Jp Timken | 2025 I.S. Symposium

Name: Jp Timken
Title: Effects of Glyphosate Treatment on C. elegans Health: Implications for Migrant Communities with Elevated Pesticide Exposure
Majors: Biology; Spanish
Advisors: Stephanie Strand; Brian Cope

Pesticides are incredibly powerful agricultural tools that serve to increase food production and protect crops from a variety of pests. However, many pesticides also produce toxic effects on non-target organisms. Glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide worldwide and has been deemed to not likely be a carcinogen by the EPA. However, studies done across many different organisms have shown that Roundup and Touchdown, both commercial formulations of glyphosate, can induce both lethal and sublethal effects. Because of this, there has been an increased interest in uncovering the toxicology of this compound, especially in regard to impacts on human health and the mechanism of action in non-target organisms. Many of these studies are done using commercial formulations of glyphosate rather than just the active ingredient, though it is important to understand the toxicology of both. In this study, we investigated the physiological effects of glyphosate treatment on C. elegans lifespan and reproductive capacity. We found that treatment did not induce any significant differences in lifespan. However, treatment with glyphosate significantly reduced both the number of eggs laid and the viability of eggs in C. elegans. These results carry heavy physical and cultural implications communities that commonly experience elevated levels of exposure through a variety of routes, including migrant farming communities. We also explored these implications through two texts that focus on the cultural impacts of pesticide abuse, which refers to the improper or excessive use of pesticides, finding that it has largely been used to dominate and exploit these communities.

Posted in Symposium 2025 on May 1, 2025.