Metagenomic Profiles of Antibiotic Resistance Genes Associated with Bar-headed Goose ( Anser indicus )

Bar-headed goose ( Anser indicus ), a species endemic to Asia, has become one of the most popular economic species in recent years for wild birds artificial rearing industries in several provinces of China. The use of antibiotics may accelerate the development of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and bacteria which shade health risks to humans and animals. The emerging of ARGs related to Bar-headed goose is becoming an increasing concern. In this study, the profiles of ARGs in both wild and artificially reared Bar-headed geese were investigated using a high-throughput functional metagenomic approach. Analysis of the data showed the existence of a broad-spectrum of different ARGs in both two groups, and the types and subtypes of ARGs were much more abundant and diverse in the artificially reared Bar-headed geese than wild ones. The ARGs related to resistance to streptomycin and trimethoprim have been detected at higher abundance in wild group. ARGs contributed to the resistance to acriflavin, aminoglycoside, beta_lactam, glycylcycline, bacitracin, staphylococcus, fluoroquinolone, thiostrepton and teicoplanin were found to be higher in artificially reared group. These findings provided a broad spectrum profile of ARGs in Bar-headed geese, and may help in the design of future studies to elucidate how artificial rearing environmental factors contributed to the spread of ARGs.