abstract: Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) have a polarizing effect in the US. The first commercially viable GMO was Roundup Ready Soy, introduced by Monsanto in 1996, to be used in conjunction with Roundup herbicides. This thesis investigated and delineated the development and deployments of the discourse of Monsanto’s agricultural assemblage of Roundup Ready seeds and Roundup herbicides and its resistant discourses. Monsanto builds its discourse around the safety and necessity of Roundup Ready seeds through federal regulation and toxicology studies. Resistant discourses deployed by Monsanto’s critics problematize Roundup safety and reject Monsanto’s contention that GMOs are necessary for meeting world’s food demands. The discourse analysis pursued in this thesis explored interactions between the dominant discourse and counter discourses and charted their deployments in Colorado’s and Oregon’s 2014 ballot measures that would have required mandatory GMO labeling. Analysis suggested counter discourses were successful in mobilizing people to engage civically. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Communication Studies 2015

Pesticides are substances or mixtures of substances used in agriculture against pests (animals, plants and parasitic fungi), who damage the crops, stocks of agricultural products, food and reduce livestock utility or threaten human health. The thesis consists of two parts. The first (theoretical) part describes composition and function of gut microbiota; pesticides and their classification, environmental transport and effects of these substances on human health, and glyphosate as the active substance of herbicide Roundup, its mechanism of action, environmental fate and proven effects of glyphosate on human. The aim of second (practical) part of this thesis was to test impact of pesticide Roundup on the gut microorganisms of human. The impact of pesticide was tested in in vitro pure cultures. Roundup was added in concentrations of glyphosate 17 g/L, 1,7 g/L and 0,17 g/L to the complex media and after cultivation the growth of microorganisms was evaluated. The next samples of stool were collected from human volunteers; these were cultivated similarly in the complex media with different concentrations of glyphosate. The total numbers of microorganisms, bifidobacteria, lactobacilli, enterococci and coliformn bacteria were defined after cultivation. When the pesticide was tested in pure cultures, concentration of 17 g/L glyphosate significantly inhibited total bacterial growth (P < 0.05), at lower concentrations no difference was observed. The cultivated microorganisms from samples of stool demonstrated only that bifidobacteria are sensitive to glyphosate at the highest used concentration of this pesticide compared with the control sample.

Glyphosate based herbicides are among the most widely used herbicides in the world. The purpose of this study was to determine developmental toxicity of glyphosate, the active ingredient in the common herbicide Roundup, on developing chicken embryos. Few studies have examined toxic effects of glyphosate alone versus the full compound formulations of Roundup, which include adjuvants and surfactants. Adjutants and surfactants are added to aid in solubility and absorption of glyphosate. In this study chicken embryos were exposed at the air cell on embryonic day 6 to 19.8 or 9.9 mg / Kg egg mass of glyphosate in Roundup or glyphosate only. Chickens treated with 19.8 and 9.9 mg / Kg glyphosate in Roundup showed significant reduction in survivability compared to glyphosate alone treatments and controls. On embryonic day 18, embryos were sacrificed for evaluation of developmental toxicity using wet embryo mass, dry embryo mass, and yolk mass as indicators. Morphology measurements were taken on liver mass, heart mass, tibiotarsus length and beak length. Embryos treated with 19.8 mg / Kg glyphosate and 9.9 mg / Kg glyphosate in Roundup showed significant reductions in wet and dry embryo mass and yolk mass. Tibiotarsus length in 9.9 mg / Kg glyphosate in Roundup treatments were significantly reduced compared to 9.9 mg / Kg glyphosate treatments. Beak length was significantly reduced in 9.9 mg /Kg glyphosate in Roundup treatments compared to all other groups.

Herbicides are a common tool in weed control. With the introduction of genetically modified herbicide-tolerant crops, there has been a dramatic increase in the use of particular herbicides. Herbicides contaminate the environment and food and feed and can come into contact with non-target organisms, especially bacteria. Salmonella enteric serovar Typhimurium, which is a human and animal pathogen, was chosen to investigate if the commercial formulations of three herbicides – Kamba, 2,4-D and Roundup are toxic to bacteria and whether sub-lethal concentrations cause a response to antibiotics. In addition, earlier work demonstrating an effect of salicylic acid on antibiotic response was reconfirmed in this study. The herbicides were toxic to S. typhimurium at concentrations above the manufacturers recommended application rates. A key finding of this study was that when S. typhimurium was grown in sub-lethal concentrations of the herbicides, it demonstrated a change in its susceptibility to various antibiotics. Kamba and 2,4-D caused increased tolerance of chloramphenicol, tetracycline, ampicillin and ciprofloxacin and increased sensitivity to kanamycin. Exposure to Roundup caused increased sensitivity to chloramphenicol and tetracycline and increased tolerance towards kanamycin and ciprofloxacin. Roundup had no measureable affect on ampicillin susceptibility. The minimum concentrations of herbicides that induced an antibiotic response were within the recommended application rates. Furthermore, the minimum 2,4-D concentration that induced tetracycline, chloramphenicol and ampicillin tolerance was at or below the maximum residue limits set for food and feed commodities. Simultaneous exposure to an herbicide and an antibiotic was necessary for the induction of antibiotic tolerance. In addition, the effect of the herbicide on the antibiotic response was faster than the lethal effect of the antibiotics. Kamba induced chloramphenicol, tetracycline, ampicillin and ciprofloxacin tolerance was maintained in the absence of Kamba once tolerance was induced by simultaneous exposure to Kamba and antibiotic. The emergence of antibiotic tolerance is an important health issue that may compromise treatment of serious bacterial infections. The widespread use of herbicides in agricultural, urban and domestic settings increases the number of bacteria that are exposed to herbicides. The tolerance induced by the herbicides may increase the frequency of antibiotic tolerant strains, increase the chance of co-exposure to antibiotics, and increase the potential for failure to treat bacterial infections as a result.

Roundup is a commonly used pesticide applied to agriculture and forest habitats. In Canada and parts of the North Eastern United States, these areas are generally optimal for amphibians due to the presence of small, ephemeral water bodies. While Roundup has been shown to have no adverse effects on a number of species, amphibians are one of the few groups who show high sensitivity to Roundup. My research aims to determine how an acute sub-lethal dose of Roundup affects several different facets of larvae development in wood frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus). In Chapter 2 I examined the effect of Roundup on amphibian development. Groups of tadpoles were treated with Roundup (0.5 mg a.e./L) for four days at three different times in their development (Gosner stage 26, 31-32 and 37-38), while a control group was maintained in similar conditions without Roundup. Pictures were taken every four days until tadpoles reached metamorphosis. Changes in development, body area or length were assessed, along with metamorphic endpoints, such as timing of metamorphosis and weight. Although there was no differential effect of Roundup on tadpole growth or weight, there was a slight, non-ecologically relevant, delay in development in tadpoles treated with Roundup at stage 26. The delay was not detectable in the second half of the experiment, indicating that compensatory mechanisms allowed those individuals to recover. Neither time to metamorphosis or weight at metamorphosis were affected by an environmentally relevant exposure to Roundup. In Chapter 3 I focused on the effect of Roundup on crucial behaviours related to the ability of larval amphibians to detect and avoid predation threats. I demonstrated that being exposed to Roundup for one hour eliminated the response of larval wood frogs to cues from injured conspecifics (i.e. cues known to elicit dramatic anti-predator responses in a wide variety of aquatic species). Tadpoles that were maintained in clean water and exposed to a combination of injured conspecific cues and Roundup, did not exhibit a decrease in movement, when compared to control tadpoles. This result indicates that Roundup deactivates the alarm function of the injured conspecific cues. However, it is possible that both the cues and the animal would be affected by Roundup. In Chapter 3 I also demonstrated that tadpoles that were exposed to Roundup as embryos had reduced basal movement rates. The results of this thesis illustrate that an environmentally relevant concentration of Roundup (0.5 mg a.e./L), does not negatively affect the development of tadpoles. The studies outlined in this thesis suggest that at this exposure concentration, behaviour acts as a more sensitive endpoint, than more traditional morphologic endpoints.

Submitted by BRUNO BASTOS GONÇALVES null (goncalves.b.b@gmail.com) on 2017-06-28T21:57:21Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese v7.pdf: 1743616 bytes, checksum: 7c171df4f861986ef9acdec88235f353 (MD5) / Rejected by Luiz Galeffi (luizgaleffi@gmail.com), reason: Solicitamos que realize uma nova submissão seguindo a orientação abaixo: O arquivo submetido está sem a ficha catalográfica. A versão submetida por você é considerada a versão final da dissertação/tese, portanto não poderá ocorrer qualquer alteração em seu conteúdo após a aprovação. Corrija esta informação e realize uma nova submissão com o arquivo correto. Agradecemos a compreensão. on 2017-06-30T13:09:05Z (GMT) / Submitted by BRUNO BASTOS GONÇALVES null (goncalves.b.b@gmail.com) on 2017-07-01T22:48:39Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese v7.pdf: 1761477 bytes, checksum: d86d5eb1b5c9afd9ac6c2c4bd90702b5 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luiz Galeffi (luizgaleffi@gmail.com) on 2017-07-04T17:04:58Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 goncalves_bb_dr_jabo.pdf: 1761477 bytes, checksum: d86d5eb1b5c9afd9ac6c2c4bd90702b5 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-04T17:04:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 goncalves_bb_dr_jabo.pdf: 1761477 bytes, checksum: d86d5eb1b5c9afd9ac6c2c4bd90702b5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-04-29 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) / A população humana cresce em proporções maiores que a produção de alimentos. Nesse cenário, a agricultura potencializa este cultivo por meio do uso de defensivos agrícolas, como por exemplo, herbicidas à base de glifosato (HBG). Entretanto, tais produtos possuem vários efeitos adversos em organismos não-alvos, como peixes. Estudos apontam danos em tecidos e em material genético de peixes, porém, não há estudos sobre o comportamento reprodutivo dessa espécie quando expostas a concentrações permitidas por lei. Assim, testamos os efeitos de HBG na seleção sexual de parceiros e na qualidade espermática de machos de Poecilia reticulata. Para isso, avaliamos o comportamento sexual, o interesse sexual, a qualidade espermática e a receptividade das fêmeas a machos expostos a 2 concentrações de HBG (50 e 100 μg/L) por 48 horas. Para avaliar a escolha de parceiros, utilizamos o método de escolhas dicotômicas e análise de múltiplas escolhas. Já para análise da qualidade espermática, avaliamos a morfologia, a viabilidade, a concentração e a motilidade dos espermatozoides. Nossos resultados indicam que machos não expostos ao HBG diminuem a exibição para fêmeas expostas ao HBG e evitam copular com fêmeas expostas à concentração de 100μg/L. Além disso, fêmeas expostas ao HBG são menos receptivas à cópula. O HBG afetou a morfologia dos espermatozoides, onde machos expostos a 50μg/L apresentaram maior quantidade de células com danos primários. Porém, não afetou a viabilidade, concentração e motilidade dos espermatozoides. Nossos dados indicam que concentrações ambientalmente relevantes de HBG podem afetar o comportamento reprodutivo e a qualidade espermática de peixes. / Human population grows in bigger proportions then food production worldwide. To solve this problem, increase food production is required. Agriculture has potentialized food production through pesticides usage. Besides that, GMO's increase production and usage of glyphosate based herbicide (HBG), since this product does not affect GMO’s. HBG's have many side effects on non-target animals, such as fishes. Many studies demonstrated damage in a lot of tissues and DNA. However, effects on behavior and even in concentrations allowed by law have not been studies. We aim to assess the effects of a GHB on physiological and behavioral reproductive features of Poecilia reticulata as male sexual behavior, sexual interest, sperm quality and female receptivity. We used dichotomous and multiple-choice arenas for mate choice and viability, concentration, motility and morphology to assess sperm quality. HBG decrease female receptivity, affects male interest on perform displays and mate attempt with females exposed to 100µg/L. HBG also affected sperm quality of males exposed to 50µg/L concentration. Despite this, we did not find any effect on viability, concentration and motility of sperm cells of exposed males to any concentration. We conclude that HBG affects female receptivity, and, in turn, it affects sexual male effort, reducing display and mate attempt rate. Our data shows that HBG, even in environment relevant concentrations, can affect reproductive behavior and sperm quality. We show here the necessity to assess with more caution the toxicology of pollutants and its effects, as the law that regulates it. / CNPq: 147399/2013-0

Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-27T13:37:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 tese_12502_Tese - Lidiane Pignaton Agostini.pdf: 2963143 bytes, checksum: 76cc790c5543c25d309bc0feced39101 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-06-27 / O Glifosato [N-(fosfonometil)glicina] é um herbicida pós-emergente, não seletivo e sistêmico. No processo de criação das formulações comerciais de herbicidas a base de glifosato (GBHs, do inglês glyphosate-based herbicides), como o Roundup®, são adicionados surfactantes com o intuito de aumentar a eficiência do composto base. A rota prioritária de degradação do glifosato por micro-organismos no solo resulta na formação do ácido aminometilfosfônico (AMPA). As respostas moleculares ao glifosato têm sido extensivamente estudadas em espécies de plantas e em alguns vertebrados. Em humanos, apesar dos estudos até agora realizados, não se conhece exatamente quais os riscos e mecanismos de atuação que explicariam a toxicidade ao glifosato relatada em alguns experimentos. Sendo assim, a hipótese dessa tese é de que a exposição rápida ao Roundup® e ao AMPA leva à alterações de expressão gênica em importantes processos celulares. Dessa forma, o objetivo desse trabalho é identificar genes diferencialmente expressos (DEGs, do inglês differentially expressed genes) em células mononucleares do sangue periférico (PBMCs, do inglês, peripheral blood mononuclear cells) humano submetidas à exposição rápida com herbicida à base de glifosato (Roundup®) e AMPA. O teste de MTT [3(4,5-dimetiltiazol-2-il)-2,5-difeniltetrazólio brometo], realizado em triplicatas, foi utilizado para avaliar a viabilidade celular e para a escolha das condições de tratamento utilizadas na técnica de microarray (GeneChip® Human Transcriptome Array 2.0, Affymetrix). As condições analisadas foram controle (3 chips), AMPA (10 mM; 3 chips) e Roundup® (0,05%; 2 chips), expostos durante 3 horas. Utilizando um valor de p<0,05 e fold-change de 1,5 foram identificados 5 DEGs no tratamento com o AMPA e 26 no tratamento com Roundup®. As análises de enriquecimento mostraram que os genes com expressão alterada após exposição ao Roundup® estavam associados a 33 processos celulares, principalmente relacionados à regulação destes processos. A plataforma digital Pathview foi utilizada para identificar a atuação dos DEGs após exposição ao Roundup® em diferentes vias. Os genes TNF, LTA, TAB2 e ATM foram relacionados à via de sinalização NF-kappa &#946;; BCL2L11 e ATM à via de sinalização FoxO; SESN3 e ATM à via de sinalização p53; e TNF, BCL2L11 e ATM à apoptose. Dessa forma, os resultados sugerem que o Roundup® altera o padrão de expressão gênica de diversos genes associados com o controle do ciclo celular, regulação de processos celulares e apoptose.

Due to reduced reproductive tolerance, current Roundup Ready cotton only allows for over-the-top glyphosate applications through the fourth leaf stage of development. To combat this issue, Roundup Ready Flex cotton was introduced in 2006, offering both vegetative and reproductive tissue tolerance to glyphosate. Roundup Ready Flex cotton offers a wider window of application timing, without risk of plant injury. The primary objectives of this research were to test Roundup Ready Flex cotton against current Roundup Ready cotton technology at various application rates and timings and to test various elite varieties of Roundup Ready Flex cotton for glyphosate tolerance. Roundup Ready Flex cotton tolerance was unaffected by application rates or timings. Roundup Ready Flex cotton varieties were unaffected by glyphosate applications. Roundup Ready Flex cotton exhibits both vegetative and reproductive tolerance to glyphosate and is an effective alternative to current Roundup Ready cotton cropping systems.

Double-crop production of corn (Zea mays L.) for grain following the harvest of small grain is not currently practiced in Virginia. Historical precipitation and evapotransportation data indicate that delayed corn planting could result in a higher probability of moisture during critical periods of crop development. Double-crop corn may also reduce economic risk as two crops would be harvested in the same year. Field experiments were conducted in three Virginia locations in 1998 and 1999 to determine the herbicide inputs required for double-crop corn production relative to those required in full-season no-till corn production. Experiments were conducted in a split-plot, randomized complete block design with cropping system as the main plot and herbicide treatment as the subplot. Herbicide treatments included combinations of nonselective herbicides for no-till establishment and/or preemergence residual herbicides and/or selective postemergence herbicides in both production systems. Glyphosate-tolerant corn was planted in all experiments and postemergence glyphosate treatments were also evaluated. In each experiment, dependent variables included weed control by species evaluated throughout the season, as well as weed biomass and corn yield evaluated at the end of the growing season. Generally, nonselective herbicides were not required in the double-crop system where atrazine was applied as a preemergence treatment, or where selective postemergence treatments were applied. Where a significant proportion of the infestation was comprised of perennial species, however, atrazine treatments were not sufficient in the double-crop system. Postemergence glyphosate treatments provided excellent broad-spectrum weed control in this situation. In heavy annual grass infestations, postemergence glyphosate treatments provided superior weed control to preemergence treatments alone, and equivalent weed control to treatments in which both preemergence and postemergence herbicides were applied. Corn yield response to weed control and cropping system variables varied significantly between the 1998 and 1999 growing seasons. Where adequate late-season rainfall was received, economic return from small grain and corn crops in the double-crop system was higher than the return in the full-season system, particularly in infestations where the double-crop system allowed significant reduction in herbicide input. / Master of Science

O glifosato-Roundup é um herbicida amplamente utilizado em diversas culturas agrícolas. Sua toxicidade reprodutiva está relacionada com a inibição da proteína StAR e da enzima aromatase, causando in vitro redução significativa da produção de testosterona e estradiol. Este trabalho teve como objetivo verificar esse efeito in vivo, utilizando-se ratos Wistar machos pré-púberes como modelo experimental. Utilizou-se 68 machos tratados dos 23 aos 53 dias de idade com as doses de 0, 5, 50 e 250 mg/kg de peso vivo por gavagem uma vez ao dia. Foram avaliados a progressão da puberdade, o desenvolvimento corporal, a produção hormonal de testosterona, estradiol e corticosterona, morfologia testicular e da glândula adrenal, função renal e hepática e histopatologia renal e hepática. As análises estatísticas utilizadas foram a análise de variâncias de uma via ANOVA, de duas vias MANOVA ou Kruskall-Walis e pós-testes de Tukey-Kramer, Fisher ou de Dun. O herbicida glyphosate-Roundup alterou de forma significativa a progressão da puberdade de forma dose dependente, bem como se observou a redução na produção de testosterona e alterações na morfologia dos túbulos seminíferos. A morfologia da glândula adrenal e a produção de corticosterona não foram afetadas pelas doses utilizadas nesse estudo. Observou-se comprometimento da função renal e alterações patológicas nesse órgão. Não foram evidenciadas alterações hepáticas. O crescimento corporal dos animais não foi influenciado pelo tratamento. Pode-se concluir que esse herbicida é um potente disruptor endócrino in vivo, causando distúrbios no desenvolvimento reprodutivo e na produção hormonal dos animais. / The glyphosate-Roundup is a widely pesticide used in several culturas agrícolas. Its reproductive toxicity is associated to inhibition of StAR protein and aromatase enzime that cause in vitro significantly reduction in testosterone and estradiol production. The objective of this study was to evaluate the in vivo effects of inhibition of StAR protein and aromatase enzyme, using prepubertal male Wistar rats like experimental model. 68 animals were exposed once a day by gavage to glyphosate-Roundup in following doses: 0, 5, 50 or 250 mg/kg of body weight. The end points were puberty progression, body development, testosterone, estradiol and corticosterona productions and testicular and adrenal morphology, renal and liver function and histopatology. The statistical analysis used were one-way ANOVA, multi-way ANOVA or Kruskall-Walis and posthoc tests of Tukey-Kramer, Fisher or Dun. The herbicide glyphosate-Roundup changed significantly the puberty progression in dose-dependent manner, as well reduction in testosterone production and alterations in testicular morphology. There were not observed alterations in adrenal morphology or corticosterone production in the doses used in this study. The renal function and histopatology were altered in treated groups while liver function wasn\'t. The body development was not influenced by the exposure. In conclusion, glyphosate-Roundup is a potent endocrine disruptor in vivo that cause problems in reproductive development and hormonal synthesis in exposure animals.