Effects of tea polyphenols pretreatment of kanamycin mycelial residue on subsequent aerobic composting: Improvements in antibiotic resistance control

Our previous research has demonstrated the efficient removal of residual kanamycin in kanamycin mycelial residue (KMR) through abiotic humification with tea polyphenols (TP). This study aims to investigate the impact of TP pretreatment on the subsequent composting of KMR, focusing on composting quality, kanamycin residue, and antibiotic resistance. The physicochemical results indicated that TP pretreatment not only showed no adverse impact on the composting, but exhibited the potential to enhance humification according to the results of the three-dimensional fluorescence results. Moreover, a 22.6 % lower kanamycin content (0.24 mg/kg) was observed in the final fertilizer product from TP pretreatment, with approximately 6.9 times the total relative abundance of target antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) reduced. The Proteobacteria, Firmicutes and Actinobacteria were the primary potential hosts for ARGs and mobile genetic elements (MGEs). Overall, TP pretreatment appears to be a promising approach for achieving a safer resource utilization of KMR through composting.