Addition of Chinese medicinal herbal residues promotes the removal of antibiotic resistance genes during pig manure composting
- 1College of Bioengineering and Biotechnology, Tianshui Normal University
- 2Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory for Utilization of Agricultural Solid Waste Resources
Abstract
Aerobic composting is an effective methods for reducing antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and mobile genetic elements (MGEs) present in livestock and poultry manure. Chinese medicinal herbal residues (CMHRs) are rich in nutrients and antibacterial components, which may inhibit the spread of ARGs and MGEs. This study investigated the effects of adding different proportions of CMHRs added (0%, 10%, 30%, and 50% of the initial compost mixture mass) on ARGs and MGEs during pig manure composting. The results showed that CMHRs shortened the time required to reach the high-temperature stage and increased compost temperature. At the end of composting, the total nitrogen (TN) and available phosphorus (AP) levels in the M2 treatment group were significantly higher than those in the control group, reaching 8.11 g/kg and 333.73 mg/kg, respectively. High-throughput qPCR analysis showed that the total removal rates of ARGs after composting were 27.10%, 36.04%, 65.55%, and 40.55%, respectively; the corresponding removal rates of MGEs were 19.25%, 56.20%, 65.32%, and 14.03%, respectively; The 30% treatment was the most effective, with removal rates of aminoglycosides, β-lactam, multidrug resistance, sulfonamides, and tetracycline resistance genes of 78.09%, 81.11%, 74.09%, 54.27%, and 61.24%, respectively. Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Bacteroidetes were the dominant phyla in the compost. Clostridium-sensu-stricto1 , Corynebacterium , Terrisporobacter , Anaerococcus , and Romboutsia were potential major hosts of ARGs and MGEs. During composting, changes in temperature and MGEs directly and significantly affected ARGs, while total organic carbon (TOM) and TN indirectly affected ARGs by regulating microbial communities. In conclusion, the addition of 30% CMHRs effectively reduces ARGs and MGEs in pig manure compost. These findings provide a basis for the use of CMHRs to reduce the spread of ARGs during pig manure composting.
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BibTeX
@article{wang2026addition,
title = {{Addition of Chinese medicinal herbal residues promotes the removal of antibiotic resistance genes during pig manure composting}},
author = {Bo Wang and Lanlan Tian and Yibo Wang and Zexing Tian and Yanrong Yang},
journal = {Frontiers in Microbiology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fmicb.2026.1932472},
url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2026.1932472/full},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Addition of Chinese medicinal herbal residues promotes the removal of antibiotic resistance genes during pig manure composting
AU - Bo Wang
AU - Lanlan Tian
AU - Yibo Wang
AU - Zexing Tian
AU - Yanrong Yang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/14
JO - Frontiers in Microbiology
DO - 10.3389/fmicb.2026.1932472
UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2026.1932472/full
AB - Aerobic composting is an effective methods for reducing antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and mobile genetic elements (MGEs) present in livestock and poultry manure. Chinese medicinal herbal residues (CMHRs) are rich in nutrients and antibacterial components, which may inhibit the spread of ARGs and MGEs. This study investigated the effects of adding different proportions of CMHRs added (0%, 10%, 30%, and 50% of the initial compost mixture mass) on ARGs and MGEs during pig manure composting. The results showed that CMHRs shortened the time required to reach the high-temperature stage and increased compost temperature. At the end of composting, the total nitrogen (TN) and available phosphorus (AP) levels in the M2 treatment group were significantly higher than those in the control group, reaching 8.11 g/kg and 333.73 mg/kg, respectively. High-throughput qPCR analysis showed that the total removal rates of ARGs after composting were 27.10%, 36.04%, 65.55%, and 40.55%, respectively; the corresponding removal rates of MGEs were 19.25%, 56.20%, 65.32%, and 14.03%, respectively; The 30% treatment was the most effective, with removal rates of aminoglycosides, β-lactam, multidrug resistance, sulfonamides, and tetracycline resistance genes of 78.09%, 81.11%, 74.09%, 54.27%, and 61.24%, respectively. Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Bacteroidetes were the dominant phyla in the compost. Clostridium-sensu-stricto1 , Corynebacterium , Terrisporobacter , Anaerococcus , and Romboutsia were potential major hosts of ARGs and MGEs. During composting, changes in temperature and MGEs directly and significantly affected ARGs, while total organic carbon (TOM) and TN indirectly affected ARGs by regulating microbial communities. In conclusion, the addition of 30% CMHRs effectively reduces ARGs and MGEs in pig manure compost. These findings provide a basis for the use of CMHRs to reduce the spread of ARGs during pig manure composting.
SN - 1664-302X
ER -