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Integrated evaluation of the biological response of the earthworm Eisenia fetida using two glyphosate exposure strategies: soil enriched and soils collected from crops in Southeastern Mexico

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Abstract

Under laboratory conditions, the toxicological effects of pesticides tend to be less variable and realistic than under field conditions, limiting their usefulness in environmental risk assessment. In the current study, the earthworm Eisenia fetida was selected as a bioindicator for assessing glyphosate toxic effects in two different trials to solve this dilemma. In Trial 1, the worms were exposed for 7 and 14 days to concentrations of a commercial glyphosate formulation (1 to 500 mg a.i. kg−1) currently used in the field. In Trial 2, the worms were kept in nine soils collected from different plots with crops for 14 days of exposure. In both experiments, glutathione S-transferase (GST), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activities and contents of lipid peroxidation (LPO) were evaluated. In T1, the glyphosate formulation produced a 40% inhibition of AChE activity and a significant increase in GST, SOD, CAT, and GPx activities and LPO contents in E. fetida on day 7. In T2, higher concentrations of glyphosate were detected in the soils of soybean, papaya, and corn (0.92, 0.87, and 0.85 mg kg−1), which induced a positive correlation between the levels of glyphosate residues with GST, SOD, CAT, GPx, and LPO and a negative correlation with AChE. These findings indicate that crop soils polluted with glyphosate elicited higher oxidative stress than under laboratory conditions, confirmed by IBRv2, PCA, and AHC analyses.

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Acknowledgements

The findings in this document reflect the work of the authors who are fellows of the National System of Researchers (SNI, CONACyT, Mexico). This work was supported by Secretariat of Public Education (SEP-MEXICO) through Program for Professional Teacher Development (PRODEP) under the project PRODEP/511-6/17-7507.

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  1. Instituto EPOMEX, Universidad Autónoma de Campeche, Av. Héroe de Nacozari No. 480, 24070. San Francisco de Campeche, Campeche, México

    Ricardo Dzul-Caamal & Jaime Rendón-von Osten

  2. Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Laboratorio de Toxicología Ambiental. Av. Wilfrido Massieu S/N, Unidad Profesional Zacatenco, 07320, Mexico City, CP, Mexico

    Armando Vega-López

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The authors have contributed to the conception and design of the manuscript. Material preparation, methodology of biomarkers, analysis of data, and writing were performed by Ricardo Dzul Caamal and Armando Vega López. The glyphosate analisys was performed by Jaime Rendón von Osten. All the authors read, reviewed, and approved previous and final version of the manuscript to be published.

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Correspondence to Jaime Rendón-von Osten.

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Dzul-Caamal, R., Vega-López, A. & Osten, J.Rv. Integrated evaluation of the biological response of the earthworm Eisenia fetida using two glyphosate exposure strategies: soil enriched and soils collected from crops in Southeastern Mexico. Environ Sci Pollut Res (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-33348-0

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