2026-10-14T20:04:27Z https://www.scidb.cn/oai

10.57760/sciencedb.010yk 2026-09-07T10:08:37Z

2026-09-07 Metagenomic insights into antibiotic resistance genes in gut microbiome of Niviventer confucianus doi:10.57760/sciencedb.010yk en Wild rodents are important reservoirs of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). In this study, we applied metagenome sequencing to 26 fecal samples of Niviventer confucianus collected from three regions in northern China (Lvliang and Xinzhou in Shanxi Province, and Weinan in Shaanxi Province). We aimed to characterize the composition, diversity, and risk level of the ARGs in gut microbiome. The gut bacterial community composition was highly conserved across regions, with over 93% of species shared. Bacterial species composition was significantly correlated with both composition of ARGs and mobile genetic element (MGE), whereas ARGs and MGEs showed no significant correlation. This result suggested that vertical transmission may play a more important role than horizontal gene transfer (HGT) in maintaining ARGs in gut microbiome of Niviventer confucianus across three regions. Despite this overall similarity, populations from Xinzhou exhibit higher diversity of bacterial species and ARGs, as well as significant enrichment of Escherichia coli. Notably, the polymyxin_eptA (risk level I) was carried by E. coli, overlaps with the LptA (virulence factor), and was associated with mobile genetic elements (MGE). This configuration highlights the pathogenicity and mobilization potential of E. coli. This may increase potential threats to public health. These findings underscore the need for monitoring wild rodents to reduce the risk of high-risk ARGs and pathogenic bacteria spreading from these animals to humans and livestock. ARG; Metagenomic; Niviventer confucianus Haotian Li PUBLIC https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ dataset Science Data Bank