Fungicide exposure accelerated horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance genes via plasmid-mediated conjugation.

Co-pollution of soil with pesticide residues and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) is increasing due to the substantial usage of pesticides and organic fertilizers in greenhouse-based agricultural production. Non-antibiotic stresses, including those from agricultural fungicides, are potential co-selectors for the horizontal transfer of ARGs, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Intragenus and intergenus conjugative transfer systems of the antibiotic resistant plasmid RP4 were established to examine conjugative transfer frequency under stress from four widely used fungicides: triadimefon, chlorothalonil, azoxystrobin, and carbendazim.

Deposition and dissipation of difenoconazole in pepper and soil and its reduced application to control pepper anthracnose.

The initial deposition amount, dissipation dynamics, retention rate, and field control efficacy of difenoconazole in pepper-soil system were studied with different application dosages, planting regions and patterns. The initial deposition amount of difenoconazole under the same application dosage showed the following order: fruits < cultivated soils < lower stems < upper stems < lower leaves < upper leaves, open field < greenhouse, and Changjiang < Cixi < Hefei < Langfang, respectively, which increased with increasing application dosage. The dissipation rates in leaves, stems, fruits and cultivated soils exhibited an initially fast and then slow trend, while the retention rates displayed a tendency of first increasing and then stabilizing with increasing application dosages.

Carbendazim shapes microbiome and enhances resistome in the earthworm gut.

Background: It is worrisome that several pollutants can enhance the abundance of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the environment, including agricultural fungicides. As an important bioindicator for environmental risk assessment, earthworm is still a neglected focus that the effects of the fungicide carbendazim (CBD) residues on the gut microbiome and resistome are largely unknown. In this study, Eisenia fetida was selected to investigate the effects of CBD in the soil-earthworm systems using shotgun metagenomics and qPCR methods.

Analysis method development and health risk assessment of pesticide and heavy metal residues in .

Herbal medicines that are widely used worldwide are easily contaminated by pesticides and heavy metals, threatening human health. In this study, a modified QuEChERS pre-treatment method combined with HPLC/GC-MS/MS was established for the determination of 24 pesticide residues in . The average recoveries of 24 pesticides in were 76.