Loss of soil microbial diversity exacerbates spread of antibiotic resistance

Abstract

Loss of biodiversity is a major threat to the ecosystem processes upon which society depends. Natural ecosystems differ in their resistance to invasion by alien species, and this resistance can depend on the diversity in the system. Little is known, however, about the barriers that microbial diversity provides against microbial invasion. The increasing prevalence of antibioticresistant bacteria is a serious threat to public health in the 21st century. We explored the consequences of the reduction in soil microbial diversity for the dissemination of antibiotic resistance. The relationship between this diversity and the invasion of antibiotic resistance was investigated using a dilution-to-extinction approach coupled with high-capacity quantitative PCR. Microbial diversity was negatively correlated with the abundance of antibiotic-resistance genes, and this correlation was maintained after accounting for other potential drivers such as incubation time and microbial abundance. Our results demonstrate that high microbial diversity can act as a biological barrier resist the spread of antibiotic resistance. These results fill a critical gap in our understanding of the role of soil microbial diversity in the health of ecosystems.

Antibiotic Resistance: Moving From Individual Health Norms to Social Norms in One Health and Global Health

“…may favor AR spread (Chen et al, 2019a). Note that, beyond the transmission of particular AR spreading clones, AR is expected to spread in farms by the modification (eventually homogenization) of animals' microbiota.…”

“…The common genetic origin of these types and the process of microbiota acquisition from nearby animals in intensive farming should homogenize also their microbiomes with consequences for AR dissemination. Actually, it has been shown that the loss of microbial diversity may favor AR spread ( Chen et al, 2019a ). Note that, beyond the transmission of particular AR spreading clones, AR is expected to spread in farms by the modification (eventually homogenization) of animals’ microbiota.…”

Exploring the Animal Waste Resistome: The Spread of Antimicrobial Resistance Genes Through the Use of Livestock Manure

“…Antibiotic residues, once entered into soil through manure application, can enhance persistence and HGT of ARGs (Binh et al, 2007;Zhao et al, 2019) through plasmids and integrons (Gotz and Smalla, 1997;Smalla et al, 2000;Sengeløv et al, 2003), promoting the spread of ARB in the environment and affecting the microbial community composition (Chen et al, 2019). Although manure-derived bacteria cannot always adapt to new environments, the antimicrobials can favor the enrichment of specific bacterial taxa in soils (through positive selection) and suppress others (Ding et al, 2014).…”

“…The increased number of resistant pathogens and commensal bacteria has been associated with the environmental spread of antibiotics and the propagation of antimicrobial resistant genes (ARGs; Levy, 1998;Witte, 1998;He et al, 2020). Furthermore, the environmental diffusion of antibiotics may lead to the change (Han et al, 2018) and loss (Chen et al, 2019) of microbial community diversity in soil (Kemper, 2008).…”

Evaluating the Potential Antibiotic Resistance Status in Environment Based on the Trait of Microbial Community

“…It is well known that microbial diversity played an important role in the resistance to microbial invasion in the natural ecosystem ( van Elsas et al, 2012 ). Some studies regarded the antibiotic resistome as a proxy for invasion and found that microbial diversity had negative correlation with the abundance of ARGs ( Chen Q. et al, 2019 ). In this study, an increase in piARG abundance was linearly associated with loss of OTU richness (observed OTUs, R 2 = 0.57, p < 0.001), OTU evenness (Pielou index, R 2 = 0.71, p < 0.001), and OTU diversity (Shannon index, R 2 = 0.72, p < 0.001).…”