Co-selection of feed supplemented heavy metals to Antibiotic Resistance Genes and Mobile Genetic Elements using High throughput qPCR from Poultry Farms in Fujian, China

Hafiz Sohaib Mazhar a, J. Q. Sub, Z. S. Guia and C. Rensinga

a Agricultural Resource and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, China.

b Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, China

sohaibmazhar786@gmail.com

The high frequency of antibiotic resistance being an environmental pollution is a global public health concern. Environmental selection of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) is considered to be due to antibiotic residues or metal residues, both lavishly used in livestock. In this study we targeted three poultry farms to compare the co-occurrence patterns of antibiotics and metals residues in relation to ARGs. We quantified 296 ARGs using high-throughput quantitative polymerase chain reaction (HT-qPCR) based ARG chip, with an abundance range of 6.67x10-7 - 9.55x10-01 copy of ARG per copy of 16S-rRNA gene. More abundant ARGs belong to aminoglycosides, MLSB, tetracycline, fosfomycin and sulfonamides. LC-MS/MS was used for quantification of 49 antibiotic residues and ICPMS for heavy metals quantification. These resistance genes likely colocalize in microbial genomes in the farms. Selection of these resistance cluster is likely due to application of wide range of chemicals in many forms to the poultry birds which confer resistance and disseminate to the environment. A significant co-occurrence pattern was explored using network analysis between provided heavy metals and ARGs. Antibiotics and heavy metals used in feed supplements were high elevated in manure that suggests the potential for coselection of resistance traits. Mental test and Procrustes analysis showed significant correlation between ARGs profile and bacterial community. In conclusion, these results indicate the role of heavy metals in feed in co-selection of ARGs and MGEs in poultry farm environment and suggest a risk for environmental ARGs dissemination via horizontal gene transfer.

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