Relationship between antibiotic resistance genes and microbiome in the Arctic marine sediments

The global dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) presents a significant threat to public health and ecosystems. The Arctic has been contaminated with ARGs due to the global spread of ARGs. However, the remote nature of the Arctic need a comprehensive characterization of the diversity and distribution of ARGs. In this study, ARGs and bacterial communities in marine sediments from the Arctic were analyzed using qPCR and 16s rRNA gene sequencing. The results indicated that the abundance of ARGs was correlated with the location of the sediments. The absolute abundance of target ARGs exhibited higher values in BJ2 and BJ3. Microbial community composition showed low similarity, with significant structural differences across samples. Proteobacteria was the dominant phylum in all sediment samples, with a large number of highly abundant unclassified genera present. Additionally, the Mantel test and correlation analyses revealed a significant relationship between the abundance of ARGs and bacterial communities. Acidobacteriota was identified as a potential host for sul1 and bla_TEM. In summary, this study provides insights into the relationship between antibiotic resistance genes and microbiome in Arctic marine sediments and serves as an important reference for global ARGs management strategies.