Metagenomic strategies identify diverse integron-integrase and antibiotic resistance genes in the Antarctic environment.

ABSTRACT: The objective of this study is to identify and analyze integrons and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in samples collected from diverse sites in terrestrial Antarctica. Integrons were studied using two independent methods. One involved the construction and analysis of intI gene amplicon libraries. In addition, we sequenced 17 metagenomes of microbial mats and soil by high-throughput sequencing and analyzed these data using the IntegronFinder program. As expected, the metagenomic analysis allowed for the identification of novel predicted intI integrases and gene cassettes (GCs), which mostly encode unknown functions. However, some intI genes are similar to sequences previously identified by amplicon library analysis in soil samples collected from non-Antarctic sites. ARGs were analyzed in

SUBMITTER: Antelo V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8435808 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature