The impact of green spaces, urban settings, seasonal changes, and pollutants on dissemination of antimicrobial genes in air

The dissemination of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) in the air poses a significant public health challenge. Little is known about the role of vegetation in reducing the dissemination of aerosolised ARGs. DNA extracts obtained directly from the air sample were used to detect nine antimicrobial-resistant genes using qPCR and 16S rRNA sequencing. The average relative abundance of nine aerosolised ARGs (blaTEM, mecA, sul3, ermB, ermC, aac(6’)-Ib, tetM, tetW, and sul1) detected in urban spaces with high vegetation coverage (0.0083 (ARGs/16S rRNA), was slightly lower than in those with low or no vegetation (0.0135 (ARGs/16S rRNA)) (P > 0.05). The relative abundance of aerosolised ARGs around urban heat islands (UHI) significantly decreased (t = 2.06, P = 0.04) after central heating was switched off. To our knowledge, this is the first study to report the relative abundance of the mecA gene in urban air. UHIs may be a reservoir of ARGs in urban air, hence, planting non-allergenic trees and bushes or hedgerows could be an effective way to decrease the dissemination of aerosolised ARGs. We also detected ARG reduction in high-vegetation-covered areas. Further study is required to explore the vegetation-mediated reduction of ARGs in the air.