Antimicrobial chemicals are associated with elevated resistance in the indoor dust microbiome

Antibiotic resistance is increasingly widespread, largely due to human influence. Here, we explore the relationship between antimicrobial chemicals and antibiotic resistance in the dust microbiome. Dust samples from a mixed-use athletic and educational facility were subjected to microbial and chemical analyses using a combination of 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, shotgun metagenome sequencing, and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. The dust resistome, characterized by identifying antibiotic resistance genes from the metagenomes of each sample, was then compared against the measured concentrations of triclosan, triclocarban, and several parabens. We uncovered several positive associations between the occurrence of antimicrobial chemicals and antibiotic resistance genes, including one between the ubiquitous antimicrobial triclosan and 23S ribosomal RNA methyltransferases implicated in resistance to several antibiotics. Results point to the built environment microbiome as a reservoir for antibiotic resistance that is linked to the occurrence and level of antimicrobial chemicals.

抗生素耐药性正日益蔓延，在很大程度上由人类活动所导致。本研究旨在探究灰尘微生物组中抗菌化学品与抗生素耐药性之间的关联。研究团队从一所兼具运动与教学功能的综合设施中采集灰尘样本，并联合采用16S rRNA扩增子测序（16S rRNA amplicon sequencing）、鸟枪宏基因组测序（shotgun metagenome sequencing）以及液相色谱-串联质谱法（liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry）开展微生物与化学分析。通过对各样本宏基因组中的抗生素耐药基因（antibiotic resistance genes）进行鉴定以表征灰尘耐药组（dust resistome），随后将该耐药组与实测得到的三氯生（triclosan）、三氯卡班（triclocarban）及数种对羟基苯甲酸酯（parabens）的浓度进行对比分析。本研究揭示了抗菌化学品的检出情况与抗生素耐药基因之间的多组正相关关系，其中包括普遍使用的抗菌剂三氯生与可介导多种抗生素耐药性的23S核糖体RNA甲基转移酶（23S ribosomal RNA methyltransferases）之间的关联。研究结果表明，建筑环境微生物组可作为抗生素耐药性的储存库，且该耐药性与抗菌化学品的检出情况及浓度水平密切相关。