Nanoparticles in soil may slow antibiotic resistance spread to lettuce
Cui J, Yan S, Wang S, Xia H, Chen L
Soil Health
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria in garden soil can hitch a ride onto the vegetables you grow and eat, so anything that curbs their spread from soil to leaf matters for backyard food safety.
Bacteria in soil sometimes swap genes that make them resistant to antibiotics, and these genes can travel from soil into the plants growing there, including lettuce. Researchers exposed soil-grown lettuce to increasing amounts of cerium dioxide nanoparticles, a material used in things like fuel additives and polishing compounds, and found that it reduced the mobile genetic tools bacteria use to share resistance genes. The effect was strongest in the root zone soil and weaker in the leaves themselves.
Key Findings
Metagenomic profiling identified 16 antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) types and 125 subtypes across soil, root, and leaf compartments
Relative abundance of mobile genetic elements (MGEs) decreased significantly in both rhizosphere and leaf endophyte compartments after CeO2 nanoparticle exposure
Transcriptomic and functional assays showed downregulation of central metabolism and Sec-dependent trafficking genes, reduced envelope permeability, and fewer tetracycline-resistant colonies in plasmid-transfer tests
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists found that adding cerium dioxide nanoparticles, a common industrial and consumer product ingredient, to soil growing lettuce actually reduced the spread of antibiotic-resistance genes between soil bacteria and the plant, rather than making resistance worse.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Cerium dioxide nanoparticle exposure attenuates mobility-linked antibiotic resistome signatures across the soil-lettuce continuum.
Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are contaminants of emerging concern in agricultural microbiomes. Their association with mobile genetic elements (MGEs) can enhance dissemination across soil-plan...
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