SRP186688 PRJNA523946 The selectivity of antibiotic resistance genes in plasmids from prawn polyculture sediments The antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in mariculture sediment pose a potential risk to public health due to their can transfer to pathogens and thus reducing the susceptibility of pathogens to antibiotics in medical treatment. Horizontal gene transfer mediated by the set of mobile genetic elements play a crucial role in recruitment, maintenance and spread of genes conferring resistance to antibiotics in bacterial pathogens. Therefore, understanding the distribution pattern and propagation capacity of ARGs in mariculture are critical for developing strategies to mitigate their health risks. In this study, the profiles of entire (in total microbial DNA) and mobile (in plasmid and phage) ARGs in mariculture sediments from four types of mariculture systems were investigated using a metagenomic-based approach. Mariculture activities had a unique selectivity for ARGs in plasmids, which leading to the increase of ARGs diversity and abundance. Some fosmidomycin, kasugamycin, and multidrug resistance genes were enrichment in plasmids compared to the total microbial DNA and phages. Moreover, the selectivity of different mariculture systems for ARGs carried by plasmids was divergent, in which polyculture of prawn with sea cucumber had the minimum effects on ARGs in plasmids among four mariculture systems. Our findings have important implications for the selection of mariculture modes to prevent the pollution of ARGs.