Extensively acquired antimicrobial-resistant bacteria restructure the individual microbial community in post-antibiotic conditions
Journal article, 2025
In recent years, the overuse of antibiotics has led to the emergence of antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) bacteria. To evaluate the spread of AMR bacteria, the reservoir of AMR genes (resistome) has been identified in environmental samples, hospital environments, and human populations, but the functional role of AMR bacteria and their persistence within individuals has not been fully investigated. Here, we performed a strain-resolved in-depth analysis of the resistome changes by reconstructing a large number of metagenome-assembled genomes from the gut microbiome of an antibiotic-treated individual. Interestingly, we identified two bacterial populations with different resistome profiles: extensively acquired antimicrobial-resistant bacteria (EARB) and sporadically acquired antimicrobial-resistant bacteria, and found that EARB showed broader drug resistance and a significant functional role in shaping individual microbiome composition after antibiotic treatment. Our findings of AMR bacteria would provide a new avenue for controlling the spread of AMR bacteria in the human community.
Author
Jae Woo Baek
Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology
Songwon Lim
Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology
Nayeon Park
Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology
Byeongsop Song
Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology
Nikhil Kirtipal
Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology
Jens B Nielsen
BioInnovation Institute
Chalmers, Life Sciences, Systems and Synthetic Biology
Adil Mardinoglu
King's College London
Royal Institute of Technology (KTH)
Saeed Shoaie
King's College London
Jae Il Kim
Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology
Jang Won Son
The Catholic University of Korea, College of Medicine
Ara Koh
Pohang University of Science and Technology
Sunjae Lee
Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology
npj Biofilms and Microbiomes
20555008 (eISSN)
Vol. 11 1 78Subject Categories (SSIF 2025)
Public Health, Global Health and Social Medicine
Infectious Medicine
Microbiology
DOI
10.1038/s41522-025-00705-x
PubMed
40360555
Related datasets
EARB Project [dataset]
URI: https://figshare.com/projects/EARB_Project/193070