A Metagenomic Approach for Characterizing Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Specific Bacterial Populations: Demonstration with Escherichia coli in Cattle Manure

Abstract

Bacterial antibiotic resistance genes in the environment are ubiquitous and can pose different levels of human health risks due to their bacterial host association and subsequent mobility. This study introduced a population metagenomic approach to study ARGs and their mobility in specific bacterial populations through a combination of selective cultivation followed by next generation sequencing and bioinformatic analysis of the combined metagenome of isolates.