Temperature-dependent biofilm and sublancin production arrest soil arsenic and antibiotic resistance gene mobility
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Majumdar, Arnab
Kotta-Loizou, Ioly
Buck, Martin
Roychowdhury, Tarit
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Climate change-induced warming and arsenic soil contamination synergistically threaten agricultural sustainability by restructuring microbial communities and accelerating antimicrobial resistance dissemination. Here, through integrated greenhouse and field trials, we demonstrate that Bacillus subtilis 168-derived biofilm and sublancin, a glycosylated antimicrobial peptide, simultaneously immobilise rhizospheric arsenic and suppress horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Temperature-dependent biofilm formation (25–35°C) enhanced arsenic sequestration within the extracellular polymeric substance matrix, with SEM-EDX revealing a 74% increase in arsenic weight percentage at 35°C and ToF-SIMS confirming ∼14-fold and ∼9-fold increases in root-associated arsenic on biofilm-colonised surfaces in greenhouse and field trials, respectively. Sublancin production peaked at 30°C (129.72 mg L⁻¹), selectively suppressing all 12 tested pathogenic Gram-positive species by 74–86% while preserving Gram-negative communities. Bio-amendment reduced horizontal gene transfer frequency by 74.7% (p < 0.001) across all temperature regimes. Transcriptomic profiling revealed coordinated upregulation of exopolysaccharide biosynthesis (FDR ∼1.0 × 10⁻²⁷) and sublancin machinery (sunA: +3.5 log₂), alongside downregulation of conventional ARGs (vanA, blaTEM: −2.5 to −4.0 log₂). These findings establish sublancin as a dual-function, climate-adaptive soil bio-amendment simultaneously addressing arsenic bioaccumulation and antibiotic resistance gene dissemination under warming scenarios.
Date Issued
2026-07-01
Date Acceptance
2026-05-07
Citation
Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2026, 512
ISSN
0304-3894
Publisher
Elsevier
Journal / Book Title
Journal of Hazardous Materials
Volume
512
Copyright Statement
© 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/42139776
PII: S0304-3894(26)01317-8
Subjects
Antibiotic resistance genes
Biofilm and arsenic sequestration
Climate change
Horizontal gene transfer
Sublancin
Biofilms
Arsenic
Bacillus subtilis
Soil Pollutants
Temperature
Drug Resistance, Bacterial
Drug Resistance, Microbial
Gene Transfer, Horizontal
Soil Microbiology
Genes, Bacterial
Anti-Bacterial Agents
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
Netherlands
Article Number
142339
Date Publish Online
2026-05-09