Mice exposed to glyphosate experienced genetic changes and increased disease. The strangest thing is that these ailments also affect their children and grandchildren, even if they have not been in contact with the product.
- Glyphosate induces a genetic change in mouse sperm.
- The children and grandchildren of mice are also affected by the disease, even without having been in contact with glyphosate.
Glyphosate is a complex subject. Long used by individuals and professionals alike to weed gardens and destroy weeds, this phytosanitary product has been banned for sale to individuals since 2017. However, the product remains available for farmers and professionals. While France was initially supposed to completely ban its use on the territory from 1er January 2021, the country struggles to completely exclude this product. This long-awaited exit, which will probably not happen completely, is a failure that Emmanuel Macron recognizes, indicating that he “did not succeed”. The President of the Republic, who is well aware that farmers need it, is currently only offering a tax credit €2,500 for those who give up the herbicide.
However, the arguments showing its dangerousness are known. Researchers at the University of Washington State (United States) have even provided proof that it causes genetic modifications that can also affect the descendants of the person in contact with these phytosanitary products. The results were published on December 9 in the journal Epigenetics.
A very controversial weedkiller
Glyphosate is a crop protection product widely used for years in agriculture and gardening. If the image of this product has deteriorated considerably in recent decades, it is because of its many negative effects on health: it has been classified as a “probable carcinogen” by the World Health Organization ( WHO). The best-known example remains that of Dewayne Johnson, a former municipal gardener who for two years handled Roundup and its professional equivalent, the RangerPro, as part of his job. Today, he is terminally ill with incurable non-hogkin’s lymphoma.
To realize the effects of glyphosate on health, the researchers tried their experiment on fifty mice that they exposed to this product for an entire year. They also put pregnant female mice in the presence of the phytosanitary product and took sperm samples from the male mice. They observed the behavior of the mice over several generations, in order to understand what changes had taken place in them.
A change that affects all generations
In the end, the spermatozoa of the mice in contact with glyphosate underwent genetic modifications. Worse, once reached adulthood, 90% of third and fourth generation rats whose parents were exposed to glyphosate had one or more testicular, prostate and kidney health problems. The mice were also obese and unable to produce healthy sperm or expel it normally.
This demonstrates, according to the authors, the ability of glyphosate to promote the transgenerational transmission of the disease in rodents. They now hope to see what the biomarker changes to determine the propensity of subsequent generations to be affected as well.
“While we can’t fix what’s wrong with someone who’s been exposed, we can potentially use these results to diagnose if a person has a greater risk of developing kidney or prostate disease later in life.says Michael Skinner, professor of biology at Washington State University and author of the study. We may also prescribe a therapy or lifestyle change to help alleviate or prevent the disease.”
The study focused primarily on the sperm of male mice, but the researchers plan to reproduce the same experiment, this time focusing on the eggs of female mice. Eventually, their goal would be to reproduce similar studies on human beings, although according to the researchers, this is more complicated because of the omnipresence of glyphosates in our diet which could distort the results.
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