# A global metagenomic map of urban microbiomes and antimicrobial resistance

Article · David Danko, Daniela Bezdan, Evan E. Afshin, Sofia Ahsanuddin, Chandrima Bhattacharya, Daniel Butler, Kern Rei Chng, Daisy Donnellan, Jochen Hecht, Katelyn Jackson, Katerina Kuchin, Mikhail Karasikov, Abigail Lyons, Lauren E. Mak, Dmitry Meleshko, Harun Mustafa, Beth K. Mutai, Russell Y. Neches, Amanda Hui Qi Ng, Olga Nikolayeva, Tatyana Nikolayeva, Eileen Png, Krista A. Ryon, Jorge L. Sanchez, Heba Shaaban and 75 more

- Archive id: doi:10.1016/j.cell.2021.05.002
- Published: 2021-05-26
- Venue: Cell
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2021.05.002
- PMID: 34043940
- Citations: 375
- Source URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2021.05.002
- PDF: http://www.cell.com/article/S0092867421005857/pdf
- Provenance: openalex

## Abstract

We present a global atlas of 4,728 metagenomic samples from mass-transit systems in 60 cities over 3 years, representing the first systematic, worldwide catalog of the urban microbial ecosystem. This atlas provides an annotated, geospatial profile of microbial strains, functional characteristics, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) markers, and genetic elements, including 10,928 viruses, 1,302 bacteria, 2 archaea, and 838,532 CRISPR arrays not found in reference databases. We identified 4,246 known species of urban microorganisms and a consistent set of 31 species found in 97% of samples that were distinct from human commensal organisms. Profiles of AMR genes varied widely in type and density across cities. Cities showed distinct microbial taxonomic signatures that were driven by climate and geographic differences. These results constitute a high-resolution global metagenomic atlas that enables discovery of organisms and genes, highlights potential public health and forensic applications, and provides a culture-independent view of AMR burden in cities.

_Abstract reproduced under CC-BY (publisher license, via OpenAlex)._

Topics: [Infectious Disease, Vaccines & Antimicrobial Resistance](https://space-kitty.com/topics/infectious-disease-amr)

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