Global analysis of the metaplasmidome: ecological drivers and spread of antibiotic resistance genes across ecosystems.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Plasmids act as vehicles for the rapid spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). However, few studies of the resistome at the community level distinguish between ARGs carried by mobile genetic elements and those carried by chromosomes, and these studies have been limited to a few ecosystems. This is the first study to focus on ARGs carried by the metaplasmidome on a global scale.

Results

This study shows that only a small fraction of the plasmids reconstructed from 27 ecosystems representing 9 biomes are catalogued in public databases. The abundance of ARGs harboured by the metaplasmidome was significantly explained by bacterial richness. Few plasmids with or without ARGs were shared between ecosystems or biomes, suggesting that plasmid distribution on a globa

SUBMITTER: Debroas D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11921664 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature