Metagenomic analysis reveals the dissemination mechanisms and risks of resistance genes in plateau lakes

Chengzhi Mao; Qi Li; Majid Komijani; Jie Huang; Tao Li

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2023.107508

Metagenomic analysis reveals the dissemination mechanisms and risks of resistance genes in plateau lakes

iScience. 2023 Jul 28;26(9):107508. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107508. eCollection 2023 Sep 15.

Authors

Chengzhi Mao^{1

2

3}, Qi Li¹, Majid Komijani⁴, Jie Huang², Tao Li¹

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China.
² Donghu Experimental Station of Lake Ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China.
³ University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
⁴ Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Arak University, Arak, Iran.

Abstract

Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are emerging as environmental pollutants that can persist and disseminate in aquatic environments. Lakes, as important sources of freshwater, also serve as potential natural reservoirs of ARGs. In this study, we analyzed the distribution and potential risks of resistance genes in five typical freshwater lakes on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. Our findings revealed that multidrug and MLS ARGs dominated in the studied lakes. Notably, while Lugu Lake exhibited higher abundance of ARGs, mobile genetic elements (MGEs), and metal resistance genes (MRGs), a greater resistome risk was observed in the eutrophic Xingyun Lake. The dissemination processes of ARGs and MRGs are primarily driven by microbial communities and the horizontal gene transfer via MGEs. Limnohabitans, Flavobacterium, and Acinetobacter were identified as key players in the dissemination of ARGs. Our study highlights the persistence of ARGs and provides valuable baseline data and risk assessment of ARGs in plateau freshwater lakes.

Keywords: Aquatic biology; Microbial genomics; Microbiology.