Data for "Donor survival governs directional dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes to putative pathogens in agricultural soils"

This dataset supports a study on plasmid-mediated dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in agricultural soils. We quantified ARG-carrying plasmid transfer across 52 soils using qPCR, fluorescence-activated cell sorting, and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The dataset includes geographic information for each soil, soil physicochemical and microbial properties, and ARG dissemination–related indicators. Our analyses show substantial plasmid transfer, largely driven by donor survival, while soil fertility and heavy metals tend to inhibit dissemination. ARG acquisition is biased toward phylogenetically related lineages, and a large fraction of disseminated ARGs is detected in putative pathogenic taxa.