The increasing prevalence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a significant threat to public health, and the gut microbiota of livestock (e.g., pigs) are considered a crucial reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), contributing to the long-term persistence of AMR. However, there is still a lack of relevant research on the composition and diurnal fluctuation of ARGs, and their correlation with nutrient substrates in the gut of pigs. To address this knowledge gap, we characterized the antibiotic resistome structure, and circadian oscillations in 45 colonic metagenomically sequenced samples, covering 9-time points within 24 h, from growing pigs. We identified 227 unique types of ARGs, which belonged to 35 drug resistance classes. Tetracycline resistance and antibiotic target protection were the most enriched class and mechanism of drug resistance in colon samples, respectively. The relative abundance of ARGs fluctuated over time within 24 h, with the total abundance peaking at T21 (sampling time at 21:00 p.m.) and the total numbers reaching the peak at T15. A total of 70 core ARGs were identified, which contributed to 99 % of all ARGs. Rhythmicity analysis revealed that 50 out of 227 ARGs and 15 of 49 mobile genetic elements (MGEs) exhibited rhythmic patterns. TetW was the most abundant ARG with circadian rhythm frequently found in Limosilactobacillus reuteri. The concentration of ammonia nitrogen in the colon was significantly correlated with the host genera of rhythmic ARGs. Partial least squares path modeling (PLS-PM) analysis indicated that rhythmic ARGs were significantly correlated with bacterial community, MGEs, and colonic ammonia nitrogen. This study provides new insight into the diurnal fluctuation of ARG profiles in the colon of growing pigs, which was likely driven by the dynamic change of the availability of colonic nutrients substrates.
Keywords: Antibiotic resistome; Diurnal fluctuation; Growing pigs; Nutrient substrates.
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