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Background <p>Urban wastewater systems (UWSs) act as reservoirs and conduits for the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), with plasmids playing a central role in their spread. Despite their significance, the diversity and persistence of plasmids in UWSs remain underexplored.</p> Results <p>This study applies a multi-omics approach, including metagenomic and direct plasmidome sequencing, high-throughput qPCR array, and whole genome sequencing of plasmid isolates, to comprehensively profile the microbial plasmidome and resistome on 78 samples across UWSs in Denmark, Spain, and the UK. We successfully uncovered an extensive plasmid and ARG diversity that could not be fully captured by a single method, especially identified 78,574 plasmids, including 20,925 plasmids previously unreported. We also observed that plasmids carried a disproportionate share of clinically relevant ARGs, particularly beta-lactamase resistance genes; most importantly, they were preferentially located on transmissible plasmids. Furtherly, plasmids harbor ARG can enhance their persistence in wastewater ecosystems, especially harboring multiple types of ARGs. Moreover, <i>Bacteroides</i> emerged as a unique persistent ARG reservoir not only for harboring and disseminating diverse resistance genes especially in residential-relevant areas, but also emerged as a major driver of antimicrobial resistance dynamics across different wastewater treatment processes.</p> Conclusions <p>Overall, this work provides the first attempt at a holistic description of the UWSs’ resistome, its structure, dynamics, and mobility and significantly expands the current knowledge.</p> <p><MediaObject ID="MOESM2"> <VideoObject FileRef="MediaObjects/40168_2025_2253_MOESM2_ESM.mp4" VideoID="9g8gPtjeNJ9cg2j7EXTfrE"> <Caption Language="En" xml:lang="en"> <CaptionContent> <p>Video Abstract</p> </CaptionContent> </Caption> </VideoObject> </MediaObject></p>

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Beyond borders: plasmids drive a shared antibiotic resistome in European urban water systems

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年1月22日

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  • Wanli He,
  • Zhuofeng Yu,
  • Ziqi Wu,
  • Asmus Kalckar Olesen,
  • Jonas Stenløkke Madsen,
  • Arnaud Dechesne,
  • Barth F. Smets,
  • Joseph Nesme,
  • Søren Johannes Sørensen

摘要

Background

Urban wastewater systems (UWSs) act as reservoirs and conduits for the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), with plasmids playing a central role in their spread. Despite their significance, the diversity and persistence of plasmids in UWSs remain underexplored.

Results

This study applies a multi-omics approach, including metagenomic and direct plasmidome sequencing, high-throughput qPCR array, and whole genome sequencing of plasmid isolates, to comprehensively profile the microbial plasmidome and resistome on 78 samples across UWSs in Denmark, Spain, and the UK. We successfully uncovered an extensive plasmid and ARG diversity that could not be fully captured by a single method, especially identified 78,574 plasmids, including 20,925 plasmids previously unreported. We also observed that plasmids carried a disproportionate share of clinically relevant ARGs, particularly beta-lactamase resistance genes; most importantly, they were preferentially located on transmissible plasmids. Furtherly, plasmids harbor ARG can enhance their persistence in wastewater ecosystems, especially harboring multiple types of ARGs. Moreover, Bacteroides emerged as a unique persistent ARG reservoir not only for harboring and disseminating diverse resistance genes especially in residential-relevant areas, but also emerged as a major driver of antimicrobial resistance dynamics across different wastewater treatment processes.

Conclusions

Overall, this work provides the first attempt at a holistic description of the UWSs’ resistome, its structure, dynamics, and mobility and significantly expands the current knowledge.

Video Abstract