Importance of mobile genetic elements for dissemination of antimicrobial resistance in metagenomic sewage samples across the world.

ABSTRACT: We are facing an ever-growing threat from increasing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bacteria. To mitigate this, we need a better understanding of the global spread of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs). ARGs are often spread among bacteria by horizontal gene transfer facilitated by mobile genetic elements (MGE). Here we use a dataset consisting of 677 metagenomic sequenced sewage samples from 97 countries or regions to study how MGEs are geographically distributed and how they disseminate ARGs worldwide. The ARGs, MGEs, and bacterial abundance were calculated by reference-based read mapping. We found systematic differences in the abundance of MGEs and ARGs, where some elements were prevalent on all continents while others had higher abundance in separate geographic areas. Different M

SUBMITTER: Johansson MHK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10586675 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature