Genomic analysis of antibiotic-resistant Enterococcus spp. reveals novel enterococci strains and the spread of plasmid-borne Tet(M), Tet(L) and Erm(B) genes from chicken litter to agricultural soil in South Africa.

Manure from food animals exposed to antibiotics is often used as soil fertiliser, potentially releasing antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) with diverse antibiotic-resistance genes (ARGs) into the soil. To determine the impact of chicken litter application on the soil resistome, Enterococcus spp. isolated from chicken litter and soil samples collected before and after the soil amendment were characterised, using whole-genome sequencing and bioinformatics tools.