Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in microorganisms and their indications for the nitrogen/sulfur cycle in the East China Sea sediments

Lilian Wen; Jiajia Dai; Jinming Song; Jun Ma; Xuegang Li; Huamao Yuan; Liqin Duan; Qidong Wang

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2025.137280

Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in microorganisms and their indications for the nitrogen/sulfur cycle in the East China Sea sediments

J Hazard Mater. 2025 Jan 20:488:137280. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2025.137280. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Lilian Wen¹, Jiajia Dai², Jinming Song³, Jun Ma⁴, Xuegang Li⁵, Huamao Yuan⁵, Liqin Duan⁵, Qidong Wang⁵

Affiliations

¹ CAS Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266404, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
² CAS Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266404, China; Laboratory for Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Qingdao Marine Science and Technology Center, Qingdao 266237, China. Electronic address: daijiajia@qdio.ac.cn.
³ CAS Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266404, China; Laboratory for Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Qingdao Marine Science and Technology Center, Qingdao 266237, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266404, China. Electronic address: jmsong@qdio.ac.cn.
⁴ CAS Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266404, China; Laboratory for Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Qingdao Marine Science and Technology Center, Qingdao 266237, China.
⁵ CAS Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266404, China; Laboratory for Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Qingdao Marine Science and Technology Center, Qingdao 266237, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266404, China.

PMID: 39862771
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2025.137280

Abstract

Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are emerging environmental pollutants, posing an escalating threat to public health and environmental security worldwide. However, the relationship between ARGs and microbial communities in the environment, as well as their ecological effects on the microbe-mediated materials cycle remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the spatial distribution pattern, influence mechanism, relationship with microorganisms, and their effects on the elemental cycling of ARGs in East China Sea sediments. The results showed that temperature caused a latitudinal gradient in the distribution of ARGs. The sulfonamide and quinolone ARGs were characterized by a distribution pattern of "higher in the south and lower in the north" with a boundary of 29 °N, while tetracycline and macrolide ARGs have the opposite distribution patterns. The spatial variation of environmental parameters shaped the differences in microbial abundance and diversity. Sulfonamide and quinolone ARGs were greatly affected by temperature, intI1, microbial composition, and abundance, while tetracyclines and macrolides ARGs were mainly affected by microbial alpha diversity index and NO₂^-. ARGs and intI1 were synchronously significantly correlated with nitrogen and sulfur cycle functional genes, indicating that microorganisms with ARGs can integrate nitrogen and sulfur cycle functional genes through intI1, thereby promoting or inhibiting nitrogen and sulfur cycle. This study will provide an important scientific basis for exploring the pollution control and ecological risk assessment of ARGs in sediments.

Keywords: Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs); Environmental factors; Microbial community; Nitrogen and sulfur cycle; Temperature.