Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a critical threat to global public health, yet airborne AMR not well studied at a multi-national level. This study integrated 672 air metagenomes worldwide to explore the distribution, sources, and hosts of airborne antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Spatial differentiation in the relative abundance of urban airborne ARGs, high in Asia, Africa, and North America, was largely attributed to human activity-related factors. This aligned with the significant contribution to airborne ARGs by anthropogenic sources and higher inhalational exposure to antibiotic-resistant pathogens in urban areas. In addition, a potential linkage between airborne ARG relative abundance and clinical antibiotic resistance rates was revealed, along with the genetic relatedness between airborne Staphylococcus aureus carrying methicillin-resistant genes and the corresponding clinical isolates. This study emphasises the anthropogenic impact on airborne AMR and highlights airborne ARGs as a potential indicator in the source-transmission-risk-infection link for AMR.
Bio-Sketch:
Professor Li is a distinguished scholar in environmental science and sustainable urban development. In 2022, he received the prestigious Clair C. Patterson Award (Innovative Breakthrough in Environmental Biogeochemistry in the last decade) from the Geochemical Society for his pioneering research in regional contamination, urban air PM2.5 pollution, and the origin and dissemination of antimicrobial resistance.