Detection of sulfonamide resistant bacteria and resistance genes in soils

Abstract

Manure application could accelerate the environmental dissemination of antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in soils. In this study, the prevalence of sulfonamide resistant bacteria and resistance genes was investigated in agricultural soils to which organic manures had been applied in Tianjin, China. Anti-sulfonamide bacteria were found in the range of 3.29 × 104 to 1.70 × 105 CFU/g dry soil, occupying 1.5% to 2.2% of total viable counts. And sulI and sulII genes were detected in all sampling sites, with relative abundances of 5.69 × 10-5 to 6.95 × 10-4 and 4.28 × 10-4 to 1.25 × 10-3 respectively. No significant correlations between cultivable sulfonamide resistant bacteria and sul genes were found in this study. While sulI showed significant positive correlation with soil organic matter. Overall, the results highlight that soil plays an important role in resistance genes capture as the environmental reservoir.