Biotech Report

Biotechnology Reports 29 (2021) e00604
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Biotechnology Reports
j o u r na l ho m e pa g e : w w w . e l s e v i e r .c o m / l o c a t e / bt r e
Antibiotic resistance: Global health crisis and metagenomics

Shailendra Yadav, Atya Kapley*
Director’s Research Cell, National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI), Nehru Marg, Nagpur, 440020, India
A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T
Article history: Antibiotic resistance is a global problem which affects human health. The imprudent use of antibiotics
Received 17 January 2020 (medicine, agriculture, aquaculture, and food industry) has resulted in the broader dissemination of
Received in revised form 11 January 2021 resistance. Urban wastewater & sewage treatment plants act as the hotspot for the widespread of
Accepted 18 February 2021
antimicrobial resistance. Natural environment also plays an important role in the dissemination of
resistance. Mapping of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGS) in environment is essential for mitigating
Keywords: antimicrobial resistance (AMR) widespread. Therefore, the review article emphasizes on the application
Metagenomics
of metagenomics for the surveillance of antimicrobial resistance. Metagenomics is the next generation
MDR (multidrug-resistant bacteria)
Resistome
tool which is being used for cataloging the resistome of diverse environments. We summarize the
different metagenomic tools that can be used for mining of ARGs and acquired AMR present in the
metagenomic data. Also, we recommend application of targeted sequencing/ capture platform for
mapping of resistome with higher speciﬁcity and selectivity.
© 2021 Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
1. Introduction: Antimicrobial Resistance Bacteria resistant to the ﬁrst line of antimicrobials infect around 2
million people in the USA each year, accounting for about 20 billion
Microbes constitute 70 % of the total biomass of the earth's US dollar. Similarly, antimicrobial resistance accounts for more
biosphere and play a vital role in the sustainability of the than 30,000 deaths in the European Union and nearly 900,000
environment. For several billions of years, the planet belonged disability-adjusted lives per year [3].
to them and them alone. Microbial cells have learned to rapidly The situation of antibiotic resistance has also become very acute
adapt themselves against toxic compounds since they colonized in BRIC countries, i.e., Brazil, Russia, India, and China [11,12].
planet Earth [1]. Their short generation time ensures the transfer of During the period 2010–2015, the consumption of antibiotics
acquired characters to the next generation leading to the evolution (DDD/1000 individuals/ day) increased in China (89 %), Tunisia (69
of stable genetic determinants. Thus, the microbial gene transfer %) and India (13 %) respectively [13].
acts as the primary driving force for microbial diversity [2]. India is among the world’s largest consumers of antibiotics [14].
Antibiotic resistance originates when bacteria adapt and grow in Poor infection control, inadequate sanitary conditions, higher
the presence of antibiotics [3]. While their adaptability ensures burden of diseases, lack of stewardship and the unregulated use of
their survival, this trait is emerging as a threat to human and antibiotics are critical factors which encourage the dissemination of
animal health worldwide [4,5]. antimicrobial resistance in developing countries [9,15,16]. The local
Antimicrobial resistance occurs naturally through genetic temperature also affects the abundance and distribution of ARGs in
changes [6]. However, overexploitation of antibiotics in medicine, the environment. A study conducted in the USA found that rising
agriculture, food industries (meat production) is accelerating this population density and the local temperature was consistent with
process. Antimicrobial-resistant microbes are present in people, the increasing number of antibiotic-resistant pathogens such as
animals, food, and the environment (in water, soil, and air) [7–9]. It Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Staphylococcus aureus
can spread among people, and from animals to person. Antimicro- [17,18]. World Health Organization (WHO) has already expressed its
bial resistance currently accounts for over 7 million deaths concern over antimicrobial resistance, stating, “no action today, no
annually, and it will reach around 10 million deaths by the year cure tomorrow” and "post-antibiotic era" may soon become reality
2050, accounting for about 100 trillion USD worldwide [5,10]. of the 21st century [11]. WHO has also proposed a global action plan
to combat antimicrobial resistance and urged its members to
implement national action plan by 2017 [19,20]. Most antibiotics
used today, whether penicillin to carbapenems, microbes have
* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (S. Yadav), [email protected]
evolved resistance to such compounds [21]. Due to the continuous
(A. Kapley). expansion in antibiotic resistance mechanisms, our ability to treat
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.btre.2021.e00604
2215-017X/© 2021 Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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Biotechnology Reports 29 (2021) e00604

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Antibiotic resistance: Global health crisis and metagenomics

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