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Updated: Nov 3, 2025
Isolation and Identification of Waterborne Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria and Molecular Characterization of their Antibiotic Resistance Genes
Published on: March 3, 2023
Destination shapes antibiotic resistance gene acquisitions, abundance increases, and diversity changes in Dutch
Alaric W D'Souza1, Manish Boolchandani1, Sanket Patel1,2
1The Edison Family Center for Genome Sciences and Systems Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Background:
Antimicrobial-resistant bacteria and their antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes can spread by hitchhiking in human guts. International travel can exacerbate this public health threat when travelers acquire AMR genes endemic to their destinations and bring them back to their home countries. Prior studies have demonstrated travel-related acquisition of specific opportunistic pathogens and AMR genes, but the extent and magnitude of travel's effects on the gut resistome remain largely unknown.
Methods:
Using whole metagenomic shotgun sequencing, functional metagenomics, and Dirichlet multinomial mixture models, we investigated the abundance, diversity, function, resistome architecture, and context of AMR genes in the fecal microbiomes of 190 Dutch individuals, before and after travel to diverse international locations.
Results:
Travel markedly increased the abundance and α-diversity of AMR genes in the travelers' gut resistome, and we determined that 56 unique AMR genes showed significant acquisition following international travel. These acquisition events were biased towards AMR genes with efflux, inactivation, and target replacement resistance mechanisms. Travel-induced shaping of the gut resistome had distinct correlations with geographical destination, so individuals returning to The Netherlands from the same destination country were more likely to have similar resistome features. Finally, we identified and detailed specific acquisition events of high-risk, mobile genetic element-associated AMR genes including qnr fluoroquinolone resistance genes, blaCTX-M family extended-spectrum β-lactamases, and the plasmid-borne mcr-1 colistin resistance gene.
Conclusions:
Our results show that travel shapes the architecture of the human gut resistome and results in AMR gene acquisition against a variety of antimicrobial drug classes. These broad acquisitions highlight the putative risks that international travel poses to public health by gut resistome perturbation and the global spread of locally endemic AMR genes.
Insights
International travel significantly alters the human gut resistome, increasing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes. This study reveals travel’s role in the global spread of AMR genes, posing public health risks.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Genomics
- Public Health
Background:
- Antimicrobial-resistant bacteria and their genes spread through human guts.
- International travel can facilitate the global dissemination of these antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes.
- The impact of travel on the overall gut resistome is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how international travel affects the abundance, diversity, function, and architecture of AMR genes in the human gut microbiome.
- To identify specific AMR genes acquired during travel and their resistance mechanisms.
- To explore the correlation between travel destinations and resistome changes.
Main Methods:
- Whole metagenomic shotgun sequencing and functional metagenomics were employed.
- Dirichlet multinomial mixture models were used to analyze fecal microbiomes from 190 Dutch individuals.
- Samples were collected before and after international travel to various global destinations.
Main Results:
- International travel significantly increased the abundance and diversity of AMR genes in the gut resistome.
- Fifty-six unique AMR genes were acquired, predominantly those conferring resistance via efflux, inactivation, and target replacement.
- Resistome alterations correlated with geographical destinations, and high-risk AMR genes (e.g., qnr, blaCTX-M, mcr-1) were identified.
Conclusions:
- International travel reshapes the human gut resistome, leading to the acquisition of diverse antimicrobial resistance genes.
- These findings underscore the public health risks associated with travel-induced resistome perturbation and the global spread of AMR.
- Travel acts as a significant factor in the global dissemination of locally endemic AMR genes.
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