Antibiotics in soil and water: Occurrence, fate, and risk

Abstract

Due to the mass production and extensive use in clinical application and livestock breeding, antibiotics have been detected frequently in soil and water, where a range of abiotic and biotic processes can jointly determine their environmental fate. The continuous accumulation of antibiotics in the environment has raised great concerns because both the residual antibiotics and their transformation products (TPs) could pose potential risks to the ecosystem and human health. Herein, based on summarizing and analyzing the literature in recent three years, we review the occurrence, adsorption and degradation processes of antibiotics in soil and water. Furthermore, the risks associated with environmental toxicity, antibiotic resistance triggered by both antibiotics and TPs, as well as antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) through food chains are also addressed. Finally, future research perspectives are proposed including plant uptake of antibiotics and ARGs, TPs and their risks associated with food chains.