Antimicrobial Resistance Transmission in Environmental Matrices: Current Prospects and Future Directions

Abstract

The advent of antibiotics, once hailed as a revolutionary medical solution, has now brought forth a troubling consequence: the rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This phenomenon, spurred by the widespread use and misuse of antibiotics in human healthcare, agriculture, aquaculture and livestock sectors, has emerged as a significant public health threat with profound environmental implications. Antibiotic residues, antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB), and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) now pervade multiple environmental matrices, including wastewater, soil, surface and groundwater, air, landfill leachates, and aquatic systems, enabling horizontal gene transfer (HGT) and the evolution of multidrug resistant (MDR) organisms. Among these, wastewater treatment plants act as central repositories for largely unmetabolized or partially metabolized antibiotics, ARBs, and ARGs, yet similar concerns arise from agricultural runoff, reclaimed wastewater irrigation, aquaculture discharge, and atmospheric microparticles. This review adopts the One Health approach to explore the integrated pathways through which AMR disseminates across ecological boundaries and ultimately affects human and animal health. We emphasize the roles of environmental compartments in shaping resistome dynamics and highlight mitigation strategies ranging from advanced treatment technologies to sustainable agricultural practices essential for curbing the environmental implications of AMR. Therefore, through comprehensive analysis and integration, this study contributes to the current knowledge and persistent challenges, thus providing actionable insights to guide interdisciplinary efforts in managing the environmental dimension of AMR. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025.