Computational modelling provides insight into the effects of glyphosate on the shikimate pathway in the human gut microbiome.

ABSTRACT: The herbicide active ingredient glyphosate can affect the growth of microorganisms, which rely on the shikimate pathway for aromatic amino acid biosynthesis. However, it is uncertain whether glyphosate exposure could lead to perturbations in the population of human gut microbiota. We have addressed this knowledge gap by analysing publicly available datasets to provide new insights into possible effects of glyphosate on the human gut microbiome. Comparison of the abundance of the shikimate pathway in 734 paired metagenomes and metatranscriptomes indicated that most gut bacteria do not possess a complete shikimate pathway, and that this pathway is mostly transcriptionally inactive in the human gut microbiome. This suggests that gut bacteria are mostly aromatic amino acid auxotrophs and thus

SUBMITTER: Mesnage R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8320642 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature