Drosophila melanogaster’s Mortality reared with herbicides

SMSU Event Center BC

Drosophila melanogaster’s Mortality reared with herbicides Herbicides have been used in agriculture to kill weeds. Roundup is a common herbicide that is used worldwide in a variety of formulations. The active ingredient is glyphosate, but formulations differ in other ingredients. Other studies have indicated the toxicological effects of different roundup formulations. I have used Drosophila melanogaster to study the mortality effects of different herbicide formulations. Ten male and ten female flies were kept on organic medium for a week, then the flies were anesthetized, sexed, and put on the different treatments containing one of three herbicide formulations at different concentrations. Their mortality was noted after 2 and 7 days of Roundup exposure. Differences in mortality will be analyzed using JMP statistical software to determine which herbicide formulation and concentrations, are responsible for the highest mortality rate. According to my preliminary results, mortality correlates with glyphosate concentration, and is highest when flies are exposed to an herbicide formulation containing a surfactant, POEA. This is consistent with other studies that have shown that mortality increased in rats when given POEA. This may imply that the use of these herbicides can pose a risk to human health.