posted on 2021-10-01, 13:33authored byMo-Lian Chen, Xin-Li An, Hu Liao, Kai Yang, Jian-Qiang Su, Yong-Guan Zhu
Antibiotic resistance is a global
health concern. Long-term organic
fertilization can influence the antibiotic resistome of agricultural
soils, posing potential risks to human health. However, little is
known about the contribution of viruses to the dissemination of antibiotic
resistance genes (ARGs) in this context. Here, we profiled the viral
communities and virus-associated ARGs in a long-term (over 10 years)
organic fertilized field by viral metagenomic analysis. A total of
61,520 viral populations (viral operational taxonomic units, vOTUs)
were retrieved, of which 21,308 were assigned at the family level.
The viral community structures were significantly correlated with
the bacterial community structures (P < 0.001)
and the dosage of applied sewage sludge (r2 = 0.782). A total of 16 unique ARGs were detected in soil viromes,
and the number of virus-associated ARG subtypes was higher in sewage
sludge treatments (except for 1 SS) than others. The network analysis
showed that the application of the organic fertilizer increased the
bacteria–virus interactions, suggesting that the chances of
ARG exchange between viruses and their hosts may increase. Overall,
our results provide a novel understanding about virus-associated ARGs
and factors affecting the profile of viral community in fertilized
soil.