Effects of Cu exposure on enzyme activities and selection for microbial tolerances during swine-manure composting

A simulated experiment of aerobic composting was conducted on swine manure to evaluate the effects of Cu at two exposure levels (200 and 2000 mg kg−1, corresponding to low-Cu and high-Cu treatments, respectively) on the activity of microorganisms. In addition, the microbial pollution-induced community tolerance (PICT) to Cu and co-tolerance to selected antibiotics (tylosin and vancomycin) in the composted products were also investigated using the Biolog Ecoplates™ method. It was demonstrated that the enzymatic activities were significantly inhibited by the high-Cu treatment, with maximal inhibition rates of 56.8% and 65.1% for urease and dehydrogenase, respectively. In response to the PICT test, the IC50 (half-maximal inhibition concentrations) values on the microorganisms in the high-Cu-treated composts were clearly higher than those in the low-Cu-treated and control composts, for the toxicity tests on both Cu and antibiotics, including tylosin and vancomycin. The data demonstrated that high-Cu exposure to the microbial community during the composting not only selected for Cu resistance but also co-selected for antibiotic resistance, which was of significance because the tolerance might be transferred to the soil after the land application of composted manure.