Response of Antibiotic Resistance Genes and Related Microorganisms to Arsenic during Vermicomposting of Cow Dung

Zijun Li, Chen Chen, Keqiang Zhang, Zulin Zhang, Ran Zhao, Bingjun Han, Fengxia Yang () and Yongzhen Ding ()
Additional contact information
Zijun Li: China-UK Agro-Environmental Pollution Prevention and Control Joint Research Centre, Agro-Environmental Protection Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin 300191, China
Chen Chen: China-UK Agro-Environmental Pollution Prevention and Control Joint Research Centre, Agro-Environmental Protection Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin 300191, China
Keqiang Zhang: China-UK Agro-Environmental Pollution Prevention and Control Joint Research Centre, Agro-Environmental Protection Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin 300191, China
Zulin Zhang: The James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen AB15 8QH, UK
Ran Zhao: China-UK Agro-Environmental Pollution Prevention and Control Joint Research Centre, Agro-Environmental Protection Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin 300191, China
Bingjun Han: China-UK Agro-Environmental Pollution Prevention and Control Joint Research Centre, Agro-Environmental Protection Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin 300191, China
Fengxia Yang: China-UK Agro-Environmental Pollution Prevention and Control Joint Research Centre, Agro-Environmental Protection Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin 300191, China
Yongzhen Ding: China-UK Agro-Environmental Pollution Prevention and Control Joint Research Centre, Agro-Environmental Protection Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin 300191, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 21, 1-17

Abstract: Antibiotic resistance pollution in livestock manure is a persistent issue that has drawn public attention. Vermicomposting is an ecofriendly biological process that can render livestock manure harmless and resourceful. However, little is known about the impact of vermicomposting on antibiotic resistance in livestock manure under stress caused by potentially toxic arsenic levels. Herein, lab-scale vermicomposting was performed to comprehensively evaluate the shift in antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and related microorganisms in fresh earthworm casts as well as vermicompost product health (i.e., nutrient availability and enzyme activity) when they were fed on arsenic-contaminated cow manure. The results showed that the earthworms’ interaction with cow dung led to a significant reduction in ARG concentrations, especially for tetracycline ARGs ( tet -ARGs), β-lactam ARGs ( bla -ARGs), and quinolone ARGs ( qnr -ARGs). However, arsenic significantly enhanced ARG accumulation in earthworm casts in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, vermicomposting increased the percentage of Bacteroidota in the converted products. Furthermore, arsenic exposure at low concentrations promoted the proliferation of Proteobacteria, whereas high concentrations had little effect on Proteobacteria. Our study provides valuable insight into the changes in the antibiotic resistome and related microorganisms during vermicomposting of arsenic-amended cow manure, and it is crucial to explain the environmental impact of earthworms and improve our understanding of the reciprocal benefits of soil invertebrates.

Keywords: antibiotic resistance genes; vermicomposting; cow manure; arsenic; microorganisms; earthworms; Eisenia fétida (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/21/14475/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/21/14475/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:21:p:14475-:d:963470

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().