Overlooked dissemination risk of resistomes in mining soil environments

Global mining significantly alters soil microbial communities and enriches antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) via metal co-selection. However, the dissemination of mining-associated resistomes into surrounding ecosystems remains poorly understood. We conducted a national-scale metagenomic investigation of 416 soil samples to characterize the mining resistome and its dissemination potential. Mining soils were notably enriched in bacitracin resistance genes. Host analysis revealed that 60% of ARG-carrying genomes in downstream farmland were shared with mining sites, while source tracking indicated that 57% of quinolone resistance genes in farmlands likely originated from mining areas. Bipartite network analysis further supported this resistome connection from mines to agricultural soils. Using an optimized risk assessment framework, we identified 14 high-risk ARGs, 50% of which were previously unreported. These high-risk ARGs exhibited distinct latitudinal distributions, often associated with uncharacterized hosts. This study provides the first systematic, national-scale evidence of ARG dissemination from mining environments to agricultural ecosystems. By identifying overlooked high-risk ARGs, this research fills critical knowledge gaps in evaluating resistomes from extreme environments and offers essential insights for managing ARG dissemination risks.