TY - JOUR
T1 - Global diversity and distribution of antibiotic resistance genes in human wastewater treatment systems
AU - Global Water Microbiome Consortium
AU - Zhu, Congmin
AU - Wu, Linwei
AU - Ning, Daliang
AU - Tian, Renmao
AU - Gao, Shuhong
AU - Zhang, Bing
AU - Zhao, Jianshu
AU - Zhang, Ya
AU - Xiao, Naijia
AU - Wang, Yajiao
AU - Brown, Mathew R.
AU - Tu, Qichao
AU - Zhuang, Weiqin
AU - Zhou, Hongde
AU - Zheng, Wanlin
AU - Zhang, Wen
AU - Zhang, Qian
AU - Zhang, Chiqian
AU - Young, Michelle
AU - Yang, Min
AU - Yan, Tao
AU - Xi, Chuanwu
AU - Wu, Liyou
AU - Wu, Jer Horng
AU - Woo, Sung Geun
AU - West, Stephanie
AU - Weaver, Joseph E.
AU - Wang, Bei
AU - Wakelin, Steve
AU - Van Nostrand, Joy D.
AU - Tooker, Nicholas B.
AU - Sun, Chenxiang
AU - Stephens, Kyle
AU - de Sousa, Oscarina Viana
AU - Smith, Kylie
AU - Sidhu, Jatinder
AU - Rossetti, Simona
AU - de los Reyes, Francis L.
AU - Reginatto, Valeria
AU - Parameswaran, Prathap
AU - Palmer, Andrew
AU - Meyers, Arthur J.
AU - de Menezes, Francisca Gleire Rodriguez
AU - Mendonça-Hagler, Leda C.
AU - Liu, Yu
AU - Li, Mengyan
AU - Li, Zhenxin
AU - Ju, Feng
AU - Wells, George F.
AU - Guo, Jianhua
AU - He, Zhili
AU - Nielsen, Per Halkjær
AU - Wang, Aijie
AU - Zhang, Yu
AU - Chen, Ting
AU - He, Qiang
AU - Criddle, Craig S.
AU - Wagner, Michael
AU - Tiedje, James M.
AU - Curtis, Thomas P.
AU - Wen, Xianghua
AU - Yang, Yunfeng
AU - Alvarez-Cohen, Lisa
AU - Stahl, David A.
AU - Alvarez, Pedro J.J.
AU - Rittmann, Bruce E.
AU - Zhou, Jizhong
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2025.
PY - 2025/4/29
Y1 - 2025/4/29
N2 - Antibiotic resistance poses a significant threat to human health, and wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are important reservoirs of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Here, we analyze the antibiotic resistomes of 226 activated sludge samples from 142 WWTPs across six continents, using a consistent pipeline for sample collection, DNA sequencing and analysis. We find that ARGs are diverse and similarly abundant, with a core set of 20 ARGs present in all WWTPs. ARG composition differs across continents and is distinct from that of the human gut and the oceans. ARG composition strongly correlates with bacterial taxonomic composition, with Chloroflexi, Acidobacteria and Deltaproteobacteria being the major carriers. ARG abundance positively correlates with the presence of mobile genetic elements, and 57% of the 1112 recovered high-quality genomes possess putatively mobile ARGs. Resistome variations appear to be driven by a complex combination of stochastic processes and deterministic abiotic factors.
AB - Antibiotic resistance poses a significant threat to human health, and wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are important reservoirs of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Here, we analyze the antibiotic resistomes of 226 activated sludge samples from 142 WWTPs across six continents, using a consistent pipeline for sample collection, DNA sequencing and analysis. We find that ARGs are diverse and similarly abundant, with a core set of 20 ARGs present in all WWTPs. ARG composition differs across continents and is distinct from that of the human gut and the oceans. ARG composition strongly correlates with bacterial taxonomic composition, with Chloroflexi, Acidobacteria and Deltaproteobacteria being the major carriers. ARG abundance positively correlates with the presence of mobile genetic elements, and 57% of the 1112 recovered high-quality genomes possess putatively mobile ARGs. Resistome variations appear to be driven by a complex combination of stochastic processes and deterministic abiotic factors.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105004335774
U2 - 10.1038/s41467-025-59019-3
DO - 10.1038/s41467-025-59019-3
M3 - Article
C2 - 40301344
AN - SCOPUS:105004335774
SN - 2041-1723
VL - 16
JO - Nature Communications
JF - Nature Communications
M1 - 4006
ER -
SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
SDG 13 Climate Action