Abstract
Glyphosate-based herbicides, like Roundup WG® (RWG) used for a range of crops, such as corn, soybean, coffee, sugarcane, rice, apple, and citrus, can reach aquatic ecosystems and impact non-target organisms like fish. Thus, the fish were exposed to three RWG concentrations plus one negative control, which represents the concentration allowed for inland Brazilian waters and concentrations found in surface water worldwide (0.0, 0.065, 0.65, and 6.5 mg a.i./L) for 7 and 15 days. Morphological analysis revealed significant alterations in the testicular structure, particularly in Sertoli cell extensions and cytoplasmic bridges between germ cells. Subcellular compartments also displayed alterations, including dilated mitochondria and the loss of electron density and autophagic vesicles. Gene transcript levels related to autophagy and steroidogenic regulation were upregulated in exposed fish. Germ cell quality was also affected, increasing ROS (reactive oxygen species) production and DNA fragmentation. The study highlighted the RWG reproductive toxicity, providing valuable insights into understanding the morphofunctional alterations in somatic and germ cells of Danio rerio. In conclusion, the environmental relevant concentrations used in this study were toxic to male somatic and germ cells, which raises a concern about the concentrations considered safe for human and animal use.
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Data available on request from the authors. The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior/CAPES and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico/CNPq (EMN, productivity fellowship, 311570/2020–8). The authors are thankful to the multi-user Laboratories of Biology Studies/LAMEB and Electron Microscopy/LCME of the Federal University of Santa Catarina.
Funding
This work was supported by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (EMN, productivity fellowship, 311570/2020–8).
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L Nezzi: data curation, conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, validation, investigation, and writing the original draft. CE Davico: methodology and investigation. ES Silva: methodology and investigation. MS Melo: data curation, formal analysis, writing, editing, and reviewing of the manuscript. EM Nazari: data curation, supervision, conceptualization, project administration, and writing, editing, and reviewing of the manuscript.
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Highlights
• Testicular morphology was impacted by Roundup® WG exposure.
• Roundup® WG affected spermatogenesis by breaking germ cell cytoplasmic bridges.
• Exposure to Roundup® WG induced the rupture of Sertoli cells and germinal cysts.
• Roundup® WG exposure increased ROS production and induced DNA fragmentation.
• Autophagy was activated after Roundup® WG exposure.
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Nezzi, L., Davico, C.E., Schramm, H. et al. Assessing testicular morphofunctionality under Roundup WG® herbicide exposure in zebrafish. Environ Sci Pollut Res (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-33626-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-33626-x