The fungicide azoxystrobin perturbs the gut microbiota community and enriches antibiotic resistance genes in Enchytraeus crypticus

• Published in: Environment international Vol. 131; p. 104965
• Main Authors: Zhang, Qi, Zhu, Dong, Ding, Jing, Zheng, Fei, Zhou, Shuyidan, Lu, Tao, Zhu, Yong-Guan, Qian, Haifeng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2019; Elsevier
• Subjects: Animals; Antibiotic resistance genes; Azoxystrobin; Bacteria - drug effects; Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; Enchytraeus; Fungicide; Fungicides, Industrial - analysis; Fungicides, Industrial - toxicity; Gastrointestinal Microbiome - drug effects; Gut microbiota; Oligochaeta - microbiology; Pyrimidines - toxicity; Soil; Soil Pollutants - analysis; Strobilurins - toxicity; Gut microbiota; Azoxystrobin; Antibiotic resistance genes; Fungicide; Enchytraeus
• ISSN: 0160-4120; 1873-6750
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2019.104965

The use of pesticides to ensure global food security is the most important pest control strategy in modern agriculture but causes extensive soil pollution. This pollution involves potential risks to human health and ecosystems. In addition to soil animal growth, the adverse impact of pesticides on the gut microbiomes of nontarget soil fauna remains largely unknown. Here, the effect of the fungicide azoxystrobin (AZ) on soil and the gut microbiota of soil animals (Enchytraeus crypticus) was studied. The tested concentrations of AZ altered the bacterial community in the soil and E. crypticus gut and were slightly toxic with respect to E. crypticus adult mortality and reproduction. The most abundant bacterial phylum, Proteobacteria, significantly increased in response to the 2 and 5 mg/kg AZ treatments, which implied a disordered unhealthy gut bacterial community. Furthermore, bacterial community analysis between the soil and gut showed that the main effect of AZ on the gut microbiota was directly through AZ, not soil microbiota. In addition, AZ exposure significantly enhanced the number and total abundance of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the E. crypticus gut; these genes may enter the soil food web to affect higher trophic levels and cause a more serious ecological risk. Our study reported the effect of pesticides on the gut of soil animals and on the enrichment of ARGs as global emerging contaminants, revealing unknown potential impacts of fungicides on ecosystem services and sustainable food production. [Display omitted] •Fungicide azoxystrobin residues in soil slightly affected the Enchytraeus crypticus.•Fungicide azoxystrobin exposure altered the structure and composition of Enchytraeus crypticus gut microbiome.•Fungicide azoxystrobin treatment enhanced the number and total abundance of ARGs in Enchytraeus crypticus gut.