Open AccessMetagenomics of urban sewage identifies an extensively shared antibiotic resistome in China
Author(s) -
Jian Su,
Xin An,
Bing Li,
Qinglin Chen,
Michael R. Gillings,
Hong Chen,
Tong Zhang,
Yanmin Zhu
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
microbiome
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.297
H-Index - 78
ISSN - 2049-2618
DOI - 10.1186/s40168-017-0298-y
Subject(s) - resistome , metagenomics , biology , medical microbiology , microbial ecology , antibiotics , sewage , microbiology and biotechnology , china , microbiome , ecology , antibiotic resistance , bacteria , bioinformatics , genetics , gene , geography , integron , waste management , engineering , archaeology
Background Antibiotic-resistant pathogens are challenging treatment of infections worldwide. Urban sewage is potentially a major conduit for dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes into various environmental compartments. However, the diversity and abundance of such genes in wastewater are not well known. Methods Here, seasonal and geographical distributions of antibiotic resistance genes and their host bacterial communities from Chinese urban sewage were characterized, using metagenomic analyses and 16S rRNA gene-based Illumina sequencing, respectively. Results In total, 381 different resistance genes were detected, and these genes were extensively shared across China, with no geographical clustering. Seasonal variation in abundance of resistance genes was observed, with average concentrations of 3.27 × 10 11 and 1.79 × 10 12 copies/L in summer and winter, respectively. Bacterial communities did not exhibit geographical clusters, but did show a significant distance-decay relationship ( P < 0.01). The core, shared resistome accounted for 57.7% of the total resistance genes, and was significantly associated with the core microbial community ( P < 0.01). The core human gut microbiota was also strongly associated with the shared resistome, demonstrating the potential contribution of human gut microbiota to the dissemination of resistance elements via sewage disposal. Conclusions This study provides a baseline for investigating environmental dissemination of resistance elements and raises the possibility of using the abundance of resistance genes in sewage as a tool for antibiotic stewardship. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40168-017-0298-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.