A curated data resource of 214K metagenomes for characterization of the global antimicrobial resistome

PLoS Biol. 2022 Sep 6;20(9):e3001792. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001792. eCollection 2022 Sep.

Abstract

The growing threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) calls for new epidemiological surveillance methods, as well as a deeper understanding of how antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) have been transmitted around the world. The large pool of sequencing data available in public repositories provides an excellent resource for monitoring the temporal and spatial dissemination of AMR in different ecological settings. However, only a limited number of research groups globally have the computational resources to analyze such data. We retrieved 442 Tbp of sequencing reads from 214,095 metagenomic samples from the European Nucleotide Archive (ENA) and aligned them using a uniform approach against ARGs and 16S/18S rRNA genes. Here, we present the results of this extensive computational analysis and share the counts of reads aligned. Over 6.76∙108 read fragments were assigned to ARGs and 3.21∙109 to rRNA genes, where we observed distinct differences in both the abundance of ARGs and the link between microbiome and resistome compositions across various sampling types. This collection is another step towards establishing global surveillance of AMR and can serve as a resource for further research into the environmental spread and dynamic changes of ARGs.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology
  • Anti-Infective Agents*
  • Genes, Bacterial
  • Metagenome* / genetics
  • Metagenomics / methods

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Anti-Infective Agents

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the European Union’s Horizon H2020 grant VEO (874735) and the Novo Nordisk Foundation (grant NNF16OC0021856: Global Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance). HMM, PM, CB, TNP, and FMA were all supported by both grants. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.