Data on the effect of climate change-related variables on the abundance of antibiotic resistance genes in a manure-amended soil

This dataset presents comprehensive collection of measurements of antibiotic resistance gene abundances obtained when exposing soil, previously amended with oxytetracycline-spiked cow manure, to different temperatures and moisture contents as two highly relevant climate change-related variables. The metadata of the dataset are available in the file Metadata within the uploaded dataset. Initially, the soil was subjected to physicochemical characterization, including soil nutrients (nitrogen, Olsen phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, and calcium), pH, cation exchange capacity, electrical conductivity, organic matter content, particle size distribution, and texture (Table 1 within the article). The manure used in this study had a total carbon content of 10.44% and a total nitrogen content of 0.54%.

The mean (n = 3) absolute abundances of the measured ARGs and MGE-linked genes are presented in Table 2 within the article, while raw measurements are available in the Data_ddPCR file within the uploaded dataset. Statistically (p < 0.05) significant differences between samples with distinct moisture levels or incubated at different temperatures were determined with a permutation ANOVA test and are shown in Figure 1 within the article. The absolute abundances of the measured genes were found to be significantly different (p < 0.05) between samples with distinct moisture levels. The effect of moisture on these absolute abundances was generally non-linear: sul1, sul2, intl1, and tnpA genes exhibited significantly higher absolute abundances at 40% and 80% field capacity (FC), compared to 20% and 60% FC (Figure 1 within the article). The highest absolute abundance of tetA gene was observed at 40% FC. In contrast, str gene exhibited its highest absolute abundance at 80% FC, and the lowest at 20% and 40% FC, while blaCTX and vanB genes showed no statistically significant differences across moisture levels (Figure 1 within the article). Regarding differences between samples incubated at different temperatures, only the absolute abundance of vanB varied significantly among treatments, with the highest absolute abundance being observed in samples incubated at 4 °C (Figure 1 within the article).

The mean (n = 3) values of the measured soil microbial parameters (i.e., microbial biomass carbon, total abundance of the 16S rRNA gene, basal respiration) are presented in Table 3 within the article, while the raw measurements are available in the Data_Microbial Parameters file within the uploaded dataset. Statistically significant (p < 0.05) differences between samples with distinct moisture levels or incubated at different temperatures were determined with a permutation ANOVA test and are shown in Figure 2 within the article. Microbial biomass carbon was significantly different (p < 0.05) between samples with distinct moisture levels (though this moisture effect was non-linear), while no differences were observed between samples incubated at different temperatures. Regarding the 16S rRNA gene, its total abundance was significantly different (p < 0.05) between samples with distinct moisture levels and incubated at distinct temperatures. Soil basal respiration also showed significant differences depending on moisture level and incubation temperature, with a significant interaction between these two variables.