Water and sanitation are important factors in the emergence of antimicrobial resistance in low- and middle-income countries. Drug residues, metals, and various wastes foster the spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) with the help of mobile genetic elements (MGEs), and therefore, rivers receiving contaminants and effluents from multiple sources are of special interest. We followed both the microbiome and resistome of the Code River in Indonesia from its pristine origin at the Merapi volcano through rural and then city areas to the coast of the Indian Ocean. We used a SmartChip quantitative PCR with 382 primer pairs for profiling the resistome and MGEs and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing to analyze the bacterial communities. The community structure explained the resistome composition in rural areas, while the city sampling sites had lower bacterial diversity and more ARGs, which correlated with MGEs, suggesting increased mobility potential in response to pressures from human activities. Importantly, the vast majority of ARGs and MGEs were no longer detectable in marine waters at the ocean entrance. Our work provides information on the impact of different influents on river health as well as sheds light on how land use contributes to the river resistome and microbiome.
Keywords: 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing; Antimicrobial resistance; bacterial communities; quantitative PCR; river health.