Maturity phase is crucial for removing antibiotic resistance genes during composting: novel insights into dissolved organic matter-microbial symbiosis system

However, the critical mechanism of ARGs in different composting phase is still unclear. In this study, normal compost and two various rapid composting (without mature phase) were used to analyze the removal of ARGs and the succession of dissolve organic matter (DOM).

Compared to normal composting, rapid composting reactivated tetracyclines, sulfonamide, and quinolones resistance genes during the maturation phase and reduced the total ARGs removal rates by 45.58%–57.87%. Humus-like components could inhibit the proliferation of ARGs, and the enrichment of protein-like components increased abundances of Pusillimonas, Persicitalea, and Pseudomonas, indirectly reducing the removal.