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Antibiotics
Special Issues
Antimicrobial Resistance and Environmental Health, 2nd Edition
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Antimicrobial Resistance and Environmental Health, 2nd Edition

A special issue of Antibiotics (ISSN 2079-6382). This special issue belongs to the section "Mechanism and Evolution of Antibiotic Resistance".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 December 2025 | Viewed by 2770

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Akebe Luther King Abia

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Antimicrobial Research Unit, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4000, South Africa
Interests: applied microbiology; environmental microbiology; molecular microbiology; antibiotic resistance; environmental pollution; environmental monitoring; water quality
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Current research shows that the antimicrobial resistance crisis is far from being resolved. However, the complex nature of the environment makes the environmental dimension of AMR a less addressed topic compared to its human and animal counterparts in the One Health triad. Therefore, after the success of our first Special Issue, titled “Antimicrobial Resistance and Environmental Health”, we decided to launch a second volume to provide up-to-date information on AMR in the environment globally.

The second volume of this Special Issue, like the first one, aims to provide a comprehensive update on antimicrobial resistance and environmental health. Manuscripts reporting on the environment (water, air, and soil) as a critical reservoir and significant transmission route of clinically important antibiotic-resistant bacteria and their associated resistance genes will be considered. These include, but are not limited to, studies using culture-based, culture-independent approaches, including genomics (whole-genome sequencing and metagenomics), identification methods, and concepts suggesting methods of studying AMR and its link to environmental health. In addition, papers addressing the impact of climate change on AMR in the environment are welcome. Furthermore, we also welcome studies that model the interaction between the three One Health sectors viz-a-viz AMR.

Dr. Akebe Luther King Abia
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Antibiotics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • public health
  • environmental health
  • antibiotic resistance
  • environmental resistome
  • antibiotic-resistant bacteria
  • whole-genome sequencing
  • metagenomics
  • climate change and AMR
  • AMR models and One Health

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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21 pages, 5071 KB  
Article
Antibiotic and Heavy Metal Resistance in Bacteria from Contaminated Agricultural Soil: Insights from a New Zealand Airstrip
by Ali Heydari, Nick D. Kim, Patrick J. Biggs, Jacqui Horswell, Gerty J. H. P. Gielen, Alma Siggins, Collette Bromhead, Juan Carlos Meza-Alvarado and Barry R. Palmer
Antibiotics 2025, 14(2), 192; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics14020192 - 13 Feb 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1837
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Agricultural soils accumulate inorganic contaminants from the application of phosphate fertilisers. An airstrip located at Belmont Regional Park (BRP), near Wellington, New Zealand, has been found to have a gradient of cadmium contamination due to spillage of superphosphate fertiliser. Methods: Soil samples [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Agricultural soils accumulate inorganic contaminants from the application of phosphate fertilisers. An airstrip located at Belmont Regional Park (BRP), near Wellington, New Zealand, has been found to have a gradient of cadmium contamination due to spillage of superphosphate fertiliser. Methods: Soil samples from the BRP airstrip with a gradient of cadmium contamination, were used as a novel source to explore bacterial communities’ resistance to heavy metals (HMs) and any co-selected antibiotic (Ab) resistance. Results: Differences between BRP soil samples with higher levels of HMs compared to those with lower HM concentrations showed significantly more bacterial isolates resistant to both HMs (40.6% versus 63.1% resistant to 0.01 mM CdCl2, p < 0.05) and Abs (23.4% versus 37.8% resistant to 20 μg/mL tetracycline, p < 0.05) in soils with higher initial levels of HMs (1.14 versus 7.20 mg kg−1 Cd). Terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (TRFLP) and 16S rDNA next-generation sequencing profiling investigated changes in HM-induced bacterial communities. Significant differences were observed among the bacterial community structures in the selected BRP soil samples. Conjugative transfer of cadmium resistance from 23–38% of cadmium-resistant isolates to a characterised recipient bacterial strain in vitro suggested many of these genes were carried by mobile genetic elements. Transconjugants were also resistant to zinc, mercury, and Abs. Higher levels of HMs in soil correlated with increased resistance to HMs, Abs, and elevated levels of HMs thus disturbed the bacterial community structure in BRP soil significantly. Conclusions: These findings suggest that HM contamination of agricultural soil can select for Ab resistance in soil bacteria with potential risks to human and animal health. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antimicrobial Resistance and Environmental Health, 2nd Edition)
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Review

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23 pages, 1623 KB  
Review
Beyond the Resistome: Molecular Insights, Emerging Therapies, and Environmental Drivers of Antibiotic Resistance
by Nada M. Nass and Kawther A. Zaher
Antibiotics 2025, 14(10), 995; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics14100995 - 4 Oct 2025
Viewed by 183
Abstract
Antibiotic resistance remains one of the most formidable challenges to modern medicine, threatening to outpace therapeutic innovation and undermine decades of clinical progress. While resistance was once viewed narrowly as a clinical phenomenon, it is now understood as the outcome of complex ecological [...] Read more.
Antibiotic resistance remains one of the most formidable challenges to modern medicine, threatening to outpace therapeutic innovation and undermine decades of clinical progress. While resistance was once viewed narrowly as a clinical phenomenon, it is now understood as the outcome of complex ecological and molecular interactions that span soil, water, agriculture, animals, and humans. Environmental reservoirs act as silent incubators of resistance genes, with horizontal gene transfer and stress-induced mutagenesis fueling their evolution and dissemination. At the molecular level, advances in genomics, structural biology, and systems microbiology have revealed intricate networks involving plasmid-mediated resistance, efflux pump regulation, integron dynamics, and CRISPR-Cas interactions, providing new insights into the adaptability of pathogens. Simultaneously, the environmental dimensions of resistance, from wastewater treatment plants and aquaculture to airborne dissemination, highlight the urgency of adopting a One Health framework. Yet, alongside this growing threat, novel therapeutic avenues are emerging. Innovative β-lactamase inhibitors, bacteriophage-based therapies, engineered lysins, antimicrobial peptides, and CRISPR-driven antimicrobials are redefining what constitutes an “antibiotic” in the twenty-first century. Furthermore, artificial intelligence and machine learning now accelerate drug discovery and resistance prediction, raising the possibility of precision-guided antimicrobial stewardship. This review synthesizes molecular insights, environmental drivers, and therapeutic innovations to present a comprehensive landscape of antibiotic resistance. By bridging ecological microbiology, molecular biology, and translational medicine, it outlines a roadmap for surveillance, prevention, and drug development while emphasizing the need for integrative policies to safeguard global health. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antimicrobial Resistance and Environmental Health, 2nd Edition)
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