Antibiotics and Antibiotic Resistance Genes in the Environment: Transmission, Fate and Mitigation Strategies
A special issue of Antibiotics (ISSN 2079-6382).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2026 | Viewed by 63
Special Issue Editors
Interests: antibiotics residue; antibiotic resistance genes; drug-resistant bacteria; polymicrobial interaction
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: environmental geochemical behavior; effect and risk assessment of organic contaminants; developing new analytical and monitoring techniques
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: agricultural waste treatment; antimicrobial resistance; emerging organic contaminants; biodegradation and bioremediation; biogeochemical cycling and microbial processes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The widespread use of antibiotics in agriculture—primarily to promote growth, prevent disease, and treat infections in livestock and aquaculture—has made the agro-environment a critical hotspot for the dissemination of antibiotic resistance. Although antibiotics play an essential role in safeguarding animal health and ensuring food security, their release into the environment via manure application, wastewater irrigation, and surface runoff poses a serious threat to global public health. This environmental reservoir of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) creates continuous selection pressure, fostering the enrichment of resistant bacteria and facilitating the horizontal transfer of ARGs to human pathogens.
This Special Issue of Antibiotics seeks to gather high-quality research and review articles that address the complex challenges associated with antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes in the environment. We aim to advance understanding of the full lifecycle of antibiotics—from their use and environmental fate to their ecological impacts and the development of resistance. Particular emphasis will be placed on innovative strategies for monitoring, risk assessment, and mitigation. By integrating insights from diverse disciplines, this Special Issue aspires to inform sustainable agricultural practices and policy development, ultimately helping preserve the effectiveness of existing antibiotics for future generations.
Prof. Dr. Yongzhen Ding
Dr. Zulin Zhang
Dr. Hui Lin
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Antibiotics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs)
- veterinary antibiotic
- manure and soil amendment
- horizontal gene transfer
- one health
- environmental impact assessment
- biodegradation and bioremediation
- antimicrobial stewardship in agriculture
- emerging contaminants
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