Utilizing co-abundances of antimicrobial resistance genes to identify potential co-selection in the resistome

The rapid spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) threatens global health, and co-occurring ARGs may cause collateral effects. Researchers investigated the correlation between ARG abundances in 214,095 metagenomic data sets. They found more ARGs correlated with each other in human and animal samples than in soil and water environments. They found several ARGs conferring resistance for critically important antimicrobials, such as tetracycline ARGs.