Dispersal of antibiotic resistant microbes in alpine snow and its consequences

Antibiotic resistance is considered one of the greatest global challenges of the 21st century. However, relatively little is known about its distribution outside urban areas, and especially the cryosphere. These regions, often regarded as one of the most pristine ones on Earth, provide an interesting environment for studying both intrinsic resistances and estimating the extent of anthropogenic pollution by antibiotic resistance. The impact of humans on the spread of resistant microorganisms in the cryosphere has been largely unexplored. Glacier regions are not isolated areas, and the downstream effects on the circulation of resistant microorganisms and their resistance genes remain unclear. The lack of standardized and comparable methods for such investigations poses a particular challenge for determining the resistome of the cryosphere. This work addresses these existing knowledge gaps and explores the potential of microorganisms in the cryosphere to survive antibiotics in toxic concentrations, as well as the role of anthropogenic influence. (...)