Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, is the most commonly used herbicide in American agriculture. The biodegradation of glyphosate leads to aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA). Glyphosate and AMPA have been extensively characterized to be toxic to organ development– however, it remains unexplored in cardiac development. Using zebrafish as a model due to their tractability, we examine the effect of glyphosate and its metabolite, AMPA on various developmental processes. Varying concentrations of glyphosate and AMPA were placed on zebrafish embryos starting at the one-cell stage. Frequent monitoring and screening were done until 72 hours post fertilization (hpf) where embryos were analyzed for hatching and heart rate. Analysis of hatching data revealed that neither glyphosate nor AMPA had a significant effect on hatching. However, there was a significant difference in the heart rate between the control and the treated embryos for both glyphosate and AMPA. No major differences in heart morphology were observed in glyphosate or AMPA treated embryos. In totality, our findings suggest the presence of glyphosate and its metabolite, AMPA, introduce a stressor to the environment that leads to sub-lethal effects on zebrafish embryonic development.
Author(s): Mason Schmitt, Anatasia Dorenbusch, Samantha Federici, Benjamin Akande, Jennifer A. Schumacher
Advisor(s): Jennifer Schumacher, Biology
Benjamin Akande, Biology
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