Metagenomics analysis of bacteriophages and antimicrobial resistance from global urban sewage.

ABSTRACT: Bacteriophages, or phages, are ubiquitous bacterial and archaeal viruses with an estimated total global population of 10³¹. It is well-known that wherever there are bacteria, their phage counterparts will be found, aiding in shaping the bacterial population. The present study used metagenomic data from global influent sewage in 79 cities in 60 countries to identify phages associated with bacteria and to explore their potential role in antimicrobial resistance gene (ARG) dissemination. The reads were mapped to known databases for bacteriophages and their abundances determined and correlated to geographic origin and the countries socio-economic status, as well as the abundances of bacterial species and ARG. We found that some phages were not equally distributed on a global scale,

SUBMITTER: Strange JES 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7810828 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature