Country-specific antibiotic use practices impact the human gut resistome
- Kristoffer Forslund,
- Shinichi Sunagawa,
- Jens Roat Kultima,
- Daniel Mende,
- Manimozhiyan Arumugam,
- Athanasios Typas and
- Peer Bork1
- ↵* Corresponding author; email: bork{at}embl.de
Abstract
Despite increasing concerns over inappropriate use of antibiotics in medicine and food production, population-level resistance transfer into the human gut microbiota has not been demonstrated beyond individual case studies. To determine the "antibiotic resistance potential" for entire microbial communities, we employ metagenomic data and quantify the totality of known resistance genes in each community (its resistome) for 68 classes and subclasses of antibiotics. In 252 fecal metagenomes from three countries, we show that the most abundant resistance determinants are those for antibiotics also used in animals, and for antibiotics that have been available longer. Resistance genes are also more abundant in samples from Spain, Italy and France than from Denmark, the US, or Japan. Where comparable country-level data on antibiotic use in both humans and animals are available, differences in these statistics match the observed resistance potential differences. The results are robust over time as the antibiotic resistance determinants of individuals persist in the human gut flora for at least a year.
- Received January 28, 2013.
- Accepted April 3, 2013.
- © 2013, Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press
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