Land use conversion to uplands significantly increased the risk of antibiotic resistance genes in estuary area

Land use conversion in estuary wetlands may affect the transmission of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), while the risk rank of the ARGs and the change of clinically relevant ARGs under various land-use types are not well understood. This study used metagenomics to reveal the diversity and abundance of ARGs across five distinct land uses: reed wetland, tidal flat, grassland, agricultural land and fallow land, as well as their distribution and potential health risks. Results showed that high numbers of ARG subtypes and classes were detected irrespective of land-use types, notably higher in agricultural land (144 ARG subtypes). The most shared ARG subtypes were multidrug resistance genes across all the land uses (29 subtypes, 4.7 × 10