Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42476978›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

Citywide metagenomics reveals microbial community and resistome dynamics in urban wastewater.

Zhiying Xu, Jiabao Xing, Xiaohong Zeng, Yuqing Wu, Yao Wang, Yue He, Xialu Lin, Haiyan Huang, Zeyu Zhao, Hua Wu and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Zhiying Xu *State Key Laboratory of Vaccines for Infectious Diseases, Xiang An Biomedicine Laboratory, National Innovation Platform for Industry-Education Integration in Vaccine Research, Xiamen Institute of Public Health and Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.
Jiabao Xing *School of Public Health, Fudan University, Key Laboratory of Public Health Safety, Ministry of Education, Shanghai, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1212-265X
Xiaohong Zeng *Xiamen City Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Xiamen, China.
Yuqing WuState Key Laboratory of Vaccines for Infectious Diseases, Xiang An Biomedicine Laboratory, National Innovation Platform for Industry-Education Integration in Vaccine Research, Xiamen Institute of Public Health and Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.
Yao WangSchool of Public Health, Chengdu Medical College, No. 783 Xindu Avenue, Xindu District, Chengdu, China.
Yue HeState Key Laboratory of Vaccines for Infectious Diseases, Xiang An Biomedicine Laboratory, National Innovation Platform for Industry-Education Integration in Vaccine Research, Xiamen Institute of Public Health and Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.
Xialu LinXiamen City Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Xiamen, China.
Haiyan HuangXiamen City Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Xiamen, China.
Zeyu ZhaoState Key Laboratory of Vaccines for Infectious Diseases, Xiang An Biomedicine Laboratory, National Innovation Platform for Industry-Education Integration in Vaccine Research, Xiamen Institute of Public Health and Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China. 381597586@qq.com.
Hua WuDepartment of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, China. wuhua@henau.edu.cn.
Zhinan GuoXiamen City Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Xiamen, China. guozhinan@hotmail.com.
Tianmu ChenState Key Laboratory of Vaccines for Infectious Diseases, Xiang An Biomedicine Laboratory, National Innovation Platform for Industry-Education Integration in Vaccine Research, Xiamen Institute of Public Health and Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China. chentianmu@xmu.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0710-5086

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Urban wastewater systems connect hospitals, residential communities, transport hubs, and wastewater treatment plants, creating opportunities for the dissemination of microorganisms and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Here, we conduct a three-month, citywide metagenomic survey of wastewater in Xiamen, China, comprising 252 samples from seven hospital sites (n = 16), 27 residential sites (n = 55), 16 wastewater treatment plant sites (n = 159), and individual international flights (n = 22). Genome-resolved analyses reveal source-specific microbial community structures, resistome profiles, lineage-sharing patterns, and associations between ARGs and mobile genetic elements across wastewater sources. Hospital wastewater harbors the most diverse resistome, while international flight wastewater introduces microbial taxa and ARGs absent from local wastewater networks. Wastewater treatment plants accumulate ARGs from multiple upstream sources, exhibiting frequent lineage sharing and signals of potential horizontal gene transfer. Compared with within-environment sharing, cross-environment lineage sharing is associated with lower nucleotide diversity, consistent with possible genetic bottlenecks. Among potential correlates, pH shows strong non-linear associations with microbial diversity and resistome composition. These findings indicate that urban wastewater systems function as interconnected networks for microbial and ARG dissemination and identify potential hotspots for targeted antimicrobial resistance surveillance.

Indexed as

BacteriaDrug Resistance, BacterialDrug Resistance, MicrobialMetagenomicsMicrobiotaWastewaterChinaCitiesGenes, BacterialGene Transfer, HorizontalWastewater

Identifiers

PMID42476978
PMCPMC13500667

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.