Effects of glyphosate and glyphosate based herbicides on anxiety-like behaviors and fear, and gut-microbiota

Our goal is to understand the effects of common herbicides, such as glyphosate, to locomotion and anxiety-like behavior, and determine possible links between gut microbial biomarkers with brain dysfunction. The increased risk of human exposure to chemicals from food preservatives, agriculture and industrial production suggests a link between exposure to environmental toxins, such as Gly, and the development of neurological and emotional disorders. Glyphosate, the active ingredient in glyphosate-based herbicides (GBH), was initially considered safe for mammals since it exerts its effect by inhibiting a metabolic route not present in mammals. Glyphosate targets an enzyme only found in plants and microorganisms. However gut microbiota benefits the host, by acting as a defense against pathogens and regulating normal brain function. The Gut-Brain axis is a bidirectional communication between gut microbiota and the nervous system involving neural, endocrine, and inflammatory mechanisms mediated by microbes. Disturbances along the Gut-Brain-Axis may contribute to neural pathogenesis by altering microbiota composition and generating a cascade of events which leads to neurodegeneration. The influence of environmental contaminants on locomotion and anxiety is unclear. To evaluate the potential relationship between the influence of environmental contaminants on gut microbiota, locomotion and anxiety a link must be examined. Thus, glyphosate can impact the health of animals by acting against their gut microbes. Understanding how glyphosate impacts rat gut symbionts, their behavior and brain pathophysiology will help elucidate a possible role of this chemical to anxiety. We will give either GBH-contaminated drinking water or filtered water, to adult rats, and perform behavioral studies for locomotion and anxiety-like behavior. We hypothesize that prolonged drinking of GBH-contaminated water will lead to decreased locomotion and increased anxiety-like behaviors. In addition, by evaluating for changes in the composition of gastrointestinal microbiota, we will assess the gut-brain axis as a mechanism for the development of these disorders due to glyphosate.