Toward a Universal Unit for Quantification of Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Environmental Samples

Area of Science:

• Environmental science
• Microbiology
• Public health

Background:

• Antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) surveillance is expanding in environmental sectors to support the "One Health" approach.
• Comparing data across studies is difficult due to varied methodologies and bioinformatic analyses.
• Existing quantification units for ARGs lack standardization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address the challenges in comparing ARG surveillance data from different studies.
• To propose a standardized, universal unit for reporting ARG quantification.
• To enhance the comparability and synthesis of environmental ARG surveillance efforts.

Main Methods:

• Review and analysis of commonly used quantification units for ARGs.
• Evaluation of different units including ARG copy per genome, ARG density, and RPKM.
• Proposal of a universal unit for ARG reporting.

Main Results:

• Multiple quantification units are currently used for ARG profiling, leading to inconsistencies.
• A universal unit is necessary for robust data comparison and meta-analysis.
• The proposed unit, ARG copy per cell, offers a standardized measure.

Conclusions:

• Standardizing ARG quantification units is essential for effective environmental surveillance.
• Adoption of a universal unit like ARG copy per cell will improve data comparability.
• This standardization will strengthen global efforts to combat antibiotic resistance.