DISCOMIX: Dissemination of antimicrobial resistance by community mixing events

The rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global concern that spans over various environments including aquatic ecosystems.

This research project, conducted at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences between 2025 and 2028, aims to investigate the dissemination of AMR in aquatic environments through community mixing events.

The project will encompass field surveys, laboratory experiment, and large-scale metagenomic DNA sequence analyses to address key research questions.

These include (i) understanding the role of hydrodynamic properties in inducing community mixing and the spreading of resistance genes, (ii) determining the fate of resistance genes as they traverse boundaries between freshwater and marine environments, and (iii) assessing the impact of historical antibiotic exposure on resistance gene establishment following community mixing.

By examining different water mixing scenarios and assessing AMR dynamics within and across water bodies, the project seeks to broaden our understanding of AMR pathways in aquatic environments, advance modelling efforts to predict community mixing outcomes and deliver groundworks to find ways in keeping environmental AMR under control in the future.