Metagenomics Insight into Veterinary and Zoonotic Pathogens Identified in Urban Wetlands of Los Lagos, Chile

Wetlands are ecosystems that are essential to ecological balance and biodiversity; nevertheless, human activity is a constant threat to them. Excess nutrients are caused by intensive livestock and agricultural operations, pollution, and population growth, which in turn leads to uncontrolled microbiological development. This impairment in water quality can constitute a risk to animal, human, and environmental health. To thoroughly characterize the microbial communities, shotgun metagenomics was used to characterize the taxonomic and functional pattern of microorganisms that inhabit urban wetlands in the Los Lagos Region of Chile. The main objective was to identify microorganisms of veterinary relevance, assess their potential antibiotic resistance, and characterize the main virulence mechanism. As expected, a high diversity of microorganisms was identified, including bacteria described as animal or human pathogens, such as