Vermicomposting as a means of removing antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) from soil and water

Soil pollution has become a global problem that has attracted worldwide attention in recent years. Earthworms can withstand high concentrations of soil pollutants and play an important role in their effective removal. The vermicomposting process using earthworms is increasingly used for the conversion of various organic wastes into vermicast with reduced bio-contaminant. Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in animal feces make it difficult to reuse waste sources. Vermicomposting is a potentially successful approach to waste resource management, but the fate of ARGs in this process is complicated by various feedstocks and operating conditions. The objective of this article is to examine the biotic and abiotic elements that influence ARG diversity in vermicomposting and their likely processes. Direct factors affecting the fate of ARG during composting include dynamic changes in biotic components such as the bacterial community and mobile genetic elements (MGEs). However, most major abiotic factors such as temperature, pH, nutrient balance, moisture content, and heavy metals indirectly affect the abundance of ARG, by altering the microbial population cycle and the richness of MGEs. Reducing selective or coselective pressure on ARGs, killing the potential host bacteria of ARGs, altering bacterial population organization, and decreasing cell–cell interaction of bacteria are all possible techniques for eliminating ARGs in various regulatory approaches. Finally, future prospects for vermiremediation of bio-contaminated soils are presented to encourage further studies and applications of vermiremediation in biologically contaminated soils.