Investigation of the bottom-up effects of irrigation with water containing environmental doses of the most common pharmaceuticals in the Cucurbita pepo L. - Aphis gossypii Glover system

This study examines the ecological impacts of irrigation with pharmaceutical-contaminated water on soil bacterial communities. Zucchini plants were irrigated with water spiked with a mix of some of the most common antibiotics found in wastewater, as well as the pharmaceuticals venlafaxine and metoprolol. After two-month growth, soil was sampled and DNA extracted for the 16S amplicon sequencing, with the aim to investigate changes in soil bacteria and pathobiome.