Overwintering waterbirds are important reservoirs for the spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs): Shared patterns at the waterbird-environment interface and the risk of horizontal transfer

The global spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) has posed a severe challenge to public health. Long-distance migratory waterbirds are considered important biological vectors for the cross-regional transmission of ARGs. However, the sharing patterns and potential transfer risks of ARGs between migratory waterbirds and their habitats during the overwintering period are still unclear, which limits the systematic understanding of the role of migratory waterbirds in the transmission of ARGs. This study takes a typical overwintering wetland in Southwest China along the East Asian Australasian Flyway as the research object and systematically analyzes the sharing characteristics and transfer risks of ARGs in the intestines of overwintering waterbirds and their aquatic and terrestrial habitats based on metagenomics methods.