Meta-analysis reveals the global picture of antibiotic resistance gene prevalence across environments

• The environment is an important component in the emergence and transmission of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Despite that, current AMR monitoring initiatives lack comprehensive reference data for the vast majority of environments. To enable monitoring to detect deviations from the normal background resistance levels in the environment, it is necessary to establish the typical baseline of AMR in a variety of settings. In an attempt to establish this baseline level, we here performed a comprehensive literature survey across 2516 scientific papers, 150 of which contained relevant qPCR data on antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in environments associated with potential routes of AMR dissemination. The collected data include 1487 samples distributed across 30 different countries and 17 environmental types, in a time span from 2005 to 2018. More than 330 different genes were identified from the collected studies. Most surveyed environments contained a diverse set of ARGs, but generally at low abundances. We used linear mixed models and overrepresentation analysis to identify time trends and associations between ARGs and specific environments. Altogether these data represent a comprehensive overview of the occurrence and levels of ARGs in different environments, providing background data for risk assessment models within current and future AMR monitoring frameworks.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Medicinska och farmaceutiska grundvetenskaper -- Mikrobiologi inom det medicinska området (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Basic Medicine -- Microbiology in the medical area (hsv//eng)

Publikations- och innehållstyp

vet (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)