The Glyphosate-Based Herbicide Roundup(R) Does Not Elevate Genome-Wide Mutagenesis of Escherichia coli

Mutations induced by pollutants may promote pathogen evolution for example by accelerating mutations conferring antibiotic resistance. Generally, evaluating the genome-wide mutagenic effects of long-term sublethal pollutant exposure at single-nucleotide resolution is extremely difficult. To overcome this technical barrier, we use the mutation accumulation/whole genome sequencing (MA/WGS) method as a mutagenicity test, to quantitatively evaluate genome-wide mutagenesis of Escherichia coli after long-term exposure to a wide gradient of the glyphosate-based herbicide (GBH) Roundup® Concentrate Plus. The genome-wide mutation rate decreases as GBH concentration increases, suggesting that even long-term GBH exposure does not compromise the genome stability of bacteria.

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