Yan Zhen-Zhen, Chen Qing-Lin, Li Chao-Yu, Nguyen Bao-Anh Thi, Zhu Yong-Guan, He Ji-Zheng, Hu Hang-Wei
School of Agriculture and Food, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, 3010, Australia.
Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1799 Jimei Road, Xiamen, 361021, China.
Environ Microbiol. 2021 Dec;23(12):7661-7670. doi: 10.1111/1462-2920.15631. Epub 2021 Jun 15.
Termites are pivotal ecosystem engineers in tropical and subtropical habitats, where they construct massive nests ('mounds') that substantially modify soil properties and promote nutrient cycling. Yet, little is known about the roles of termite nesting activity in regulating the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), one of the major Global Health challenges. Here, we conducted a large-scale (> 1500 km) investigation in northern Australia and found distinct resistome profiles in termite mounds and bulk soils. By profiling a wide spectrum of ARGs, we found that the abundance and diversity of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) were significantly lower in termite mounds than in bulk soils (P < 0.001). The proportion of efflux pump ARGs was significantly lower in termite mound resistome than in bulk soil resistome (P < 0.001). The differences in resistome profiles between termite mounds and bulk soils may result from the changes in microbial interactions owing to the substantial increase in pH and nutrient availability induced by termite nesting activities. These findings advance our understanding of the profile of ARGs in termite mounds, which is a crucial step to evaluate the roles of soil faunal activity in regulating soil resistome under global environmental change.
白蚁是热带和亚热带栖息地关键的生态系统工程师，它们建造巨大的巢穴（“蚁丘”），极大地改变土壤性质并促进养分循环。然而，关于白蚁筑巢活动在调节抗菌药物耐药性（AMR）传播方面的作用，人们知之甚少，而AMR是全球主要的健康挑战之一。在此，我们在澳大利亚北部进行了大规模（>1500公里）调查，发现白蚁丘和土壤中的抗性组谱不同。通过对广泛的抗生素抗性基因（ARG）进行分析，我们发现白蚁丘中抗生素抗性基因（ARG）的丰度和多样性显著低于土壤（P<0.001）。白蚁丘抗性组中外排泵ARG的比例显著低于土壤抗性组（P<0.001）。白蚁丘和土壤之间抗性组谱的差异可能是由于白蚁筑巢活动导致pH值和养分有效性大幅增加，从而引起微生物相互作用的变化。这些发现增进了我们对白蚁丘中ARG谱的理解，这是评估全球环境变化下土壤动物活动在调节土壤抗性组中作用的关键一步。
