Millennial-scale microbiome analysis reveals ancient antimicrobial resistance conserved despite modern selection pressures.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Antimicrobial resistance presents a formidable challenge, yet its existence predates the introduction of antibiotics. Our study delves into the presence of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) in ancient permafrost microbiomes, comparing them with contemporary soil and pristine environments. Majority of the samples are from regions around Beringia, encompassing parts of Russia and Alaska, with only one sample originating from the Tien Shan Mountain range in Kyrgyzstan.

Results

From over 2.3 tera basepairs of raw metagenomic data, retrieved from samples ranging in age from approximately 7,000 years to 1.1 million years, we assembled about 1.3 billion metagenomic contigs and explored the prevalence of ARGs within them. Our findings reveal a diverse array of ARGs in

SUBMITTER: Gomathinayagam S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11657988 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature