Microbiome, resistome, and potential transfer of antibiotic resistance genes in Chinese wet market under One Health sectors.

BACKGROUND: Antibiotic resistance has become a serious challenge to global public health. The spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) among humans, animals, and the environment has become a critical issue within the “One Health” framework. Chinese wet market with live poultry trade provides an interface for close interaction between humans and chickens, and is considered as potential source for disease dissemination. However, the understanding of ARGs in this kind of market, including their shared profiles, influencing factors, and potential horizontal transfer subtypes and directions, remains limited. RESULTS: In this study, we explored the microbiome, resistome, and mobility of ARGs, and identified putative horizontal gene transfer (HGT) events in the Chinese wet market system by utilizing metagenomic assembly and binning. Consequently, a total of 1080 ARG subtypes were identified from 36 metagenomes, and 221 subtypes were shared among human feces, chicken feces, chicken carcasses, and the environment. The composition of ARGs was influenced by mobile genetic elements (MGEs) and bacterial communities. As for the host of ARGs, 89 ARG-carrying genomes (ACGs) were identified, with 18 of them carrying multiple ARGs and MGEs, indicating the potential mobility of ARGs. Notably, six ACGs were identified as opportunistic pathogens carrying multiple ARGs and MGEs, which were annotated as Escherichia coli, Acinetobacter johnsonii, Klebsiella variicola, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Citrobacter freundii. In addition, 164 potential HGT events were identified based on ACGs, and ParS, vanB, ugd, and macB were annotated as potentially transferred ARG subtypes in humans and the wet market. CONCLUSIONS: This study offers new insights into the potential for HGT of ARGs within a Chinese wet market setting, highlighting putative transmission patterns among humans, poultry, and the environment. To our knowledge, few studies have explored ARG transfer potential in this context using metagenome-assembled genomes, making this a valuable contribution to One Health surveillance.