Evaluating potential environmental and clinical impacts of industrial antibiotic use is critical in mitigating the spread of antimicrobial resistance. Using soil columns to simulate field application of swine or cattle manure and subsequent rain events, and a targeted qPCR-based approach, we tracked resistance genes from source manures and identified important differences in antimicrobial resistance gene transport and enrichment over time in the soil and water of artificially drained cropland. The source manures had distinct microbial community and resistance gene profiles, and these differences were also reflected in the soil columns after manure application. Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) were only significantly enriched in effluent samples following the first rain event (day 11) for both soil types compared to the control columns, illustrating the high background level of resistance present in the control soils chosen. For swine, the genes tetQ, tet(36), tet44, tetM, sul2 and ant(6)-ib persisted in the soil columns, whereas tetO, strB and sul1 persisted in effluent samples. Conversely, for cattle manure sul2 and strB persisted in both soil and effluent. The distinct temporal dynamics of ARG distribution between soil and effluent water for each manure type can be used to inform potential mitigation strategies in the future.
Keywords: antimicrobial resistance; cattle manure; drainage water; microfluidic qPCR; soil; swine manure.