Response of soil antibiotic resistance genes and bacterial communities to fresh cattle manure and organic fertilizer application

Abstract

Livestock manure use in agriculture contributes to pollutants like antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and resistant bacteria. This practice could potentially facilitate ARGs development in soil ecosystems. Our study aimed to explore ARGs and bacterial communities in cattle manure from Ningxia beef cattle farms with varying breeding periods. We also assessed the impact of different application rates of cattle manure compost, created by mixing manure with different growing periods, on soil's physicochemical and heavy metal properties. High-throughput PCR and sequencing were used to analyze ARGs and bacterial communities. We aimed to understand ARGs dynamics in cattle manure during breeding stages and the impact of different fertilizer application rates on soil bacteria and resistance genes. We found 212 ARGs from cattle manure, spanning tetracycline, aminoglycoside, multidrug, and MLSB categories. Relative ARGs abundance was presented across breeding stages: lactation (C1), breeding (C3), pre-fattening (C4), calving (C2), and late fattening (C5). pH, total nitrogen (TN), electrical conductivity (EC), arsenic (As) and cadmium (Cd) presence significantly impacted ARGs quantity and microbial community structure in manure. Mobile genetic elements (MGEs) were the primary factor altering ARGs in manure (65.56%). Heavy metals contributed to 18.60% of ARGs changes. Manure application changed soil ARGs abundance, notably in soils with high application rates, primarily associated with aminoglycoside, multidrug and sulfonamide resistance. Soils with higher manure rates had elevated MGEs, positively correlated with most ARGs, suggesting MGEs' role in ARGs dissemination. Soil microbial community structure was influenced by fertilization, particularly with the highest application rate. Heavy metals (specifically Cd, contributing to 23.12%), microbial community changes (17.42%), and MGEs (17.38%) were the main factors affecting soil antibiotic resistance. Our study establishes a framework for understanding ARGs emergence in manure and treated soils. This informs strategies to mitigate environmental ARGs transmission and guides diverse livestock manure application and management.