Evolutionary Development and Adaptation of Microbial Resistomes in Human-Impacted Environments

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) represents a rapidly growing concern at the intersection of environmental microbiology and evolutionary developmental biology. The microbial resistome—the entire collection of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) in a microbiome—has emerged as a dynamic system profoundly influenced by human activities. Anthropogenic pressures such as agricultural intensification, pollution, and wastewater inputs reshape microbial habitats, prompting the development, recruitment, and spread of resistance traits. Recent studies highlight how developmental gene regulation, horizontal gene transfer, and ecological selection combine to drive both the evolutionary diversification of ARGs and the adaptation of microbial communities. Yet, despite advances in phylogenetics and molecular ecology, major gaps persist in linking the developmental origins of ARGs with their evolutionary trajectories and ecological outcomes under environmental transformation.

This Research Topic aims to bridge the disciplines of evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo) and microbial ecology to uncover the mechanisms driving the emergence and adaptation of resistomes in human-impacted environments. Key objectives include elucidating how developmental regulatory networks and genome plasticity influence the acquisition, expression, and evolution of ARGs, as well as how these processes interact with ecological pressures over time. We seek to address critical questions on the origins and diversification of resistance at multiple biological levels, the role of mobile genetic elements in developmental remodeling, and how developmental constraints shape evolutionary outcomes. By integrating evo-devo frameworks and cutting-edge molecular tools, this collection aspires to unveil deeper principles underlying resistance evolution in real-world contexts.

This Research Topic will focus on the evolutionary developmental biology of microbial resistomes, emphasizing research that investigates developmental pathways, gene regulatory networks, and evolutionary adaptation in response to anthropogenic environmental change. We welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

-Evolutionary developmental processes underlying antimicrobial resistance gene proliferation and regulation
-The role of developmental gene expression patterns in ARG adaptation and assembly
-Mobile genetic elements, genome rearrangements, and developmental plasticity in resistance acquisition
-Impact of ecological and environmental factors on the evo-devo trajectories of resistomes
-Comparative evo-devo studies of resistance mechanisms across diverse environmental microbiomes"

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR), Microbial resistome, Evo-devo (evolutionary developmental biology), Horizontal gene transfer (HGT), Mobile genetic elements (MGEs)

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.