiment in seagrass meadow at Swan Lake, China.

Authors measured eleven key antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in U.S. wastewater to gauge population‑level resistance. Results showed regional differences and links between higher ARG levels, social vulnerability indicators and international travel.

Drought conditions in soil systems lead to elevated concentrations of natural antibiotics, as well as the enrichment of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms, highlighting a link between climate and the spread of antimicrobial resistance.

Florfenicol treatment substantially increased the abundance and mobility of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the common carp gut microbiome. The resistome and mobilome profiles failed to return to baseline after the mandated withdrawal time, indicating that this period is insufficient to mitigate the risk of ARG transmission to consumers.

A combination of metagenomic data from experimental and natural warming with microbial culturing experiments shows that warming increases the potential of evolution of antibiotic resistance in soil bacteria.