A Comprehensive Study of the Microbiome, Resistome, and Physical and Chemical Characteristics of Chicken Waste from Intensive Farms

Aleksandra Błażejewska; Magdalena Zalewska; Anna Grudniak; Magdalena Popowska

doi:10.3390/biom12081132

A Comprehensive Study of the Microbiome, Resistome, and Physical and Chemical Characteristics of Chicken Waste from Intensive Farms

Biomolecules. 2022 Aug 17;12(8):1132. doi: 10.3390/biom12081132.

Authors

Aleksandra Błażejewska¹, Magdalena Zalewska¹, Anna Grudniak², Magdalena Popowska¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Bacterial Physiology, Institute of Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, Miecznikowa 1, 02-096 Warsaw, Poland.
² Department of Bacterial Genetics, Institute of Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, Miecznikowa 1, 02-096 Warsaw, Poland.

Abstract

The application of chicken waste to farmland could be detrimental to public health. It may contribute to the dissemination of antibiotic-resistance genes (ARGs) and antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) from feces and their subsequent entry into the food chain. The present study analyzes the metagenome and resistome of chicken manure and litter obtained from a commercial chicken farm in Poland. ARB were isolated, identified, and screened for antibiogram fingerprints using standard microbiological and molecular methods. The physicochemical properties of the chicken waste were also determined. ARGs, integrons, and mobile genetic elements (MGE) in chicken waste were analyzed using high-throughput SmartChip qPCR. The results confirm the presence of many ARGs, probably located in MGE, which can be transferred to other bacteria. Potentially pathogenic or opportunistic microorganisms and phytopathogens were isolated. More than 50% of the isolated strains were classified as being multi-drug resistant, and the remainder were resistant to at least one antibiotic class; these pose a real risk of entering the groundwater and contaminating the surrounding environment. Our results indicate that while chicken manure can be sufficient sources of the nutrients essential for plant growth, its microbiological aspects make this material highly dangerous to the environment.

Keywords: Poland; antibiotic-resistance genes; chicken waste; intensive farming.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists
Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors
Animals
Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology
Chickens*
Farms
Genes, Bacterial
Manure
Microbiota* / genetics

Substances

Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists
Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors
Anti-Bacterial Agents
Manure

Grants and funding

The research was funded by the National Science Centre (NCN), Poland (UMO-2017/25/Z/NZ7/03026), a grant under the European Horizon 2020, in the frame of the JPI-EC-AMR Joint Transnational Call (5th JPIAMR Joint Call): project INART—’Intervention of antibiotic resistance transfer into the food chain’ to MP, and partially in the frame of the ’Excellence Initiative—Research University (2020–2026)’ Program at the University of Warsaw. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.