Antibiotic resistance profiles of gut microbiota across various primate species in Guangxi

Hongli Huang; Xianwu Pang; Tengcheng Que; Panyu Chen; Shousheng Li; Aiqiong Wu; Meihong He; Hong Qiu; Yanling Hu

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2023.1309709

Antibiotic resistance profiles of gut microbiota across various primate species in Guangxi

Front Microbiol. 2023 Dec 14:14:1309709. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1309709. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Hongli Huang¹, Xianwu Pang², Tengcheng Que^{3

4

5}, Panyu Chen⁵, Shousheng Li⁵, Aiqiong Wu⁵, Meihong He⁵, Hong Qiu⁶, Yanling Hu^{6

7

8}

Affiliations

¹ Clinical Biological Specimen Bank, Discipline Construction Office, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China.
² Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Nanning, Guangxi, China.
³ Faculty of Data Science, City University of Macau, Macau SAR, China.
⁴ Right River National Medical College, Baise, Guangxi, China.
⁵ Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Terrestrial Wildlife Course Research and Epidemic Diseases Monitor Center, Nanning, Guangxi, China.
⁶ Life Sciences Institute, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China.
⁷ Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Pre-Clinical Medicine, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China.
⁸ Center for Genomic and Personalized Medicine, Guangxi key Laboratory for Genomic and Personalized Medicine, Guangxi Collaborative Innovation Center for Genomic and Personalized Medicine, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China.

Abstract

Introduction: Understanding the gut microbiota and antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) profiles in non-human primates (NHPs) is crucial for evaluating their potential impact on human health and the environment.

Methods: In this study, we performed metagenomic analysis of 203 primate fecal samples, including nine NHP species and humans, to comprehensively characterize their gut microbiota and ARGs.

Results: Our study reveals the prevailing phyla in primates as Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Euryarchaeota, and Proteobacteria. The captive NHPs exhibited higher ARG abundance compared to their wild counterparts, with tetracycline and beta-lactam resistance genes prevailing. Notably, ARG subtypes in Trachypithecus leucocephalus (T. leucocephalus) residing in karst limestone habitats displayed a more dispersed distribution compared to other species. Interestingly, ARG profiles of NHPs clustered based on geographic location and captivity status. Co-occurrence network analysis revealed intricate correlations between ARG subtypes and bacterial taxa. Procrustes analysis unveiled a significant correlation between ARGs and microbial phylogenetic community structure. Taxonomic composition analysis further highlighted differences in microbial abundance among NHPs and humans.

Discussion: Our study underscores the impact of lifestyle and geographical location on NHP gut microbiota and ARGs, providing essential insights into the potential risks posed by NHPs to antibiotic resistance dissemination. This comprehensive analysis enhances our understanding of the interplay between NHPs and the gut resistome, offering a critical reference for future research on antibiotic resistance and host-microbe interactions.

Keywords: antibiotic resistance genes; gut microbiota; metagenomics; non-human primates; resistome.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This study was funded by Guangxi Key Research and Development Program (no. Guike AB20059002).