Elimination of the risks of colistin resistance gene (mcr-1) in livestock manure during composting

Abstract

copies/g dry weight. During composting, >90% of mcr-1 in the manure was eliminated in 15 days at high temperature (44-65 °C), and mcr-1 was completely undetectable after 22 days. The reduction of mcr-1 following manure composting may be ascribed to the decreased number of potential mcr-1-harboring bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas. The results indicated that thermophilic composting effectively eliminated mcr-1 and inhibited its spread from livestock manure to the environment.