Environmental Trade‑Offs of Antimicrobial Use from a One Health Perspective

The current widespread use of antimicrobials in human and veterinary medicine, agriculture, and industrial applications has resulted in their continual release into natural ecosystems, raising concerns about their environmental impact. Environmental compartments (including soil, freshwater, marine systems, wastewater, wildlife, and food‑production systems) may act as reservoirs in which antimicrobial compounds accumulate and interact with diverse microbial communities. Such exposures can alter microbial composition, impair ecosystem functioning, and promote the dissemination of antimicrobial‑resistance determinants. Moreover, environmental antimicrobial inputs may suppress key biogeochemical processes, disrupting microbial networks essential for nutrient cycling, pollutant degradation, and symbioses with higher organisms.Despite growing recognition of these issues, the ecological mechanisms that underpin microbiome responses to antimicrobial exposure remain insufficiently understood, owing to variability in environmental conditions, antimicrobial classes, and the resilience of microbial communities.This Research Topic aims to expand current knowledge on the use and impact of existing antimicrobial strategies from a One Health perspective. This includes studies focused on integrated ecotoxicological assessments, mechanisms of action, antimicrobial‑resistance dynamics, and quantitative risk assessment of both established and novel alternatives to classical antimicrobials.We welcome Original Research, Review, Systematic Reviews, Methods, Hypothesis and Theory, and Perspective Articles that address, but are not limited to, the following areas:• Antimicrobial resistance: genetic and environmental determinants, molecular pathways, and stress‑response systems that underpin microbial resistance across environmental microbiomes, examined both at community level and through individual bioindicators.• Impact on global health: the role of antimicrobials in establishing environmental reservoirs of resistance, and the implications for human, animal, and ecosystem health.• Prevention, control and mitigation: Modelling and forecasting antimicrobial‑resistant organisms within interconnected ecosystems, supporting early‑warning systems and One Health risk‑mitigation strategies.• Novel antimicrobial approaches: Development, testing and evaluation of novel approaches, including combinations of existing molecules, and sustainable, low‑impact compounds as alternatives to conventional regimes. Topic editors: Pedro Rodríguez-López, Laura Botello-Morte, Diego Ballestero, Chandni Sidhu, Elisa Langa, María Rosa Pino-Otín Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/79528/environmental-trade-offs-of-antimicrobial-use-from-a-one-health-perspective