EFFECT OF ROUNDUP (GLYPHOSATE) ON AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM USING HYDRA AS A MODEL SYSTEM

In the current environmental scenario, one is daily exposed to a wide range of chemicals emitted from various origins and people are hardly aware about these and their long term effects. Roundup is a one of these origins. It is a commonly used herbicide in the area of Sangamner taluka of Ahmednagar district. Farmers use Roundup in large amounts to control different weeds and grasses. Chemical nature of Roundup is Isopropyl-amine salt of Glyphosate (41% w/w) and other relative ingredient (59% w/w). International Agency for Research on Cancer classified glyphosate as "probably carcinogenic in humans" (category 2A) in March 2015. Amongst mammals, glyphosate is considered to have "low to very low toxicity". Hydra, a fresh water coelenterate, is known for its tremendous regeneration capacity and has been extensively explored as a model system for aquatic toxicity testing. It has only two cell layers in the body column; all the cells get exposed to the surrounding medium which makes it susceptible to toxicants present in it, though present in very minute quantities. Here we show that commonly used herbicide Roundup hampers the life process even at low concentrations like 1:1000000 dilution. The adhering capacity of the basal discs was drastically reduced in whole and regenerating hydra after treatment. Also, the cells started disintegrating in both, whole and regenerating hydra at 1:1000000 dilutions within 24 hours post-treatment. Thus, heavy use of such herbicides may disturb the aquatic ecosystem. Our study underlines the importance of precautious use of herbicides like Roundup for the protection of environment, especially aquatic ecosystem.