Multi-omics association analysis of the toxicity mechanism differences of typical veterinary antibiotics on tomatoes: From physiological inhibition to metabolic reprogramming.
Yang H, Xie Y, Wang H, Sun H, Li X
Soil Health
Manure-amended vegetable beds may carry invisible antibiotic residues that quietly suppress your tomato seedlings' growth and unravel the soil microbes that help roots thrive.
Scientists exposed tomato seedlings to three common livestock antibiotics for up to four weeks and found all three stunted growth and triggered plant stress responses. The antibiotics also disrupted the tiny bacterial communities living around the roots, which plants rely on for nutrient cycling and defense. Crucially, each antibiotic type caused a different pattern of harm — meaning there's no single fix for this problem.
Key Findings
Enrofloxacin caused the greatest suppression of tomato fresh weight (37.4%) and plant height (26.7%) among the three antibiotics tested.
Chlortetracycline produced the largest reductions in leaf area (28%) and leaf greenness (25.1%), a proxy for photosynthetic capacity.
All three antibiotics reduced the abundance of the dominant soil bacterium Bryobacter and reshaped rhizosphere microbial communities, with each antibiotic triggering a distinct metabolic shift in those communities.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Veterinary antibiotics from animal waste build up in soil and stunt tomato growth while scrambling the underground microbial communities plants depend on — and each antibiotic type causes damage in its own distinct way.
Abstract Preview
Widespread application of veterinary antibiotics is contaminating soil via animal feces, leading to uptake by plants and environmental damage. Currently, research on the toxicological mechanisms as...
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