Overlooked risk of antibiotic resistance genes in typical landfill plumes and their influencing factors

Landfills are one of the primary reservoirs of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Previous studies always focus on the distribution of ARGs in landfill leachate, while the distribution of ARGs in groundwater around the landfill and the corresponding influencing factors are always overlooked. In thi...

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Main Authors: Dongsheng Shen, Xin Gao, Cai Hui, Yuyang Long, Jiali Shentu, Li Lu, Shengqi Qi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-09-01
Series:Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147651325011108
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author Dongsheng Shen
Xin Gao
Cai Hui
Yuyang Long
Jiali Shentu
Li Lu
Shengqi Qi
author_facet Dongsheng Shen
Xin Gao
Cai Hui
Yuyang Long
Jiali Shentu
Li Lu
Shengqi Qi
author_sort Dongsheng Shen
collection DOAJ
description Landfills are one of the primary reservoirs of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Previous studies always focus on the distribution of ARGs in landfill leachate, while the distribution of ARGs in groundwater around the landfill and the corresponding influencing factors are always overlooked. In this study, seven groundwater samples and one leachate sample were collected from a typical landfill in Yueqing, China. Sulfonamide was the most abundant antibiotic in groundwater with its concentration of 1.2–23.1 ng L−1. Metagenomic analysis revealed 13 major types and 88 subtypes of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the leachate and surrounding groundwater. Multidrug (23.2–51.4 %), sulfonamide (2.6–24.1 %), tetracycline (3.0–35.8 %), macrolides-lincosamide-streptogramin (MLS, 1.1–26.3 %) and aminoglycoside (0.9–13.1 %) resistance genes were the top five types in the detected ARGs, while the ARGs abundance in groundwater increased with landfill age. Heavy metals (Ni, Pb, Cr, Cd) were strongly correlated with certain ARG subtypes, while no significant correlations were observed between antibiotics and their corresponding ARGs due to their low concentrations. Through co-occurrence network analysis, it was found that ARGs were tightly correlated with mobile genetic elements (MGEs), while several types of virulence factors such as flmH, cylG and clbF were also tightly correlated with MGEs. Besides, ARGs were also correlated with some denitrification genes such as nirB and norC, showing that the denitrification process would enhance the dissemination of ARGs. This study provides important insights for assessing the risk of ARGs spreading through leachate leakage in groundwater and can help optimize the management strategy of landfill.
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spelling doaj-art-e86ff41bb0834036b349bfc23ce9aadb2025-08-20T04:02:31ZengElsevierEcotoxicology and Environmental Safety0147-65132025-09-0130211876510.1016/j.ecoenv.2025.118765Overlooked risk of antibiotic resistance genes in typical landfill plumes and their influencing factorsDongsheng Shen0Xin Gao1Cai Hui2Yuyang Long3Jiali Shentu4Li Lu5Shengqi Qi6Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Solid Waste Treatment and Recycling, Zhejiang Engineering Research Center of Non-ferrous Metal Waste Recycling, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou 310012, PR ChinaZhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Solid Waste Treatment and Recycling, Zhejiang Engineering Research Center of Non-ferrous Metal Waste Recycling, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou 310012, PR ChinaZhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Solid Waste Treatment and Recycling, Zhejiang Engineering Research Center of Non-ferrous Metal Waste Recycling, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou 310012, PR ChinaZhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Solid Waste Treatment and Recycling, Zhejiang Engineering Research Center of Non-ferrous Metal Waste Recycling, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou 310012, PR ChinaZhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Solid Waste Treatment and Recycling, Zhejiang Engineering Research Center of Non-ferrous Metal Waste Recycling, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou 310012, PR ChinaZhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Solid Waste Treatment and Recycling, Zhejiang Engineering Research Center of Non-ferrous Metal Waste Recycling, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou 310012, PR ChinaCorresponding author.; Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Solid Waste Treatment and Recycling, Zhejiang Engineering Research Center of Non-ferrous Metal Waste Recycling, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou 310012, PR ChinaLandfills are one of the primary reservoirs of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Previous studies always focus on the distribution of ARGs in landfill leachate, while the distribution of ARGs in groundwater around the landfill and the corresponding influencing factors are always overlooked. In this study, seven groundwater samples and one leachate sample were collected from a typical landfill in Yueqing, China. Sulfonamide was the most abundant antibiotic in groundwater with its concentration of 1.2–23.1 ng L−1. Metagenomic analysis revealed 13 major types and 88 subtypes of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the leachate and surrounding groundwater. Multidrug (23.2–51.4 %), sulfonamide (2.6–24.1 %), tetracycline (3.0–35.8 %), macrolides-lincosamide-streptogramin (MLS, 1.1–26.3 %) and aminoglycoside (0.9–13.1 %) resistance genes were the top five types in the detected ARGs, while the ARGs abundance in groundwater increased with landfill age. Heavy metals (Ni, Pb, Cr, Cd) were strongly correlated with certain ARG subtypes, while no significant correlations were observed between antibiotics and their corresponding ARGs due to their low concentrations. Through co-occurrence network analysis, it was found that ARGs were tightly correlated with mobile genetic elements (MGEs), while several types of virulence factors such as flmH, cylG and clbF were also tightly correlated with MGEs. Besides, ARGs were also correlated with some denitrification genes such as nirB and norC, showing that the denitrification process would enhance the dissemination of ARGs. This study provides important insights for assessing the risk of ARGs spreading through leachate leakage in groundwater and can help optimize the management strategy of landfill.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147651325011108LandfillGroundwaterAntibioticsAntibiotic resistance genesMobile genetic elementsMetagenomic analysis
spellingShingle Dongsheng Shen
Xin Gao
Cai Hui
Yuyang Long
Jiali Shentu
Li Lu
Shengqi Qi
Overlooked risk of antibiotic resistance genes in typical landfill plumes and their influencing factors
Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
Landfill
Groundwater
Antibiotics
Antibiotic resistance genes
Mobile genetic elements
Metagenomic analysis
title Overlooked risk of antibiotic resistance genes in typical landfill plumes and their influencing factors
title_full Overlooked risk of antibiotic resistance genes in typical landfill plumes and their influencing factors
title_fullStr Overlooked risk of antibiotic resistance genes in typical landfill plumes and their influencing factors
title_full_unstemmed Overlooked risk of antibiotic resistance genes in typical landfill plumes and their influencing factors
title_short Overlooked risk of antibiotic resistance genes in typical landfill plumes and their influencing factors
title_sort overlooked risk of antibiotic resistance genes in typical landfill plumes and their influencing factors
topic Landfill
Groundwater
Antibiotics
Antibiotic resistance genes
Mobile genetic elements
Metagenomic analysis
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147651325011108
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