Bacterial biodiversity of bioaerosols from vehicle cabin filters

The environment is frequently overlooked in discussions of the growing antimicrobial resistance crisis. The role of bioaerosols in the dispersal of resistance genes and microorganisms is even less understood. In addition, bioaerosols are powerful composite samples from surrounding environment and can be used as sentinels of broad environmental sources. Evidence suggests that using environmental DNA from dust collected on vehicle cabin air filters can define regional resistance profiles. Here, this method was used to investigate differences in resistance gene profiles, their underlying bacterial communities, and their links to anthropogenic and environmental variables across Canada. In total 477 vehicle cabin filter samples were collected, with every province and territory being represented. DNA was extracted from filter dust. High-throughput qPCR was used to detect and quantify a panel of 39 antimicrobial resistance genes.This BioProject contains the 16S rRNA gene amplicon data, which was used to assess bacterial biodiversity across regions. Measures of alpha-diversity were generally greater in the western regions of Canada than the east and the north. Community composition analyses showed similarities between the prairies and territories, which were separated from other regions. Finally, network analyses revealed a relatively stable group of core antimicrobial resistance genes across regions, which were largely correlated with low-abundance genera. Such findings suggest that rare taxa are key links in the diffusion of antimicrobial resistance in environmental contexts. Furthermore, this study highlights the potential application of vehicle air filters in building long-term monitoring capacity of outdoor bioaerosols.