Seasonal variations in antibiotic resistance genes in estuarine sediments and the driving mechanisms

[Display omitted] •The number of ARGs in estuarine sediments in summer is more than in winter.•ARG abundance, but not ARG diversity, is significantly impacted by seasonal changes.•Chemical pollution contributes to the emergence of estuarine sediment ARGs.•Chemical pollution is positively correlated with ARG diversity, but not ARG abundance. Estuary sediments are chemically contaminated by adjacent coastal industrial cities, but the impact of organic pollutants on antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in estuarine sediments is unknown. We comprehensively analyzed the complex interactions between chemical pollutants (heavy metals and organic pollutants), mobile genetic elements (MGEs), and ARGs in estuarine sediments during various seasons. The results indicate that under the effects of the chemically polluted river water, the number of different estuarine sediment ARGs increased by 76.9%–92.3% in summer and 5.9%–35.3% in winter, and the abundance of these ARGs increased by 29–5195 times in summer and 48–239 times in winter. The abundance of sediment ARGs in distinct estuaries showed different seasonal trends. Seasonal changes had a greater impact on the abundance of estuarine sediment ARGs than on their diversity. The diversity of estuarine sediment ARGs was positively correlated with the chemical pollution levels. Furthermore, chemical pollution was positively correlated with MGEs, and MGEs were correlated with ARG abundance. These results indicate that ARGs are enriched in bacteria via horizontal gene transfer triggered by chemical pollution, promoting multi-antibiotic resistance in estuarine sediment bacteria. These findings have implications for our understanding of the distribution and propagation of ARGs in chemically polluted estuarine sediments.