Antibiotic resistance genes in integrated surface ice, cryoconite, and glacier-fed stream in a mountain glacier in Central Asia

作者：Ze Ren, Hongkai Gao · 发表于：Environment International · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1016/j.envint.2024.108482 · 被引用次数：16 · 研究领域：Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology、Pharmaceutical and Antibiotic Environmental Impacts、Environmental DNA in Biodiversity Studies

Glacier ice, cryoconite, and glacier-fed streams are interconnected features that have important implications for the dynamics and distribution of abiotic and biotic materials. However, the presence and behavior of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) within these glacial environments remained largely unexplored. Addressing this gap, we hypothesized that ARGs are widely distributed and exhibit distinct yet interconnected patterns of diversity and dynamics in these glacial environments. Here, we investigated ARGs in a mountain glacier in Central Asia. A total of 944 ARGs, spanning 22 antibiotic classes, were identified, with 633 ARGs shared across all three environments. Cryoconite exhibited the highest ARG richness, followed by ice, while stream biofilm displayed the lowest value. Exploring ARG profiles, we observed a consistent pattern in terms of antibiotic class and resistance mechanism across all three environments. Beta-lactam resistance genes exhibited the highest diversity, followed by multidrug, glycopeptide, and MLS. The predominant mechanisms were antibiotic inactivation, antibiotic efflux, and target alteration. The most prevalent ARG is cls, followed by mdfA, ropB, fabI, and macB. The similarity in ARG profiles between surface ice and cryoconite samples was more pronounced than their resemblance to stream biofilm samples. The variations of ARG profiles between any pair of environments were largely contributed by turnover component. Further insights into microbial in...