Low Concentrations of Glyphosate-Based Herbicide Affects the Development of Chironomus xanthus

Re-registration Challenges of Glyphosate in the European Union

“…Roundup Express R and POEA were detected to exert toxicity on juveniles of the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas upon sub-chronic (35-day) exposure at concentrations of 0.1, 1 and 100 ng/ml (Mottier et al, 2013(Mottier et al, , 2014Séguin et al, 2017). Roundup Original R exerted lethal and sub-lethal effects on the widely distributed in dipteran freshwater nematoceran fly Chironomus xanthus with a 48 h LC 50 corresponding to glyphosate concentration of 251.5 mg/l, as well as reduced larval growth of and disturbed emergence of adults at lower concentrations (Ferreira-Junior et al, 2017), and it reduced the growth rate, the escape swimming speed and the fat storage also on the endangered damselfly Coenagrion pulchellum at a level corresponding to a glyphosate concentration of 2 mg/l, which is likely to lead to negatively influence fitness, mortality by predation and population dynamics (Janssens and Stoks, 2017). As in the latter test Roundup systematically resulted in 25-100% higher effects than glyphosate at equivalent concentrations, the enhanced effect was attributed to POEA.…”

Toxicity of microbial insecticides toward the non‐target freshwater insect Chironomus xanthus

“…Dipterans of the family Chironomidae constitute a group of aquatic insects of great ecological importance within freshwater ecosystems, since they are a predominant component of benthic communities, playing a crucial role in aquatic food webs. Chironomids have been used as model organisms in ecotoxicological studies with pesticides in temperate and tropical freshwater ecosystems . Additionally, some species of Chironomids have been shown to be sensitive to microbial insecticides .…”

“…Additionally, some species of Chironomids have been shown to be sensitive to microbial insecticides . Chironomus xanthus Rempel, 1939 (Diptera: Chironomidae) is found in freshwater ecosystems in tropical regions, such as Brazil and is highly sensitive to synthetic pesticides …”

“…Chironomids have been used as model organisms in ecotoxicological studies with pesticides in temperate [40][41][42][43][44] and tropical freshwater ecosystems. 45,46 Additionally, some species of Chironomids have been shown to be sensitive to microbial insecticides. 44,[47][48][49][50] Chironomus xanthus Rempel, 1939 (Diptera: Chironomidae) is found in freshwater ecosystems in tropical regions, such as Brazil and is highly sensitive to synthetic pesticides.…”

“…44,[47][48][49][50] Chironomus xanthus Rempel, 1939 (Diptera: Chironomidae) is found in freshwater ecosystems in tropical regions, such as Brazil and is highly sensitive to synthetic pesticides. 45 The objective of this study was to determine the toxicological effects of two commonly used microbial insecticides on Chironomus xanthus Meigen (Diptera: Chironomidae). We hypothesize that microbial insecticides based on B. thuringiensis and B. bassiana can be toxic to C. xanthus and that sublethal concentrations can alter key life history and immune traits in this species.…”