Antimicrobial resistance genes and mobile genetic elements in compost amendments, soil, and the human gastrointestinal bacterial communities of gardeners during a single gardening season.
Wirth VR, Xie SYL, Russell MM, Bu S, Sugino KY
Soil Health
If you've ever wondered whether shoveling manure compost into your raised beds puts anything unwanted into your body, this study followed real gardeners for an entire season and found their gut bacteria stayed stable — a reassuring signal for anyone who composts with livestock amendments.
Scientists tested soil, two types of garden compost, and stool samples from gardeners to see whether handling antibiotic-resistance-carrying compost changes the resistant bacteria living in people's guts. Compost made from dairy manure had more antibiotic resistance genes than plant-only compost, but gardeners' gut bacteria showed no significant changes across the season. The takeaway: a summer of gardening with manure compost doesn't appear to rewire the resistant bacteria already living inside you.
Key Findings
Dairy manure and plant mixed compost (DMP) and soil contained greater antibiotic resistance gene richness than plant-based compost alone.
Gut resistome profiles in 11 gardeners showed strong individual consistency across three time points during the 2019 season, with no significant shift in alpha or beta diversity.
Mobile genetic element gene composition differed significantly between manure compost and human stool, suggesting limited transfer of compost-associated resistance elements to the human gut.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Gardeners using manure-based compost are exposed to more antibiotic resistance genes than those using plant-based compost, but a full gardening season of exposure did not meaningfully change the antibiotic-resistance profile of bacteria living in their guts.
Abstract Preview
The purpose of this study was to assess the antimicrobial resistance gene (ARG) and mobile genetic element (MGE) gene presence and abundance in soil, dairy manure and plant mixed compost (DMP), pla...
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