title: Occurrence of sulfonamide-, tetracycline-, plasmid-mediated quinolone- and macrolide-resistance genes in livestock feedlots in Northern China.
abstract: Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in livestock feedlots deserve attention because they are prone to transfer to human pathogens and thus pose threats to human health. In this study, the occurrence of 21 ARGs, including tetracycline (tet)-, sulfonamide (sul)-, plasmid-mediated quinolone (PMQR)- and macrolide-resistance (erm) genes were investigated in feces and adjacent soils from chicken, swine, and cattle feedlots in Northern China. PMQR and sul ARGs were the most prevalent and account for over 90.0 % of the total ARGs in fecal samples. Specifically, PMQR genes were the most prevalent, accounting for 59.6 % of the total ARGs, followed by sul ARGs (34.2 %). The percentage of tet ARGs was 3.4 %, and erm ARGs accounted for only 1.9 %. Prevalence of PMQR and sul ARGs was also found in swine and cattle feces. The overall trend of ARG concentrations in feces of different feeding animals was chicken > swine > beef cattle in the studied area. In soils, sul ARGs had the highest concentration and account for 71.1 to 80.2 % of the total ARGs, which is possibly due to the widely distributed molecular carriers (i.e., class one integrons), facilitating sul ARG propagation. Overall, this study provides integrated profiles of various types of ARGs in livestock feedlots and thus provides a reference for the management of antibiotic use in livestock farming.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria (Ministry of Education), College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, No.94, Weijin Road, Tianjin, 300071, China.
authors.forename: Quanhua
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Mu
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Yingxue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Daqing
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Luo
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D002417:Cattle; D002645:Chickens; D002681:China; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial / Q000235:genetics*; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D058751:Livestock; D018942:Macrolides; D010957:Plasmids; D015363:Quinolones; D000077145:Sulfanilamide; D013424:Sulfanilamides; D013449:Sulfonamides; D013552:Swine; D013752:Tetracycline
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D018942:Macrolides; D015363:Quinolones; D013424:Sulfanilamides; D013449:Sulfonamides; D000077145:Sulfanilamide; D013752:Tetracycline