Kolkata: Scientists from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Kolkata, and the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) have jointly unveiled India’s first metagenomic profile of municipal drinking water, combining advanced genomics with public-health research.
The pioneering study reveals microbial diversity and antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) patterns with far-reaching implications for India’s One Health Initiative.
The study provides the first national dataset linking urban drinking-water metagenomes to global antimicrobial-resistance (AMR) surveillance, mapping resistance pathways before they enter clinical or agricultural systems. The presence of AMR genes in aquatic environments is a growing concern, as these genes can easily move between humans, animals, and ecosystems.
The analysis offers an in-depth view of microbial communities—both beneficial and opportunistic—and traces of ARGs such as adeF and ermR, which are linked to multidrug resistance.
Vikas Kumar, Scientist-E at ZSI and Principal Investigator of the project, said: “This is the first time in India that metagenomic sequencing has been applied to public drinking-water systems to understand microbial ecology, antibiotic-resistance profiles, and their environmental drivers. Our findings provide baseline data crucial for integrating microbial surveillance into national water-safety programmes.” He added that even treated water contains diverse microbial life influenced by temperature and distribution conditions.
Inderjeet Tyagi, scientist at ZSI and co-supervisor of the study, said: “Water connects humans, animals, and the environment — the three pillars of India’s One Health Mission. Our findings provide the environmental-health evidence base needed to
integrate microbiome monitoring into One Health frameworks.” He noted that the results align with national programmes like the Jal Jeevan Mission, Swachh Bharat Mission, and the National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (NAP-AMR).
Karthik Raman of IIT-M said, “Metagenomic analysis allows detection of thousands of microbial species and potential ARGs in a single run, supporting early-warning systems for antimicrobial resistance and water-borne infections.”
Published in the Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering (Elsevier), the study highlights metagenomics as a powerful tool to complement traditional water-quality testing, revealing the “hidden microbiome” of treated water and aiding early detection of emerging pathogens and
AMR routes.