Tracking antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) during earthworm conversion of cow dung in northern China
Using cow dung to breed earthworms poses a risk of environmental transmission of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). The purpose of this study was to address the occurrence, persistence and environmental fate of ARGs during earthworm conversion of cow dung. The results showed that ARGs persisted thr...
Main Authors: | , , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Elsevier
2021-10-01
|
Series: | Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147651321006503 |
id |
doaj-a7968a6c648b42c1878ecdcf252427f7 |
---|---|
record_format |
Article |
spelling |
doaj-a7968a6c648b42c1878ecdcf252427f72021-08-02T04:38:41ZengElsevierEcotoxicology and Environmental Safety0147-65132021-10-01222112538Tracking antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) during earthworm conversion of cow dung in northern ChinaXueli Tian0Bingjun Han1Junfeng Liang2Fengxia Yang3Keqiang Zhang4Agro-Environmental Protection Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin 300191, ChinaAgro-Environmental Protection Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin 300191, ChinaAgro-Environmental Protection Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin 300191, ChinaCorresponding authors.; Agro-Environmental Protection Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin 300191, ChinaCorresponding authors.; Agro-Environmental Protection Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin 300191, ChinaUsing cow dung to breed earthworms poses a risk of environmental transmission of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). The purpose of this study was to address the occurrence, persistence and environmental fate of ARGs during earthworm conversion of cow dung. The results showed that ARGs persisted through the whole process. Notably, earthworm conversion effectively reduced some ARGs in cow dung, but a definite concentration of ARGs still remained in earthworms and vermicompost (up to 10-1 and 10-2 copies/16S copies, respectively). We found that tet-ARGs were the most abundant in 15 earthworm farms (10-6~10-1 copies/16S copies) and some high-risk ARGs (i.e., blaampC, blaOXA-1 and blaTEM-1) were even prevalent in these farms. Interestingly, although ARGs differ widely in cow dung (10-10~10-1 copies/16S copies), the ARGs levels were comparable in vermicompost samples from different farms (10-8~10-2 copies/16S copies). Notably, earthworm conversion effectively reduced some ARGs in cow dung, but significant level of ARGs still remained in earthworms and vermicompost (up to 10-1 and 10-2 copies/16S copies, respectively). Nevertheless, the concentrations of some heavy metals (Cu, Zn and Ni), the abundance of mobile genetic elements (MGEs) and total nitrogen content were confirmed to be correlated to the enrichment of some ARGs. Overall, this study demonstrated the high prevalence of ARGs contamination in earthworm farms, and also highlighted the dissemination risk of ARGs during the earthworm conversion of cow dung.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147651321006503EarthwormCow dungVermicompostAntibiotic resistance genesChina |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Xueli Tian Bingjun Han Junfeng Liang Fengxia Yang Keqiang Zhang |
spellingShingle |
Xueli Tian Bingjun Han Junfeng Liang Fengxia Yang Keqiang Zhang Tracking antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) during earthworm conversion of cow dung in northern China Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety Earthworm Cow dung Vermicompost Antibiotic resistance genes China |
author_facet |
Xueli Tian Bingjun Han Junfeng Liang Fengxia Yang Keqiang Zhang |
author_sort |
Xueli Tian |
title |
Tracking antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) during earthworm conversion of cow dung in northern China |
title_short |
Tracking antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) during earthworm conversion of cow dung in northern China |
title_full |
Tracking antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) during earthworm conversion of cow dung in northern China |
title_fullStr |
Tracking antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) during earthworm conversion of cow dung in northern China |
title_full_unstemmed |
Tracking antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) during earthworm conversion of cow dung in northern China |
title_sort |
tracking antibiotic resistance genes (args) during earthworm conversion of cow dung in northern china |
publisher |
Elsevier |
series |
Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety |
issn |
0147-6513 |
publishDate |
2021-10-01 |
description |
Using cow dung to breed earthworms poses a risk of environmental transmission of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). The purpose of this study was to address the occurrence, persistence and environmental fate of ARGs during earthworm conversion of cow dung. The results showed that ARGs persisted through the whole process. Notably, earthworm conversion effectively reduced some ARGs in cow dung, but a definite concentration of ARGs still remained in earthworms and vermicompost (up to 10-1 and 10-2 copies/16S copies, respectively). We found that tet-ARGs were the most abundant in 15 earthworm farms (10-6~10-1 copies/16S copies) and some high-risk ARGs (i.e., blaampC, blaOXA-1 and blaTEM-1) were even prevalent in these farms. Interestingly, although ARGs differ widely in cow dung (10-10~10-1 copies/16S copies), the ARGs levels were comparable in vermicompost samples from different farms (10-8~10-2 copies/16S copies). Notably, earthworm conversion effectively reduced some ARGs in cow dung, but significant level of ARGs still remained in earthworms and vermicompost (up to 10-1 and 10-2 copies/16S copies, respectively). Nevertheless, the concentrations of some heavy metals (Cu, Zn and Ni), the abundance of mobile genetic elements (MGEs) and total nitrogen content were confirmed to be correlated to the enrichment of some ARGs. Overall, this study demonstrated the high prevalence of ARGs contamination in earthworm farms, and also highlighted the dissemination risk of ARGs during the earthworm conversion of cow dung. |
topic |
Earthworm Cow dung Vermicompost Antibiotic resistance genes China |
url |
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147651321006503 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT xuelitian trackingantibioticresistancegenesargsduringearthwormconversionofcowdunginnorthernchina AT bingjunhan trackingantibioticresistancegenesargsduringearthwormconversionofcowdunginnorthernchina AT junfengliang trackingantibioticresistancegenesargsduringearthwormconversionofcowdunginnorthernchina AT fengxiayang trackingantibioticresistancegenesargsduringearthwormconversionofcowdunginnorthernchina AT keqiangzhang trackingantibioticresistancegenesargsduringearthwormconversionofcowdunginnorthernchina |
_version_ |
1721242182532202496 |