agricultural-pollution
Agricultural pollution encompasses the harmful byproducts of farming practices—including synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, heavy metals, and runoff—that contaminate soil, water, and air. For plant science, understanding these pollutants is critical because they can disrupt nutrient uptake, damage root systems, alter soil microbiomes, and impair photosynthesis and growth. Researchers study how plants respond, adapt, or accumulate these contaminants to develop more resilient crops and phytoremediation strategies that use plants to detoxify degraded environments.
open_in_new WikipediaPubMed · 2026-04-01
Antibiotic-resistant genes from animal manure processed into biogas slurry are spreading widely in Chinese agricultural soils — and sinking deeper into the ground over time, raising concerns about contamination of crops and groundwater.
High-risk antibiotic resistance genes — especially those for tetracycline, aminoglycoside, and phenicol antibiotics — were found to persist and accumulate in farmland soils across four major Chinese provinces after biogas slurry application.
At least 9 specific resistance genes (including tet(L), fexA, erm(A), and floR) became more concentrated at greater soil depths, suggesting active downward migration toward groundwater.
Both regional climate and specific farming conditions (such as how and when slurry is applied) significantly shaped which antibiotic-resistant bacterial communities took hold and spread vertically through the soil.