Analysis, fate and effects of the antibiotic sulfadiazine in soil ecosystems

This review summarizes current knowledge about the interplay between fate and effects of the antibiotic sulfadiazine in soil ecosystems. In applying manure from antibiotic-treated animals to arable soils, sulfadiazine can reach the environment, but fate and transformation processes and the consequences for soil microorganisms and soil functions have not been studied adequately. Since antibiotics are explicitly designed to affect microorganisms, they are likely to affect “non-target” microbes in the soil ecosystem. Recent papers provide new insights into the disappearance dynamics of sulfadiazine, its effects on distinct microbial communities and the development of antibiotic resistance.