Antibiotic Resistance in the Aquatic Environment: One Health and Environmental Health Perspectives
A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Antimicrobial Agents and Resistance".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2026 | Viewed by 12
Special Issue Editors
Interests: nature-based solutions; land rehabilitation, bioremediation; environmental forensics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Aquatic ecosystems are central to life on Earth, providing drinking water, food resources, biodiversity, and ecological balance. However, these environments are increasingly recognized as key reservoirs and transmission routes for antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic-resistant genes (ARGs). Driven by wastewater discharge, agricultural runoff, aquaculture, and other anthropogenic pressures, the spread of resistance in aquatic systems poses pressing challenges for both ecosystem sustainability and human well-being. This issue lies at the critical intersection of environmental microbiology and public health, underscoring the importance of a One Health approach.
This Special Issue aims to explore the mechanisms, pathways, and consequences of resistance development and dissemination in water environments. Contributions are invited that advance our understanding of microbial ecology, resistance gene transfer, and the role of aquatic microbiomes as both indicators and amplifiers of resistance. Studies that integrate environmental, clinical, and ecological perspectives to assess risks and propose mitigation strategies are particularly encouraged.
We welcome original research articles and comprehensive reviews addressing themes such as the following:
- Detection and monitoring of ARB and ARGs in diverse aquatic systems.
- Links between environmental stressors, microbial community shifts, and resistance spread.
- Biofilms, symbioses, and horizontal gene transfer as drivers of resistance.
- Ecotoxicological and environmental health risks associated with aquatic resistance.
- Innovative remediation and treatment approaches for safeguarding water quality.
By bringing together these perspectives, this Special Issue will provide a platform to strengthen the scientific evidence base for environmental health policy, sustainable water management, and global strategies to combat antibiotic resistance.
Dr. Mariana Erasmus
Prof. Dr. Robert Bragg
Guest Editors
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. Microorganisms 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 2700 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
- aquatic ecosystems
- environmental health
- antibiotic resistance
- resistance genes
- microbial ecology
- waterborne pathogens
- biofilms
- wastewater
- One Health
- ecotoxicology
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