Farms are hotspots for antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) due to the high density of animal breeding, nutrient enrichment, and the frequent use of antibiotics. However, limited information is available regarding the corresponding ARGs associated with animal farms. Here, the distribution characteristics of ARGs in different farms were summarized, providing a comprehensive overview of the spectrum of ARGs found in livestock, poultry, and aquaculture farms. A search across Pubmed, Web of Science, and Embase databases was conducted to identify relevant papers on farm ARGs, resulting in 1955 nonduplicated articles. Through manual extraction, 103 papers were included for further analysis. A total of 1627 kinds of ARGs were reported, of which the top three genes were sulfonamide ARGs (sul1 and sul2) and tetracycline ARGs (tetM). In livestock, poultry, and aquaculture farms, sulfonamide ARGs (sul1 and sul2) were the most frequently reported types. Tetracycline ARGs (tetO, tetQ, tetW, and tetM) and macrolidelincomycin-streptomycin B (MLSB) ARGs (ermB) were the main ARGs in livestock farms. In poultry farms, tetracycline ARGs (tetA, tetC, tetG, and tetM) and MLSB ARGs (ermB) were the main ARG subtypes. In addition, tetB, tetX, and floR were commonly reported in aquaculture farms. The ARG subtypes shared by different farms were tetracyclines (tetA, tetC, tetG, tetM, tetO, tetQ, tetW, tetX, and tetT), sulphonamides (sul1, sul2, and sul3), MLSBs (ermB, ermC, and ermF), beta-lactamases (blaTEM, and blaOXA-1), multidrugs (acrA, acrB, and floR), quinolones (qnrA, qnrS, and oqxB), aminoglycosides (aadA1, aadA, and aadE), chloramphenicol (fexA), and others (cfr). ARG contamination was prevalent in all regions, with the most ARG subtypes reported in studies on pig farms and Eastern China. Among environmental media, animal feces and aquatic water were the main source and reservoir of ARGs. In this study, the distribution law of ARGs in farms from different regions of China was described, the distribution characteristics of different ARGs in different species were compared, and the transmission risk of ARGs was assessed from the perspective of possible transmission routes. The findings have important scientific implications to optimize antimicrobial strategies and deepen the understanding on the spread of ARGs on farms.
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