Roundup causes embryonic development failure and alters metabolic pathways and gut microbiota functionality in non-target species

Abstract

Background Research around the weedkiller Roundup is among the most contentious of the twenty-first century. Scientists have provided inconclusive evidence that the weedkiller causes cancer and other life-threatening diseases, while industry-paid research reports that the weedkiller has no adverse effect on humans or animals. Much of the controversial evidence on Roundup is rooted in the approach used to determine safe use of chemicals, defined by outdated toxicity tests. We apply a system biology approach to the biomedical and ecological model species Daphnia to quantify the impact of glyphosate and of its commercial formula, Roundup, on fitness, genome-wide transcription and gut microbiota, taking full advantage of clonal reproduction in Daphnia. We then apply machine learning-based statistical analysis to identify and prioritize correlations between genome-wide transcriptional and microbiota changes. Results We demonstrate that chronic exposure to ecologically relevant concentrations of glyphosate and Roundup at the approved regulatory threshold for drinking water in the US induce embryonic developmental failure, induce significant DNA damage (genotoxicity), and interfere with signaling. Furthermore, chronic exposure to the weedkiller alters the gut microbiota functionality and composition interfering with carbon and fat metabolism, as well as homeostasis. Using the “Reactome,” we identify conserved pathways across the Tree of Life, which are potential targets for Roundup in other species, including liver metabolism, inflammation pathways, and collagen degradation, responsible for the repair of wounds and tissue remodeling. Conclusions Our results show that chronic exposure to concentrations of Roundup and glyphosate at the approved regulatory threshold for drinking water causes embryonic development failure and alteration of key metabolic functions via direct effect on the host molecular processes and indirect effect on the gut microbiota. The ecological model species Daphnia occupies a central position in the food web of aquatic ecosystems, being the preferred food of small vertebrates and invertebrates as well as a grazer of algae and bacteria. The impact of the weedkiller on this keystone species has cascading effects on aquatic food webs, affecting their ability to deliver critical ecosystem services.

The Effect of Glyphosate And Ciprofloxacin Eexposure On The Gut Bacterial Microbiota Diversity of Rhinella Arenarum (Anura: Bufonidae) Tadpoles

“…Concerning the quanti cation of CFU, GBH treatment showed a signi cant increase compared to CO. This effect could be related, among various factors, to host transcriptional changes enriched for lipid and carbon metabolism, as is suggested by Suppa et al (2020). Moreover, studies on dynamics of bacteria communities of the soil and rhizosphere, associated the increase of fast-growing bacteria abundance with the availability of carbon compounds in GLY presence (Imparato et al 2016).…”

“…E. coli), decreased. GBHs have already been reported to disrupt the gut microbiota of animals likely to live near agricultural sites (i.e., bees, Motta et al 2018; water eas Daphnia spp., Suppa et al 2020). Besides, it was also found that GBH altered the diversity of the soil microbes (Wolmarans 2014) and can favors to certain species which perform less e ciently in the other conditions (Imparato et al 2016).…”

Could Glyphosate and Glyphosate-Based Herbicides Be Associated With Increased Thyroid Diseases Worldwide?

“…This is corroborated by studies where gut microbiota dysbiosis was correlated to Hashimoto's thyroiditis (102)(103)(104), Graves' disease (104), thyroid cancer and thyroid nodules (105). In parallel in the field of toxicology, recent studies indicate that GBH is able to affect the intestinal microbiome of mice (106), rats (107)(108)(109)(110)(111)(112), honeybees (113,114), Japanese quails (115) and Daphnia magna (116). A possible explanation for this toxicity is that some classes of bacteria require the shikimate pathway (5enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase, EPSPS) for their metabolism.…”

Role-Playing Between Environmental Pollutants and Human Gut Microbiota: A Complex Bidirectional Interaction

“…Gly-induced GM alteration has been hypothesized to be related to neurological impairment such as autism spectrum disorders ( 78 , 79 ). Several studies showed that Gly can alter the abundances of gut microbial species both in vivo ( 57 , 58 , 80 – 82 ), in vitro ( 59 ), and also through bioinformatics tools ( 83 ). It has been estimated that more than half of species living in the central human GM are sensitive to Gly ( 84 ).…”