Metagenomic analysis based cartography to understand the dynamics of antimicrobial resistance in the open drain wastewaters of 23 cities in a most progressive state of India in the wake of omicron wave

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a significant threat to global public health, necessitating comprehensive surveillance of resistant pathogens in the environment. This study presents a comprehensive regional comparison of microbial diversity and AMR profiles in wastewater across three distinct regions of Maharashtra, India. We conducted high-throughput nanopore sequencing to generate 56.99 Gbp of data from 138 wastewater samples. Bioinformatic analysis was employed to characterize microbial communities and examine regional variations in microbial abundance at the genus level. Specific marker taxa associated with AMR were identified in each region, revealing distinct resistance patterns across drug classes, including multidrug, macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin, beta-lactam, tetracycline, and bacitracin. Certain bacterial taxa exhibited a high propensity for resistance to specific antibiotic groups, offering insights for targeted AMR monitoring. The prevalence of key AMR genes in WHO-priority pathogens was quantified, highlighting emerging resistance trends in genes such as mdr(ABC), macB, acrB, and sul1. These findings demonstrate that wastewater monitoring is an effective tool for tracking AMR dynamics, pathogen abundance, and gene dissemination over time. The study underscores the need for integrated AMR surveillance frameworks to better understand environmental resistance dissemination and inform public health strategies to address the growing AMR crisis.