Chronic Dietary Exposure of Roosters to a Glyphosate-Based Herbicide Increases Seminal Plasma Glyphosate and AMPA Concentrations, Alters Sperm Parameters, and Induces Metabolic Disorders in the Progeny.

Loïse Serra,Guillaume Bourdon,Claire Chevaleyre,Philippe Didier,Joëlle Dupont,Anthony Estienne,Souleiman El Balkhi,Marine Chahnamian,Pascal Froment,Christelle Ramé

doi:10.3390/toxics9120318

Abstract

The effects of chronic dietary Roundup (RU) exposure on rooster sperm parameters, fertility, and offspring are unknown. We investigated the effects of chronic RU dietary exposure (46.8 mg kg−1 day−1 glyphosate) for 5 weeks in 32-week-old roosters (n = 5 RU-exposed and n = 5 control (CT)). Although the concentrations of glyphosate and its main metabolite AMPA (aminomethylphosphonic acid) increased in blood plasma and seminal fluid during exposure, no significant differences in testis weight and sperm concentrations were observed between RU and CT roosters. However, sperm motility was significantly reduced, associated with decreased calcium and ATP concentrations in RU spermatozoa. Plasma testosterone and oestradiol concentrations increased in RU roosters. These negative effects ceased 14 days after RU removal from the diet. Epigenetic analysis showed a global DNA hypomethylation in RU roosters. After artificial insemination of hens (n = 40) with sperm from CT or RU roosters, eggs were collected and artificially incubated. Embryo viability did not differ, but chicks from RU roosters (n = 118) had a higher food consumption, body weight and subcutaneous adipose tissue content. Chronic dietary RU exposure in roosters reduces sperm motility and increases plasma testosterone levels, growth performance, and fattening in offspring.

Highlights

Glyphosate (G), N-(phosphonomethyl) glycine, is largely used as the active ingredient of commercial herbicides such as Roundup (RU)
After 5, 13 and 25 days of dietary RU exposure, the G concentrations increased as compared to Day 0 by 69 (p < 0.01), 60 (p < 0.01) and 73 times (p < 0.01) in Blood Plasma (BP) and by 49 (p < 0.01), 54 (p < 0.01) and 47 times (p < 0.01) in Seminal Fluid (SF), respectively (Figure 2C)
We investigated whether the negative effect of dietary RU exposure on sperm motility could affect in vivo fertility

Summary

Introduction

Glyphosate (G), N-(phosphonomethyl) glycine, is largely used as the active ingredient of commercial herbicides such as Roundup (RU). It has a broad spectrum, acting on around 100 different weed species and around 60 perennial weed species [1]. Multiple emerging studies show that G and glyphosate-based-herbicides (GBHs) have harmful effects on vertebrates at different levels, such as the central nervous system, the blood, the metabolism of the liver, the kidney or the reproductive system [1,3,4,5,6]. Steroidogenesis in mammals is disturbed, with reduced levels of steroidogenic acute regulatory (StAR) protein amount and testosterone (T) in male rodents [9,10,11,12] and perturbations of oestrogen (E2) and progesterone (P) secretion in female rodents [13,14]

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