Bloom of resident antibiotic-resistant bacteria in soil following manure fertilization

The increasing prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a global threat to public health. Agricultural use of antibiotics is believed to contribute to the spread of antibiotic resistance, but the mechanisms by which many agricultural practices influence resistance remain obscure. Although manure from dairy farms is a common soil amendment in crop production, its impact on the soil microbiome and resistome is not known. To gain insight into this impact, we cultured bacteria from soil before and at 10 time points after application of manure from cows that had not received antibiotic treatment. Soil treated with manure contained a higher abundance of β-lactam-resistant bacteria than soil treated with…

• NS
  National Science Foundation

  Awards: MCB-1243671, 1243671
• YU
  Yale University
• UO
  University of Connecticut
• SN
  Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung

  Award: 138800
• NI
  National Institutes of Health