An Investigation of Resistomes Across Diverse One Health Sources

Abstract:
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a One Health challenge driven by the persistence and dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) across interconnected reservoirs. This research investigates environmental AMR through three dimensions: resistome diversity, temporal dynamics, and plasmid-mediated mobility. First, core and distinctive resistomes in wastewater, migratory geese feces, and pond water from the United States will be characterized to identify shared and reservoir-specific ARGs. Second, longitudinal wastewater and poultry fecal samples from Vietnam will be used to determine how seasonality and antibiotic treatment shape core and rare resistomes. Third, a plasmid-targeted long-read sequencing method will be developed to enrich plasmid DNA and improve characterization of low-abundance ARG-carrying plasmids. Together, these studies advance AMR surveillance from describing ARG occurrence toward understanding their persistence, ecological dynamics, and potential for horizontal dissemination across One Health systems.

Biography:
Nhung Do is a graduate student in Dr. Helen Nguyen’s research group at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She received her bachelor’s degree from Vietnam National University of Agriculture and her master’s degree from KyungHee University, both in Biotechnology. Her PhD research focuses on the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the environment.