Analysis of the effect of exposure to the herbicide glyphosate on the symbiotic relationship in cnidarians

• Grant number: 24/03700-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2024
• End date: May 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Animal Behavior
• Principal Investigator: Sérgio Nascimento Stampar
• Grantee: Gabriel Guedes Pereira
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências (FC). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Bauru. Bauru , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 25/10678-1 - MARINE POLLUTION CAUSED BY THE HERBICIDE GLYPHOSATE AND ITS IMPACTS ON THE METABOLISM OF BUNODOSOMA ZAMPONII, BE.EP.IC

Abstract

Human-induced marine pollution has already affected all oceans in some way, posing various challenges for marine species. In a way, this pollution affects the symbiotic mutualism relationship between certain members of the phylum Cnidaria and the dinoflagellate algae known as zooxanthellae, which are extremely important for the construction and maintenance of reef environments. With ocean warming and cnidarians' exposure to chemicals, we put the health of reef environments at risk, leading to bleaching, which occurs in these animals when they are under stress. It is believed that exposure of cnidarians to agricultural pesticides such as Roundup (N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine) is a factor that increases the expulsion and death of their zooxanthellae, consequently leading to greater vulnerability of these animals to additional stresses. To analyze the response exhibited through exposure to the pesticide Roundup, 60 animals will be used, with 30 individuals of the species Exaiptasia diaphana and 30 individuals of the species Actinostela flosculifera. The individuals will be subjected to nominal exposure concentrations of 0.00, 0.12, and 12.0 mg·L1 of glyphosate present in the herbicide formulation for one week, and after this period, tentacle fragments will be collected to count the zooxanthellae. Through analysis of variance of p-value, it will be analyzed whether Roundup induces the expulsion of zooxanthellae in these cnidarians.