title: Long-Term Impact of Field Applications of Sewage Sludge on Soil Antibiotic Resistome.
abstract: Land applications of municipal sewage sludge may pose a risk of introducing antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) from urban environments into agricultural systems. However, how the sewage sludge recycling and application method influence soil resistome and mobile genetic elements (MGEs) remains unclear. In the present study, high through-put quantitative PCR was conducted on the resistome of soils from a field experiment with past (between 1994 and 1997) and annual (since 1994) applications of five different sewage sludges. Total inputs of organic carbon were similar between the two modes of sludge applications. Intrinsic soil resistome, defined as the ARGs shared by the soils in the control and sludge-amended plots, consisted of genes conferring resistance to multidrug, β-lactam, Macrolide-Lincosamide-Streptogramin B (MLSB), tetracycline, vancomycin, and aminoglycoside, with multidrug resistance genes as the most abundant members. There was a strong correlation between the abundance of ARGs and MGE marker genes in soils. The composition and diversity of ARGs in the five sludges were substantially different from those in soils. Considerable proportions of ARGs and MGE marker genes in the sludges attenuated following the application, especially aminoglycoside and tetracycline resistance genes. Annual applications posed a more significant impact on the soil resistome, through both continued introduction and stimulation of the soil intrinsic ARGs. In addition, direct introduction of sludge-specific ARGs into soil was observed especially from ARG-rich sludge. These results provide a better insight into the characteristics of ARG dissemination from urban environment to the agricultural system through sewage sludge applications.
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Waste Resource Utilization, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University , Nanjing 210095, China.
authors.forename: Wan-Ying
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Rothamsted Research , Harpenden, Hertfordshire AL5 2JQ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Steve P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: McGrath
authors.affiliation: Key Lab of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Xiamen 361021, China.
authors.forename: Jian-Qiang
authors.initials: JQ
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: Rothamsted Research , Harpenden, Hertfordshire AL5 2JQ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Penny R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Hirsch
authors.affiliation: Rothamsted Research , Harpenden, Hertfordshire AL5 2JQ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Ian M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Waste Resource Utilization, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University , Nanjing 210095, China.
authors.forename: Qirong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Key Lab of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Xiamen 361021, China.
authors.forename: Yong-Guan
authors.initials: YG
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Waste Resource Utilization, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University , Nanjing 210095, China.|Rothamsted Research , Harpenden, Hertfordshire AL5 2JQ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Fang-Jie
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial / Q000235:genetics; D005798:Genes, Bacterial / Q000187:drug effects; D012722:Sewage; D012987:Soil
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D012722:Sewage; D012987:Soil