Highlights
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- This is the first study of glyphosate persistence in seawater.
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- Half-lives in “simulation” flask tests ranged from 47 to 315 days.
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- Glyphosate degraded most rapidly under low light and most slowly in the dark.
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- AMPA, the biodegradation metabolite of glyphosate was detected in each treatment.
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- This persistence increases the potential for transport into the marine environment.
Abstract
Glyphosate is one of the most widely applied herbicides globally but its persistence in seawater has not been reported. Here we quantify the biodegradation of glyphosate using standard “simulation” flask tests with native bacterial populations and coastal seawater from the Great Barrier Reef. The half-life for glyphosate at 25 °C in low-light was 47 days, extending to 267 days in the dark at 25 °C and 315 days in the dark at 31 °C, which is the longest persistence reported for this herbicide. AMPA, the microbial transformation product of glyphosate, was detected under all conditions, confirming that degradation was mediated by the native microbial community. This study demonstrates glyphosate is moderately persistent in the marine water under low light conditions and is highly persistent in the dark. Little degradation would be expected during flood plumes in the tropics, which could potentially deliver dissolved and sediment-bound glyphosate far from shore.
Glyphosate is Most Resistant to Biodegredation in Sea Water
In this unique study in Australia scientists have shown that Glyphosate (Roundup) primarily in GM agriculture, is particularly resistant to biodegradation in sea water, and could therefore be a major contributor to the decline of marine coral reef systems such as the Great Barrier Reef.
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