Agricultural Research Institute, Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, P.O. Box 22016, 1516, Nicosia, Cyprus.
Solar Energy Research Centre (CIESOL), Joint Centre University of Almería-CIEMAT, 04120, Almería, Spain.
Water Res. 2017 Oct 15;123:448-467. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2017.07.004. Epub 2017 Jul 3.
The use of reclaimed wastewater (RWW) for the irrigation of crops may result in the continuous exposure of the agricultural environment to antibiotics, antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). In recent years, certain evidence indicate that antibiotics and resistance genes may become disseminated in agricultural soils as a result of the amendment with manure and biosolids and irrigation with RWW. Antibiotic residues and other contaminants may undergo sorption/desorption and transformation processes (both biotic and abiotic), and have the potential to affect the soil microbiota. Antibiotics found in the soil pore water (bioavailable fraction) as a result of RWW irrigation may be taken up by crop plants, bioaccumulate within plant tissues and subsequently enter the food webs; potentially resulting in detrimental public health implications. It can be also hypothesized that ARGs can spread among soil and plant-associated bacteria, a fact that may have serious human health implications. The majority of studies dealing with these environmental and social challenges related with the use of RWW for irrigation were conducted under laboratory or using, somehow, controlled conditions. This critical review discusses the state of the art on the fate of antibiotics, ARB and ARGs in agricultural environment where RWW is applied for irrigation. The implications associated with the uptake of antibiotics by plants (uptake mechanisms) and the potential risks to public health are highlighted. Additionally, knowledge gaps as well as challenges and opportunities are addressed, with the aim of boosting future research towards an enhanced understanding of the fate and implications of these contaminants of emerging concern in the agricultural environment. These are key issues in a world where the increasing water scarcity and the continuous appeal of circular economy demand answers for a long-term safe use of RWW for irrigation.
再生水（RWW）用于灌溉作物可能会导致农业环境持续暴露于抗生素、抗生素耐药细菌（ARB）和抗生素耐药基因（ARGs）中。近年来，有证据表明，由于粪肥和生物固体的添加以及再生水的灌溉，抗生素和耐药基因可能在农业土壤中传播。抗生素残留和其他污染物可能经历吸附/解吸和转化过程（生物和非生物），并有可能影响土壤微生物群。由于再生水灌溉，土壤孔隙水中（生物可利用部分）存在的抗生素可能被作物植物吸收，在植物组织内生物累积，并随后进入食物网；这可能对公共健康造成不利影响。还可以假设 ARGs 可以在土壤和植物相关细菌之间传播，这一事实可能对人类健康产生严重影响。大多数涉及使用 RWW 进行灌溉的这些环境和社会挑战的研究是在实验室中进行的，或者在某种程度上使用了受控条件。本综述讨论了在应用 RWW 进行灌溉的农业环境中抗生素、ARB 和 ARGs 的命运的最新研究进展。强调了抗生素被植物吸收的相关影响（吸收机制）和对公众健康的潜在风险。此外，还解决了知识空白以及面临的挑战和机遇，旨在促进未来的研究，以增进对这些新兴关注的污染物在农业环境中的命运和影响的理解。在世界范围内，水资源日益短缺和循环经济的持续吸引力要求为长期安全使用 RWW 进行灌溉提供答案，这些都是关键问题。
