Time-resolved spread of antibiotic resistance genes in highly polluted air

Abstract

Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) have emerged as a global health concern. A large volume of work has already been devoted to ARGs in aquatic ecosystems. However, ARG dispersal patterns in air remain to be largely unknown despite of its greater role in transmission. This work aims to investigate time-resolved airborne spread of ARGs and their corresponding subtype bacterial carriers in highly polluted air. Time-resolved air samples (20 m3 each with three samples) were collected using a high volume sampler (1 m3/min) every 4 h continuously (both day and night) during low (14-93 μg/m3) and high PM2.5 (36-205 μg/m3) pollution times (over 6 days with a total of 69 air samples) in Beijing. All a..