New article in Environment International

Metagenomic evidence for co-occurrence of antibiotic, biocide and metal resistance genes in pigs

New article in Environment International from Section of Microbiology

Environment International 158 (2022) 106899; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2021.106899

Xuanji Li, Christopher Rensing, Gisle Vestergaard, Manimozhiyan Arumugam,  Joseph Nesme, Shashank Gupta, Asker Daniel Brejnrod, Søren Johannes Sørensen.

Abstract:

Co-selection of heavy metal/biocide and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) has been suggested as one potential mechanism promoting the prolifer-ation of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This paper aims to elucidate this interplay and exploit differences in antibiotic usage to infer patterns of co-selection by the non-antibiotic factors metals and biocides in the context of pig farming. We examined 278 gut metagenomes from pigs with continuous antibiotic exposure, only at weaning and at no exposure. Metals as growth promoters and biocides as disinfectants are currently used with little re-strictions in stock farming. The pigs under continuous antibiotic exposure displayed the highest co-occurrence of ARGs and other genetic elements while the pigs under limited use of antibiotics still showed abundant co- occurrences. Pathogens belonging to Enterobacteriaceae displayed increased co-occurrence phenomena, sug-gesting that this maintenance is not a random selection process from a mobilized pool but pertains to specific phylogenetic clades. These results suggest that metals and biocides displayed strong selective pressures on ARGs exerted by intensive farming, regardless of the current use of antibiotics.

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