Antibiotics and antibiotic resistance from animal manures to soil: a review

Abstract

SummaryThe overuse of veterinary antibiotics in animal production and the subsequent land applications of manures contribute to the elevated antibiotic resistance in the soil environment. To minimize the risk of antibiotic resistance, it is important to understand the fate of antibiotics and the spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) from animal production systems to soil. In this paper, we review recent studies on veterinary antibiotic use, the concentrations of antibiotics and the abundance and diversity of AGRs in animal manures and in soil that receives manures or manure composts. The mechanisms of ARG dissemination in the environment are also discussed. Although we focus on China where around 3 billion tons of animal manures are produced and more than 84 000 tons of antibiotics are consumed annually in animal production industries, the problem is worldwide. Approximately 58% of the veterinary antibiotics consumed are excreted into the environment, more than half of which end up in the soil. The abundance of ARGs in manures can reach up to 10 −1 of the 16S rRNA genes. Applications of manures or manure composts can enrich soil ARGs in at least three ways: (i) by the direct introduction of manure-derived ARGs, (ii) by elevating the intrinsic soil ARGs and (iii) by imposing a selection of ARGs with the antibiotics in the manures. We also discuss the need for more stringent regulations on the use of veterinary antibiotics and future research directions on the mechanisms of antibiotic resistance and resistance management.

Veterinary antibiotic oxytetracycline’s effect on the soil microbial community

“…These genes encode three mechanisms that endow bacteria with antibiotic resistance: active antibiotic efflux (tet(A), tet(B), tet(C), tet(D), tet(E), tet(G), tet(H), tet(I), tet(J), tet(Z)), ribosome protection (tet(M), tet(O), tet(S), tet(W), tet(Q), tet(T)), and antibiotic detoxification (tet(X)) (Suzuki et al 2015;Chopra and Roberts 2001). An adaptation and development of antibiotic resistance in soil microorganisms has already been reported for antibiotic-spiked soil samples (Xie et al 2017).…”

“…Despite the fact that antibiotics and resistance genes are recognized as a serious environmental problem and many studies (Martinez 2009;Xie et al 2017;Sharma et al 2016) are devoted to assessing their content in water, bottom sediments, and soil and plants, information on the level of their presence in the natural environment in Russia is practically absent.…”

Potential Benefits and Risks for Soil Health Derived From the Use of Organic Amendments in Agriculture

“…In this sense, the long-term application of animal manure and biosolids to agricultural soil may lead to the introduction, proliferation, and dissemination of these emerging contaminants in the environment [181][182][183][184][185]. It was reported that the repeated exposure of the soil environment to amendment-borne ARGs correlates with the emergence and proliferation of ARGs in indigenous soil bacteria [186,187].…”

Special section on soil and human health – An editorial

“…Several recent reviews have highlighted these links (e.g. Cakmak & Kutman, ; Li et al, ; Oliver & Gregory, ; Steffan et al, ; Stockamp & Thompson, ; Wall et al, ; Xie et al, ). Nevertheless, many questions still remain.…”