Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40838886›Full record

ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2025

Nano-biochar regulates phage-host interactions, reducing antibiotic resistance genes in vermicomposting systems.

Ting Xie, Da Lin, Xing-Da Cai, Li-Juan Ma, Lu Wang, Tian-Gui Cai, Yu-Qiu Ye, Luo-Qin Shen, Ming-Ming Sun, Mao Ye and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Phages drive the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes by facilitating host adaptation to heavy metal stress.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026
    Article
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Ting Xie *State Key Laboratory of Regional and Urban Ecology, Ningbo Urban Environment Observation and Research Station, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China.
Da Lin *State Key Laboratory of Regional and Urban Ecology, Ningbo Urban Environment Observation and Research Station, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China.
Xing-Da CaiState Key Laboratory of Regional and Urban Ecology, Ningbo Urban Environment Observation and Research Station, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China.
Li-Juan MaState Key Laboratory of Regional and Urban Ecology, Ningbo Urban Environment Observation and Research Station, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China.
Lu WangState Key Laboratory of Regional and Urban Ecology, Ningbo Urban Environment Observation and Research Station, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China.ORCID 0009-0006-6646-6323
Tian-Gui CaiState Key Laboratory of Regional and Urban Ecology, Ningbo Urban Environment Observation and Research Station, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China.
Yu-Qiu YeZhejiang Key Laboratory of Pollution Control for Port-Petrochemical Industry, Chinese Academy of Sciences Haixi Industrial Technology Innovation Center in Beilun, Ningbo 315830, China.ORCID 0009-0000-7068-6747
Luo-Qin ShenState Key Laboratory of Regional and Urban Ecology, Ningbo Urban Environment Observation and Research Station, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China.
Ming-Ming SunSoil Ecology Laboratory, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China.ORCID 0000-0002-5550-6813
Mao YeNational Engineering Research Center for Soil Nutrient Management and Pollution Remediation, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China.
Roy NeilsonEcological Sciences, The James Hutton Institute, Dundee DD2 5DA, Scotland.ORCID 0000-0003-4544-2227
Dong ZhuState Key Laboratory of Regional and Urban Ecology, Ningbo Urban Environment Observation and Research Station, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China.ORCID 0000-0002-0826-6423

Funding

the James Hutton Institute receives financial support from Scottish Government Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services RESASthe National Natural Science Foundation of China 42307033 and 42222701the Ningbo Yongjiang Talent Project 2022A-163-Gthe Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Grant XDB0750400
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Biochar amendment reshapes microbial community dynamics in vermicomposting, but the mechanism of how phages respond to this anthropogenic intervention and regulate the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) remains unclear. In this study, we used metagenomics, viromics, and laboratory validation to explore how nano-biochar affects phage-host interactions and ARGs dissemination in vermicomposting. Our results revealed distinct niche-specific phage life strategies. In vermicompost, lytic phages dominated and used a "kill-the-winner" strategy to suppress antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB). In contrast, lysogenic phages prevailed in the earthworm gut, adopting a "piggyback-the-winner" strategy that promoted ARGs transduction through mutualistic host interactions. Nano-biochar induced the conversion of lysogenic to lytic phages in the earthworm gut, while concurrently reducing the abundance of lysogenic phages and their encoded auxiliary metabolic genes carried by ARB. This shift disrupted phage-host mutualism and inhibited ARGs transmission via a "phage shunting" mechanism. In vitro validation with batch culture experiments further confirmed that lysogenic phages increased transduction of ARGs in the earthworm gut, while nano-biochar reduced the spread of ARGs by enhancing lysis infectivity. Our study constructs a mechanistic framework linking nano-biochar induced shifts in phage lifestyles that suppress ARG spread, offering insights into phage-host coadaptation and resistance mitigation strategies in organic waste treatment ecosystems.

Indexed as

BacteriophagesCompostingDrug Resistance, BacterialDrug Resistance, MicrobialHost Microbial InteractionsOligochaetaAnimalsBacteriaMetagenomicsSoil Microbiologyauxiliary metabolic genes (AMGs)earthworm gutlife history traitsphage lifestylesvermicompost

Identifiers

PMID40838886
PMCPMC12403132

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.