The role of the gut microbiome in antibiotic-driven antimicrobial resistance
www.frontiersin.org
June 28, 2026, 3:15 p.m.
Antimicrobial resistance represents a critical global health threat, with the human gut microbiome playing a central role in its development and propagation. The gut microbiota maintains a delicate metabolic balance essential for host protection against pathogenic invasion and metabolic dysfunction. While antibiotics remain vital for treating bacterial infections, their broad ecological impact disrupts this microbial equilibrium, facilitating dysbiosis. The gut serves as a reservoir for antimicrobial resistance genes, collectively termed the resistome, which transfer between bacterial species through horizontal gene transfer mechanisms. This comprehensive review examines gut microbiota composition, antibiotic-induced dysbiosis mechanisms, and the influence of host factors including age, genetics, diet, and immune status on microbiome dynamics and antimicrobial resistance development, while evaluating emerging intervention methods.