Microbial Metagenomics Revealed the Diversity and Distribution Characteristics of Groundwater Microorganisms in the Middle and Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River Basin.

Groundwater is one of the important freshwater resources on Earth and is closely related to human activities. As a good biological vector, a more diverse repertory of antibiotic resistance genes in the water environment would have a profound impact on human medical health. Therefore, this study conducted a metagenomic sequencing analysis of water samples from groundwater monitoring points in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River to characterize microbial community composition and antibiotic resistance in the groundwater environment. Our results show that different microbial communities and community composition were the driving factors in the groundwater environment, and a diversity of antibiotic resistance genes in the groundwater environment was detected. The main source of antibiotic resistance gene host was determined by correlation tests and analyses. In this study, metagenomics was used for the first time to comprehensively analyze microbial communities in groundwater systems in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River basin. The data obtained from this study serve as an invaluable resource and represent the basic metagenomic characteristics of groundwater microbial communities in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River basin. These findings will be useful tools and provide a basis for future research on water microbial community and quality, greatly expanding the depth and breadth of our understanding of groundwater.