Research on the spillover risk of antibiotic resistance gene from the gut microbiome of wild animal: A case study of the golden snub-nosed monkey

Wild animals are "reservoirs" of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), and the interface of rivers between wild animals and humans is an ideal environment for spreading ARGs. In order to explore the risk of ARGs from wild animals to the human ecosystem through rivers, metagenomic sequencing was used to obtain the microbiome in the gut of golden snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana) and in the rivers. We performed collinearity analysis between the high-risk ARGs (Rank I ARGs) from golden snub-nosed monkeys and the metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) from river samples to assess the potential of river microorganisms to acquire Rank I ARGs. The number of collinear events between Rank I ARGs and MAGs in the WHD group (rivers within the disturbed monkey habitat) was five times higher than that in the WCK (rivers within the undisturbed monkey habitat) group. This implies a significant spillover risk of ARGs from wild animals to the human ecosystem via river interfaces, a risk that is further intensified by human disturbances. This research complemented the content that evaluated the spillover risk of ARGs from wild animals to humans.