Tracking antibiotic resistance genes and microbiome shifts under reclaimed wastewater irrigation: Root-associated selective modulation.
Della-Negra O, Bru-Adan V, Patureau D, Ait-Mouheb N, Wéry N
Soil Health
Vegetables grown with recycled wastewater — increasingly common as droughts spread — may be safer than feared, because the plants' own roots appear to block most antibiotic-resistant microbes from getting in.
Scientists watered lettuce and leeks with treated wastewater for two years and found that the soil around the plants picked up lots of bacteria carrying antibiotic resistance. But when they looked inside the roots, most of those resistant bacteria were absent — the roots seemed to act like a biological filter. A few concerning microbes did get through, including one known to cause plant disease, so the filter isn't perfect, but it's surprisingly effective.
Key Findings
Antibiotic resistance genes (sul1, ermB, intI1) rose significantly in soils irrigated with treated and raw wastewater, but these increases were not mirrored inside plant roots.
Root microbiomes were more resilient than soil microbiomes to wastewater irrigation, with most wastewater-associated bacterial groups absent or reduced in roots compared to surrounding soil.
One plant pathogen genus (Rhizorhapis) was promoted in roots under raw wastewater irrigation, indicating the root barrier is selective but not absolute.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Irrigating crops with recycled wastewater spreads antibiotic-resistant bacteria and genes into soil, but plant roots appear to act as a natural filter, significantly reducing how much of that resistance makes it inside the plant.
Abstract Preview
The reuse of treated wastewater (TWW) for crop irrigation reduces pressure on freshwater resources but may also disseminate antimicrobial resistance (AMR) through the presence of antibiotics, resis...
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