Review Reports - Dominance of Diarrheagenic <i>E. coli</i> Virulent Types in Integrated Crop–Livestock Farms and Their Antibiotic Resistance Patterns

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The manuscript entitled "Dominance of diarrheagenic E. coli in integrated crop-livestock farms and their antibiotic resistance patterns" authored by Arpita Aditya et al. presents a topic of major concern - the presence of zoonotic E. coli strains and their elevated level of AR.

The introduction is well constructed and clearly presents the justification of the study. Still, the novelty of the research should be better underlined.

M&M section presents the sample type and the standardized protocol used to isolate and characterize the E. coli strains

Results

The results are well presented, but the authors are recommended to add the statistical analysis for all the results and rephrase the corresponding text, images and tables

Author Response

REVIEWER-1

The introduction is well constructed and clearly presents the justification of the study. Still, the novelty of the research should be better underlined.

We thank reviewer-1 for the thoughtful and constructive feedback on our manuscript. We appreciate your positive remarks on the well-constructed introduction and the clear justification of the study.

M&M section presents the sample type and the standardized protocol used to isolate and characterize the E. coli strains.

In response to the reviewer’s recommendation, we have taken and emphasized the novelty of our research more effectively in the revised manuscript. Your insight on the Materials and Methods section is noted.

Results

The results are well presented, but the authors are recommended to add the statistical analysis for all the results and rephrase the corresponding text, images and tables.

Regarding the Results section, we acknowledge your recommendation to include statistical analysis for all results. In the revised version, we are incorporating comprehensive statistical analyses and ensure that the corresponding text, images, and tables are appropriately rephrased to reflect these additions.

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Manuscript shows the presence of diarrheagenic E. coli in (integrated crop-livestock farms) ICLF environment including soil, compost, grasses, animal feed, waters, animal feces, on-farm vegetables as well as post harvested vegetables from on-farm stores and organic grocery stores in Maryland-Washington DC. Over a two years period, 2,973 samples were analyzed, and their antibiotic resistance determined.

The work is correctly designed and performed. Methods are well described and adequate. Results are sound.

The findings highlight potential risks associated with integrated farming practices and emphasize the importance of safe harvesting and post-harvesting measures, particularly in the context of growing popularity in local integrated farming.

Author Response

We sincerely appreciate and thank reviewer-2’s positive feedback on our manuscript. We really appreciate reviewer-2’s time and effort.

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Thank you for providing me with the chance to review your paper. Kindly refer to the comments in the attached document.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Please see the comments in the attached document.

Line 300: Lowercase "G" and add "and" between the two antibiotics.

Genus and species names must always be written in italics.

Author Response

Thank reviewer-3 for your comment. Following the recommendations from all three reviewers we have revised and added a substantial amount of information to the current version of our manuscript. We believe that this has significantly improved the quality of the manuscript.

Please see the attached file.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf