Li Zheng-Hao, Yuan Li, Shao Wei, Sheng Guo-Ping
CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China.
CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China.
J Hazard Mater. 2021 Oct 15;420:126672. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.126672. Epub 2021 Jul 17.
Earthworms have shown their effectiveness in reducing the abundances of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) from solid waste. However, the mechanisms of the reduced ARGs by earthworm and whether the solid waste would affect the ARGs profile in earthworm gut were poorly understood. Herein, the patterns of ARGs and microbial communities in digested sludge-amended soil and earthworm gut after 80-day cultivation were investigated. Results show that the enrichment of ARGs (e.g., tetA, tetQ, and sulII) in soil caused by digested sludge-amendment was temporary and would recover to their original levels before amendment. In addition, earthworms could contribute to the further reduction of ARG abundances, which was mainly attributed to their gut digestion via shifting the microbial community (e.g., attenuating the anaerobes). However, the amended soil could significantly increase ARGs abundance in the earthworm gut, which may enhance the potential risk of ARGs spread via the food chain. These findings may provide a new sight on the control of ARGs occurrence and dissemination in sludge-amended soil ecosystem with consideration of earthworms.
蚯蚓已证明其在降低固体废物中抗生素抗性基因（ARG）丰度方面的有效性。然而，蚯蚓降低ARG的机制以及固体废物是否会影响蚯蚓肠道中的ARG谱仍知之甚少。在此，研究了80天培养后消化污泥改良土壤和蚯蚓肠道中ARG和微生物群落的模式。结果表明，消化污泥改良导致土壤中ARG（如tetA、tetQ和sulII）的富集是暂时的，会恢复到改良前的原始水平。此外，蚯蚓有助于进一步降低ARG丰度，这主要归因于它们通过改变微生物群落（如减弱厌氧菌）进行肠道消化。然而，改良土壤会显著增加蚯蚓肠道中的ARG丰度，这可能会增加ARG通过食物链传播的潜在风险。这些发现可能为在考虑蚯蚓的情况下控制污泥改良土壤生态系统中ARG的发生和传播提供新的视角。
