Viewing landfill-borne antibiotic resistance genes through the kaleidoscope of “One Health”: Essential legacies and research needs from the environmental dimension

Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) have accelerated microbial threats to human health in the last decade. Landfills functioning as the key component in the “One Health” system facilitate the circulation of ARGs in the loop between anthropogenic waste and natural environments. Here, we critically summarized the dynamics of landfill-borne ARGs and provided a perspective on current evidence of potential drivers. Compared to the antibiotics and other environmental factors, mobile genetic elements more strongly influenced the distribution of resistome that embedded into bacterial assemblages during the whole life-span of landfills. Further studies based on metagenomics were suggested to explore and quantitatively assess the risk scenarios of landfill-borne ARGs, especially of those hosted by pathogens, exposed to human beings.