Metagenomic analysis reveals the shared and distinct features of the soil resistome across tundra, temperate prairie, and tropical ecosystems ...

• Main Authors: Qian, Xun, Gunturu, Santosh, Guo, Jiarong, Chai, Benli, Cole, James R., Gu, Jie, Tiedje, James M.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: figshare 2021
• Subjects: Microbiology; FOS Biological sciences; Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified; Chemical Sciences not elsewhere classified; Ecology; Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified; Tundra
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5425416.v1; https://springernature.figshare.com/collections/Metagenomic_analysis_reveals_the_shared_and_distinct_features_of_the_soil_resistome_across_tundra_temperate_prairie_and_tropical_ecosystems/5425416/1

Abstract Background Soil is an important reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), but their potential risk in different ecosystems as well as response to anthropogenic land use change is unknown. We used a metagenomic approach and datasets with well-characterized metadata to investigate ARG types and amounts in soil DNA of three native ecosystems: Alaskan tundra, US Midwestern prairie, and Amazon rainforest, as well as the effect of conversion of the latter two to agriculture and pasture, respectively. Results High diversity (242 ARG subtypes) and abundance (0.184–0.242 ARG copies per 16S rRNA gene copy) were observed irrespective of ecosystem, with multidrug resistance and efflux pump the dominant class and mechanism. Ten regulatory genes were identified and they accounted for 13–35% of resistome abundances in soils, among them arlR, cpxR, ompR, vanR, and vanS were dominant and observed in all studied soils. We identified 55 non-regulatory ARGs shared by all 26 soil metagenomes of the three ...