Toward a Universal Unit for Quantification of Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Environmental Samples.
Xiaole YinXi ChenXiao-Tao JiangYing YangBing LiMarcus Ho-Hin ShumTommy T Y LamGabriel M LeungJoan RoseConcepcion Sanchez-CidTimothy M VogelFiona WalshThomas U BerendonkJanet MidegaChibuzor UcheaDominic FrigonGerard D WrightCarlos BezuidenhoutRenata C PicãoShaikh Ziauddin AhammadPer Halkjær NielsenPhilip HugenholtzNicholas J AshboltGianluca CornoDespo Fatta-KassinosHelmut BürgmannHeike SchmittChang-Jun ChaAmy J PrudenKornelia SmallaEddie CytrynYu ZhangMin YangYong-Guan ZhuArnaud DechesneBarth F SmetsDavid W GrahamMichael R GillingsWilliam H GazeCélia M ManaiaMark Cornelis Maria van LoosdrechtPedro J J AlvarezMartin J BlaserJames M TiedjeEdward ToppTong ZhangPublished in: Environmental science & technology (2023)
Surveillance of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) has been increasingly conducted in environmental sectors to complement the surveys in human and animal sectors under the "One-Health" framework. However, there are substantial challenges in comparing and synthesizing the results of multiple studies that employ different test methods and approaches in bioinformatic analysis. In this article, we consider the commonly used quantification units (ARG copy per cell, ARG copy per genome, ARG density, ARG copy per 16S rRNA gene, RPKM, coverage, PPM, etc.) for profiling ARGs and suggest a universal unit (ARG copy per cell) for reporting such biological measurements of samples and improving the comparability of different surveillance efforts.
Keyphrases
- antibiotic resistance genes
- wastewater treatment
- microbial community
- public health
- single cell
- anaerobic digestion
- cell therapy
- healthcare
- human health
- endothelial cells
- stem cells
- genome wide
- gene expression
- copy number
- transcription factor
- bone marrow
- social media
- adverse drug
- quality improvement
- electronic health record
- affordable care act