Discharge of swine wastes risks water quality and food safety: Antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes from swine sources to the receiving environments.
Swine feedlots are widely considered as a potential hotspot for promoting the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the environment. ARGs could enter the environment via discharge of animal wastes, thus resulting in contamination of soil, water, and food. We investigated the dissemination and diversification of 22 ARGs conferring resistance to sulfonamides, tetracyclines, chloramphenicols, and macrolides as well as the occurrence of 18 corresponding antibiotics from three swine feedlots to the receiving water, soil environments and vegetables. Most ARGs and antibiotics survived the on-farm waste treatment processes in the three swine farms. Elevated diversity of ARGs was observed in the receiving environments including river water and vegetable field soils when compared with respective controls. The variation of ARGs along the vertical soil profiles of vegetable fields indicated enrichment and migration of ARGs. Detection of various ARGs and antibiotic residues in vegetables fertilized by swine wastes could be of great concern to the general public. This research demonstrated the contribution of swine wastes to the occurrence and development of antibiotic resistance determinants in the receiving environments and potential risks to food safety and human health.
State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, CAS Centre for Pearl River Delta Environmental Pollution and Control Research, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China.
Liang-Ying
LY
He
State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, CAS Centre for Pearl River Delta Environmental Pollution and Control Research, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China. Electronic address: guangguo.ying@gmail.com.
Guang-Guo
GG
Ying
State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, CAS Centre for Pearl River Delta Environmental Pollution and Control Research, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China.
You-Sheng
YS
Liu
State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, CAS Centre for Pearl River Delta Environmental Pollution and Control Research, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China.
Hao-Chang
HC
Su
State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, CAS Centre for Pearl River Delta Environmental Pollution and Control Research, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China.
Jun
J
Chen
State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, CAS Centre for Pearl River Delta Environmental Pollution and Control Research, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China.
Shuang-Shuang
SS
Liu
State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, CAS Centre for Pearl River Delta Environmental Pollution and Control Research, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China.
Jian-Liang
JL
Zhao
D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000737:chemistry*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial / Q000235:genetics*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D059022:Food Safety; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D013449:Sulfonamides / Q000494:pharmacology; D013552:Swine / Q000382:microbiology*; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D060753:Water Quality
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D013449:Sulfonamides; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
Antibiotic resistance genes; Antibiotics; Digester; Lagoon; Swine farms; Vegetables