Zea mays (maize) seeds were planted under three different conditions: soil, manure-amended soil, and spiked manure-amended soil, where the manure had been fortified with antibiotics, in order to explore the occurrence of antibiotics and antibiotic resistant genes (ARGs). The Zea mays was harvested after three weeks to determine the uptake of antibiotics, and whether gene transfer had occurred. The study found that both tetracycline and sulfamerazine bioaccumulated in the Zea mays. Additionally, tetO and OXA-1 were detected in the soil, only after manure application, and no ARGs were detected in the plants. Maize grown using manure-amended soil were found to uptake a wider variety of sulfonamides and tetracyclines than those grown in soil only. Variable uptake factors were seen across the chosen timepoints. Targeted resistant genes were found in the manure-amended soils, but were not present in the soil control. ARGs were not detected in maize grown for three weeks in manure-amended soil. Future research is warranted to study the possible uptake of antimicrobials in maize grown under field scale conditions.

Occurrence of antibiotics and antibiotic resistant genes in cow manure-fertilized Zea mays

256th National Meeting (2018)

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