New antibiotic resistance genes found in cow manure

Dairy cow waste harbors more antibiotic resistance genes from the animals’ gut bacteria than scientists expected.

Because manure is used as a farm soil fertilizer, the waste may be a potential source of new types of antibiotic resistance genes that transfer to bacteria in the ground where food is grown, scientists report April 22 in mBio. The results also provide information about how antibiotic resistance could move from agricultural ecosystems to other communities of organisms, the scientists say.