Unveiling antibiotic and biocide resistance genes in slaughterhouse environments : a One Health qPCR study

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Naim, Wissal and Manetsberger, Julia and Knapp, Charles W. and Gómez, Natacha Caballero and Benomar, Nabil and Abriouel, Hikmate (2026) Unveiling antibiotic and biocide resistance genes in slaughterhouse environments : a One Health qPCR study. Food Science and Technology, 250. 119523. ISSN 0023-6438 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lwt.2026.119523)

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Abstract

Slaughterhouse surfaces can act as a reservoir of antibiotic (ARGs) and biocide resistance genes (BRGs), yet the impact of disinfection strategies on their abundance remains unclear. Using qPCR, we analysed bacterial DNA obtained from various slaughterhouse facilities and surface types exposed to different disinfection treatments. These notably included UV, HLE (hydrogen peroxide, lactic acid, and EDTA), standard industrial disinfectants and their combinations. Analysis of ARG and BRG in particular focused on genes related to efflux pumps, stress-response regulators and detoxification pathways. gly.bleo and ugd were identified as the most abundant and stable genes, forming part of the “core resistome” across all locations. In contrast, the differences in golS abundance were statistically significant between different origins. Furthermore, analysis of different disinfection treatments showed that the abundance of arlR was statistically variable depending on the disinfection protocol, highlighting the efficacy of HLE treatment by significantly reducing the abundance of the arlR gene, as no detectable DNA was obtained. These results suggest that arlR could be used as a molecular biomarker for evaluating disinfection efficacy in food processing environments. Overall, our study highlights that genetic insights enable sustainable disinfection protocols that efficiently mitigate microbial contamination without promoting the selection of antimicrobial or biocide resistance throughout the food chain.

ORCID iDs

Naim, Wissal, Manetsberger, Julia, Knapp, Charles W. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7997-8543, Gómez, Natacha Caballero, Benomar, Nabil and Abriouel, Hikmate;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)