Discharge of swine wastes risks water quality and food safety: Antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes from swine sources to the receiving environments

- Various ARGs and antibiotics prevalent in swine manure and wastewaters
- Most ARGs and antibiotics survived the on-farm waste treatment systems.
- Elevated abundance and diversity of ARGs observed in the rivers and soils
- Vegetables irrigated with swine wastewater contained diverse ARGs and antibiotics.
- Discharge of wastewater could pose risks to food safety and human health.

Swine feedlots are widely considered as a potential hotspot for promoting the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the environment. ARGs could enter the environment via discharge of animal wastes, thus resulting in contamination of soil, water, and food. We investigated the dissemination and diversification of 22 ARGs conferring resistance to sulfonamides, tetracyclines, chloramphenicols, and macrolides as well as the occurrence of 18 corresponding antibiotics from three swine feedlots to the receiving water, soil environments and vegetables. Most ARGs and antibiotics survived the on-farm waste treatment processes in the three swine farms. Elevated diversity of ARGs was observed in the receiving environments including river water and vegetable field soils when compared with respective controls. The variation of ARGs along the vertical soil profiles of vegetable fields indicated enrichment and migration of ARGs. Detection of various ARGs and antibiotic residues in vegetables fertilized by swine wastes could be of great concern to the general public. This research demonstrated the contribution of swine wastes to the occurrence and development of antibiotic resistance determinants in the receiving environments and potential risks to food safety and human health.