Comparative analyses of the faecal resistome against β-lactam and quinolone antibiotics in humans and livestock using metagenomic sequencing

Abstract

To assess the prevalence and abundance of antibiotic resistance genes in human and livestock gut microbiomes, 87 humans (healthy individuals and patients with Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI)) and 108 livestock (swine, cattle, and chickens) were enrolled. Gut microbiomes and fluoroquinolone-resistant Escherichia coli isolates were sequenced, and mobile genetic elements adjacent to the β-lactamase (bla) and transferable quinolone resistance (qnr) genes were compared using metagenomic contigs. Each group of humans and livestock exhibited distinctive microbiota and resistome compositions in the gut. Concerning the resistome of bla and qnr, the prevalence rates between chickens and patients with CDI were the most similar (R2 = 0.46); bla TEM, bla OXA, bla CTX-M, and qnrS were highly prevalent in both groups. According to genomic and phylogenetic analyses, bla CTX-M and bla OXA expressed lineage specificity to either humans or livestock, while qnrS and bla TEM displayed a shared lineage between humans and livestock. A qnrS1 mobilome comprising five genes, including two recombinases, a transposase, and a plasmid gene, is commonly found in human and chicken gut microbiomes. Humans and chickens showed the most similar gut resistomes to β-lactams and quinolones. QnrS and bla TEM displayed especially strong co-occurrence between the guts of humans and livestock.