The ability of selected bacteria to grow in the presence of glyphosate

Abstract

Glyphosate is an active substance in the Roundup herbicide. The key process affecting its decomposition in the soil is microbial biodegradation. Bacteria that are able to break the C-P bond use this substance as a source of phosphorus. The aim of the study was to investigate the ability of thirty strains of soil bacteria to grow in the presence of glyphosate which was the sole source of phosphorus. Morphologically and physiologically varied soil bacteria strains were the subject of the study. Their ability to grow in the presence of glyphosate being the only phosphorus source was examined using a modified Dworkin-Foster growth medium. The modification itself consisted in introducing to the medium 0.5 mM dm of glyphosate which was to serve as an alternative source of phosphorus. The control sample in the study was the bacterial growth in two Dworkin-Foster growth media: a complete one (unmodified) and a phosphorus-free one. The growth intensity of the analyzed strains was assessed by means of spectrophotometry ( = 490 nm). Substantial differences in the growth intensity of the analyzed bacterial strains were observed in the presence of glyphosate, which was the sole source of phosphorus. Only eight out of the analyzed strains showed growth similar to what was observed in the case of the unmodified Dworkin-Foster medium, whereas all the remaining ones grew at a much slower rate.