Do Long-term Best Management Practices Influence Microbial Diversity and Antibiotic Resistant Genes In Water Runoff?

There is a global concern that antimicrobial resistant (AMR) genes may be transmitted through the food chain from animal manures to soil to surface water. Details are lacking on the ecology of AMR genes and bacteria in water systems, as well as how conservation management practices may minimize the movement of AMR genes. The aim of this study was to enumerate AMR genes and identify microbial diversity in water runoff following 14-years of poultry litter and cattle manure deposition and evaluate if pasture management [hayed (H), continuously grazed (CG), rotationally grazed (R), rotationally grazed with a buffer strip (RB), rotationally grazed with a fenced riparian buffer (RBR), and a control represented by nearby pristine water samples from a wild and scenic river)] minimized the presence and amount of AMR genes.