Glyphosate and phosphate treatments in soil differentially affect crop microbiomes depending on species, tissue and growth stage.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Agricultural bench/field experimental study with no human data (Level 5 by CEBM design analogy)
PubMed 40664880 · doi:10.1038/s41598-025-11430-y
What was done
Researchers experimentally evaluated the effects of glyphosate-based herbicides (GBH) and phosphate fertilizer on the composition of endophytic bacterial communities in potato, faba bean, and oat. Bacterial communities were profiled using 16S rRNA gene sequencing during early and late summer across different plant tissues (roots, leaves, tubers), and plant growth (aboveground biomass) was measured in late summer.
What was found
The abstract reports no exact numerical values or confidence intervals. GBH significantly altered bacterial community composition in early and late summer potato roots and late summer faba bean roots. Phosphate treatment significantly altered bacterial communities in late summer potato leaves and tubers, as well as early summer faba bean leaves. Both treatments reduced overall bacterial diversity in potato and oat, and decreased the abundance of putatively beneficial bacteria in potato and faba bean, while increasing aboveground biomass across all three crops.
Why it matters
It demonstrates that common agrochemicals can disrupt non-target crop endophytes and reduce microbial diversity even when short-term plant biomass increases. Understanding these microbiome shifts may help assess the long-term ecological and health trade-offs of intensive chemical farming.
Limits
The abstract provides no sample sizes (n), application doses, effect sizes, or p-values. Functional consequences of the altered microbiome on disease resistance or long-term soil health were not directly evaluated.
Cited by
- supports Glyphosate alters the soil microbiome by damaging the shikimate pathway.