The usage of antibiotics in the agricultural industry has led to the increased presence of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes (args)

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded Cornell University $180,000 on May 1, 2026, under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI, CFDA 10.310) to investigate how antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes accumulate, persist, and transmit in agricultural soils.

The research applies spectroscopic, analytical, and microbiological techniques to determine how soil minerals and organic matter interact with antibiotics, affect their environmental fate and biological activity, and facilitate antibiotic resistance propagation within microbial communities. Findings will support development of management and risk mitigation strategies for contaminated agricultural land and environmental models to trace antibiotic and resistance gene movement, identify concentration hotspots, and guide targeted remediation.

Cornell University's Office of Sponsored Programs administers the award. Performance occurs in Ithaca, New York, with a period of performance from May 1, 2026, through April 30, 2029. The assistance type is a Project Grant.

Multiple studies have established the presence and impact of antibiotics in manure and soils. However, few studies have investigated how antibiotics interact with different soil components (e.g., minerals, organic matter, and bacteria) and how these interactions affect their environmental fate, persistence, and biological activity. Findings from this research will advance our current knowledge of how soil minerals and organic matter could be a source and driver of antibiotic resistance. Effective management and risk mitigation strategies could be identified for contaminated agricultural land, helping farmers restore soil health and increase their crop productivity. Additionally, environmental models could be developed to trace the movement of antibiotics and args in the environment. These models can also identify areas with high concentrations of antibiotics and args, which could help identify the source of contamination or allow for targeted remediation treatments.spectroscopic and analytical techniques will be used to identify the processes that make IT favorable for antibiotics to accumulate in soils, where they could absorb minerals, interact with organic matter, or create an environment that can propagate and spread antibiotic resistance in the microbial community. Microbiological procedures will also be used to identify different types of args that are sorbed onto soil minerals and can be transferred within a bacterial population. Through these methods, the project ultimately aims to determine how the presence of various minerals and organic matter affects the movement and lifespan of antibiotics and args in soils. The results of this project will expand our knowledge on how soil components impact the persistence and behavior of antibiotics and args in soils. This will help scientists and farmers track the movement of antibiotic resistance in soils, create strategies to combat antibiotic resistance in the microbial community, and allow for better implementation of manure treatment that could reduce the spread of antibiotic resistance in crops and livestock.