THE INFLUENCE OF GLYPHOSATE HERBICIDE ON THE FUNCTIONAL STATE OF THE POULTRY INTESTINE MICROBIOME

Abstract

Glyphosate is the most common and widely used broad spectrum herbicide. Although glyphosates are generally considered harmless to animals, they can affect macroorganisms through changes in microbial communities: glyphosate sensitive. The shikimate pathway is present in most bacteria, and its key enzyme, EPSPS, is sensitive to glyphosate in many bacteria.

In the present study, the toxic effect of glyphosate on the composition and functional state of the caecum microbiome of broiler chickens was assessed using the whole genome sequencing method on the Illumina platform. Functional differences in the microbiome that occur in the microbial community under the influence of glyphosate were identified at the level of glycolytic enzymes of the pathways responsible for the metabolism of simple carbohydrates (KO00010). Elimination of a number of enzyme genes involved in the Embden-Meyerhof pathway was revealed. When glyphosate was added to the poultry diet at a concentration above the MPC, phosphodiesterases were eliminated in the microbial community, so glyphosate can lead to an increase in the concentration of second messengers (for example, cAMP) and disruption of signaling between cells. Even low concentrations of the herbicide led to a decrease in the diversity of glycolytic enzymes. In the microbiome of the experimental birds, the decrease in diversity occurred inversely with the concentration of glyphosate. Such changes can indirectly lead to a decrease in the efficiency of the digestive processes of digestion of feed by birds and a decrease in the level of energy metabolism.