Insights of the fate of antibiotic resistance genes during organic solid wastes composting based on bibliometric analysis: Development, hotspots, and trend directions

Due to the massive use of antibiotics, antibiotics resistance genes (ARGs) are widely present in organic solid wastes (OSWs) such as livestock manure and sludge. As a common recycling technology, composting is often used to eliminate ARGs from OSWs. However, there is no bibliometric perspective on the fate of ARGs during OSWs composting to reveal the current state and future directions in this field. In this study, CiteSpace and VOSviewer were applied to count the available data from 2000 to 2021 in Web of Science to review the development and characteristics of relevant research. The results showed that the number of relevant papers and citations has increased consistently, with institutions and authors from China being the main contributors. The research belongs to the multidisciplinary with a focus on the environmental sciences ecology, and the results were mainly published in Bioresource Technology. Moreover, crucial literatures were screened to explore the framework within which the subject was constructed. Based on keyword analysis, the bacterial community was highlighted, and the research hotspots were revealed on the occurrence, affect factors including physicochemical properties, microbial community, MGEs, antibiotic, and heavy metal, and reduction strategies including exog-enous additive, microbial inoculant, and improved process, as well as the spread of ARGs in soil. This study provides the first review and summary of the hotspots, current challenges, and future directions of the fate of ARGs during OSWs composting based on bibliometric analysis, which could provide significant insights for effective control of the spread of ARGs from OSWs.