Investigating selection and co-selection for antimicrobial resistance by non-antibiotic drugs and plant protection products

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A growing body of research has demonstrated low concentrations of antibiotics can select for antimicrobial resistance. The first paper showing non-antibiotic drugs (NADs) can select for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in human gut-associated strains has just been published, raising concerns for selection for AMR in vivo. NADs are also present in waste water treatment plants, alongside antibiotics and other antimicrobial compounds where they are present as micropollutants. This cocktail of potentially selective contaminants will be present in sewage sludge, which is applied to agricultural soils as a fertiliser alongside plant protection products (PPP). How these multiple pressures may interact to select for AMR in terrestrial environments and how they impact microbial diversity is a completely novel research area, with the potential to influence policy at an international level, inform sustainable agricultural practices, and improve fundamental understanding of AMR evolution and microbial ecology.