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New insights into soil amendment: Impact of humic acid on typical antibiotic resistance in agricultural soil.

Shuhan Li·Yichun Hu·Fangmei Lin·Jinle Yao·Lusheng Zhu·Jun Wang·Lanjun Wang·Jinhua Wang
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Abstract

Humic acid (HA) addition can improve agricultural soil, but little is known about how it affects the soil resistome. In this study, we used selective agar plate combined with quantitative PCR (qPCR) and 16S rRNA gene sequencing to investigate how HA influences antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistant genes (ARGs) in soil contaminated with erythromycin and kanamycin. 0.1 % HA reduced the abundance of culturable erythromycin-resistant bacteria (ERB), while promoting the growth of kanamycin-resistant bacteria (KRB). Lysinibacillus and Paenibacillus were the dominant genera in ERB and KRB, respectively, governing the changes in their abundances. At this concentration, the Lysinibacillus abundance in ERB decreased from 96.74 % to 70.57 %. Meanwhile, that of Paenibacillus in KRB increased from 33.40 % to 77.44 %. The copy number of ermF decreased after HA addition, while that of ermB increased. Furthermore, 0.1 % HA significantly reduced the copy number and relative abundance of aadA1 and aac(6')-Ib (aka aacA4)-03 in the soil. Changes in these two types of ARB and ARGs were primarily driven by shifts in the microbial community structure. Soil physicochemical properties, particularly increased organic matter (OM), altered the absolute abundance of ermB. Meanwhile, changes in intI1 abundance determined the risk associated with aadA1 and aac(6')-Ib (aka aacA4)-03. These findings emphasize the dual role of HA in the dissemination of antibiotic resistance in agricultural soils and highlight the necessity of considering dose-dependent effects when applying HA as a soil amendment.

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Soil MicrobiologyHumic SubstancesSoilAgricultureDrug Resistance, MicrobialAnti-Bacterial AgentsSoil PollutantsDrug Resistance, BacterialRNA, Ribosomal, 16SAgricultural soilAntibiotic resistance genesAntibiotic resistant bacteriaHumic acidMicrobial communitiesJournal Article

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Shuhan Li, Yichun Hu, Fangmei Lin, Jinle Yao, Lusheng Zhu, Jun Wang, Lanjun Wang, Jinhua Wang. 2025-12-19. New insights into soil amendment: Impact of humic acid on typical antibiotic resistance in agricultural soil.. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jes.2025.12.048

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