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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Fayetteville, Arkansas » Poultry Production and Product Safety Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #359447
Research Project: Quantifying Air and Water Quality Benefits of Improved Poultry Manure Management Practices

Location: Poultry Production and Product Safety Research

Title: Review of antibiotic resistance, ecology, and dissemination and mitigation in U.S. broiler poultry systems

Author
item YANG, YICHAO - University Of Arkansas
item Ashworth, Amanda
item Cook, Kimberly - Kim
item WILLETT, CAMMY - University Of Arkansas
item UPADHYAY, ABHINAV - University Of Arkansas
item Owens, Phillip
item RICKE, STEVEN - University Of Arkansas
item DEBRUYN, JENNIFER - University Of Tennessee
item Moore, Philip

Submitted to: Frontiers in Microbiology
Publication Type: Literature Review
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/30/2019
Publication Date: 11/15/2019
Citation: Yang, Y., Ashworth, A.J., Cook, K.L., Willett, C., Upadhyay, A., Owens, P.R., Ricke, S.C., DeBruyn, J.M., Moore Jr, P.A. 2019. Review of antibiotic resistance, ecology, and dissemination and mitigation in U.S. broiler poultry systems. Frontiers in Microbiology. 10:2639. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2019.02639.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2019.02639

Interpretive Summary: Antimicrobials have widely been used in poultry operations for therapeutic and disease prevention, as well as for growth promotion. Long-term usage of antibiotics is widely considered a main cause of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes and bacteria. However, recent studies indicate that AMR bacteria and genes nexist in pristine soil and water environments. Without understanding factors that drive selection and dissemination of AMR bacteria and genes, it is difficult to reduce their environmental dissemination. It is also critical to investigate if land application of poultry manure influences the movement of resistance genes to the soil. Understanding the reservoirs and transmission routes of AMR bacteria and genes, particularly those affecting humans, may help prevent the spread of AMR bacteria and genes to the environment. This review focuses on how the poultry industry is greatly reducing antibiotic-use during production, as well as management practices that minimize AMR development and the transmission to the environment.

Technical Abstract: Since the onset of veterinarian antibiotic usage in poultry operations, land application of poultry manure and residues has resulted in transportation of microorganisms, antibiotics, and disinfectants to new locations. While some studies provide evidence that antimicrobial resistance (AMR), an evolutionary phenomenon, could be influenced by animal production systems, other research suggests AMR originates in the environment from non-anthropogenic sources. Nonetheless, AMR may impact the effective prevention and treatment of poultry illnesses and is increasingly a threat to global public health. Therefore, there is a need to understand the dissemination of AMR genes to the environment, particularly those directly relevant to human and animal health. This review focuses on the potential movement of resistance genes to the soil via land application of poultry litter. Additionally, we highlight impacts of AMR on microbial ecology and explore hypotheses explaining gene movement pathways from U.S. broiler operations to the environment. Current approaches for decreasing antibiotic use in U.S. poultry operations are also described in this review.