Distribution of Potential AntibioticResistance Genes in MicrobialCommunities on the Changhua Coast

In this study, the distribution of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in microbial communities on the Changhua coast was investigated.Soil samples collected from the Changhua coast were subjected to DNA extraction, 16S rDNA sequencing, and microbial community analysis, and four computational approaches, including BugBase, Functional Annotation of Prokaryotic Taxa (FAPROTAX), Phylogenetic Investigation of Communities by Reconstruction of Unobserved States (PICRUSt2), and Tax4Fun2, were used to conduct comparative analysis of ARGs.The results revealed that Proteobacteria, Campylobacteria, Desulfobacteria, Bacteroides, Acidobacteria, and Chloroflexi were the predominant bacteria on the Changhua coast.PICRUSt2 analysis revealed that the ARGs phenicol (average 58.8%), -lactams (21.9%), and tetracyclines (11.1%) were the three predominant agents, whereas macrolidelincosamide-streptogramin (MLS) (52.2%), phenicol (21.1%), and -lactams (9.3%) were the three predominant ARGs according to the Tax4Fun2 tool.Correlation analysis revealed positive correlations between MLS and phenicol, MLS and tetracycline, and phenicol and tetracycline.The results reveal the distribution of possible ARGs in Changhua coastal soil, which is helpful for assessing environmental safety.