Metagenomic profiling of antimicrobial resistance in wastewater from metropolitan cities of India
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Wastewater-based surveillance has emerged as a powerful tool for monitoring microbial diversity, antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) and mobile genetic elements (MGEs). In this study, wastewater samples collected from March 2022 to March 2024 from 19 locations in four metropolitan cities of India were profiled using shotgun metagenomics. Taxonomic abundance and beta diversity analyses revealed significant differences in microbial community compositions, with city-specific clustering; suggesting distinct local environmental influences. However, such distinct clusters were not evident with the ARGs. A high proportion of potentially novel metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) (53-70%) were identified on reconstructing the microbial genomes from the metagenomic data. ARGs conferring resistance to antibiotics such as tetracyclines and beta-lactams showed higher association with MGEs in contrast to macrolide resistance genes. Microbial co-occurrence network analysis revealed a city-specific structure and higher contribution of ARGs from specific communities of microbes. These findings underscore the complex interplay between microbial diversity, ARG dissemination, and MGEs in wastewater environments, emphasizing the need for continued surveillance, for designing appropriate mitigation strategies towards curbing the spread of antimicrobial resistance.
Source: Nature Communications
Authors: Nitesh Kumar Singh, Priyanka Garg, Shalini Kumari, Lavanya Banda, Arti Manoharbhai Patel, Rachiraju Hema Sindhuja, Yogesh Bhandari, Noor Afshan Khan, Shalini Tandon, Rachana Jain, T. Rajesh, Asifa Qureshi, Amareshwar Vodapalli, Bishwadeep Singha, Deepshikha Esari, Mohammed Osed Annan, Tulasi Nagabandi, Aruna Panda, Atya Kapley, Vinay Kumar Nandicoori, Rakesh Kumar Mishra, Divya Tej Sowpati, Archana Bharadwaj Siva, Karthik Bharadwaj Tallapaka
Language: English
Subfield: Pollution
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $6,990
Funder: Rockefeller Foundation
Award: G453798685
OpenAlex ID: W7138351015