Pyroligneous acid mitigated dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes in soil

Strategies to mitigate the spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in soils are urgently needed. Therefore, a pristine pyroligneous acid (PA) from pyrolyzing blended woody waste at 450 °C and its three fractions distilled at 98, 130, and 220 °C (F1, F2, and F3) were used to evaluate their feasibility of reducing ARGs in soil. Application of PA, F2, and F3 effectively decreased the relative ARG abundance by 22.4–75.4% and 39.7–66.7% in the rhizosphere and bulk soil relative to control, respectively, and the removal efficiency followed an order of F3 > PA > F2. Contrarily, F1 increased the abundance of ARGs. The decreased abundance of two mobile genetic elements and impaired conjugative transfer of RP4 plasmid in the presence of PA, F2 and F3 demonstrated that the weakened horizontal gene transfer (HGT) contributed to the reduced ARG level. Variation partitioning analysis and structural equation models confirmed that ARG reduction was primarily driven by the weakened HGT, followed by the decreased co-selection of heavy metals and shifted bacterial community (e.g., reduced potential host bacteria of ARGs). Our findings provide practical and technical support for developing PA-based technology in remediating ARG-contaminated soil to ensure food safety and protect human health.