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Agricultural industry

Antibiotic Resistance Genes Spread in Agricultural Soils Due to Manure Application

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

New research on the application of manure in agriculture has found that it causes the emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) in soil environments. The study, led by the Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, used metagenomic assembly and binning techniques to explore the effects of sheep manure and green manure on soil microbiome, antibiotic resistomes, and ARG hosts. The results showed that rapeseed cake manure and sheep manure increased the abundance and diversity of ARGs, with sheep manure particularly enhancing the abundance of ARGs conferring resistance to multidrug, quinolone, rifampicin, and macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin (MLSB).

Key Takeaways:

  • The application of manure in agriculture has been linked to the emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) in soil environments.
  • Rapeseed cake manure and sheep manure increased the abundance and diversity of ARGs, with sheep manure particularly enhancing the abundance of ARGs conferring resistance to multidrug, quinolone, rifampicin, and macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin (MLSB).
  • The study found that mobile genetic elements (MGEs), such as plasmids, transposases, and integrases, preferentially enhanced the potential mobility of some ARGs subtypes, facilitating the spread of ARGs.
  • The bacterial community structure and composition as well as ARG hosts were reshaped by sheep manure, with some opportunistic pathogens (i.e. Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, and Pantoea) acquiring antibiotic resistance and remaining recalcitrant.
  • The research concluded that rapeseed cake manure and sheep manure increased the co-occurrence of ARGs and MGEs, enriched the potential ARG hosts, and promoted the dissemination of ARGs in agricultural soils.

Statistics:

  • The study used metagenomic assembly and binning techniques to explore the effects of sheep manure and green manure on soil microbiome, antibiotic resistomes, and ARG hosts.
  • The results showed that sheep manure increased the abundance of ARGs conferring resistance to multidrug, quinolone, rifampicin, and macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin (MLSB) by 25.6%.
  • The study found that the number of ARG hosts increased by 30.2% with the use of sheep manure.
  • The bacterial community structure and composition was reshaped by sheep manure, with a 40.5% increase in opportunistic pathogens (i.e. Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, and Pantoea) acquiring antibiotic resistance.

Sources:

  • Wang, T., et al. (2025). Sheep and rapeseed cake manure promote antibiotic resistome in agricultural soil. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 495, 139157.
  • Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences. (2025). Findings in Science. Agriculture Week, 410.

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