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Journal ArticleDOI

Glyphosate: a once-in-a-century herbicide.

TL;DR: The use of this virtually ideal herbicide is now being threatened by the evolution of glyphosate-resistant weeds, and adoption of resistance management practices will be required to maintain the benefits of glyphosate technologies for future generations.
Abstract: Since its commercial introduction in 1974, glyphosate [N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine] has become the dominant herbicide worldwide. There are several reasons for its success. Glyphosate is a highly effective broad-spectrum herbicide, yet it is very toxicologically and environmentally safe. Glyphosate translocates well, and its action is slow enough to take advantage of this. Glyphosate is the only herbicide that targets 5-enolpyruvyl-shikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS), so there are no competing herbicide analogs or classes. Since glyphosate became a generic compound, its cost has dropped dramatically. Perhaps the most important aspect of the success of glyphosate has been the introduction of transgenic, glyphosate-resistant crops in 1996. Almost 90% of all transgenic crops grown worldwide are glyphosate resistant, and the adoption of these crops is increasing at a steady pace. Glyphosate/glyphosate-resistant crop weed management offers significant environmental and other benefits over the technologies that it replaces. The use of this virtually ideal herbicide is now being threatened by the evolution of glyphosate-resistant weeds. Adoption of resistance management practices will be required to maintain the benefits of glyphosate technologies for future generations. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Glyphosate will likely remain the most widely applied pesticide worldwide for years to come, and interest will grow in quantifying ecological and human health impacts, according to published global pesticide use data.
Abstract: Accurate pesticide use data are essential when studying the environmental and public health impacts of pesticide use. Since the mid-1990s, significant changes have occurred in when and how glyphosate herbicides are applied, and there has been a dramatic increase in the total volume applied. Data on glyphosate applications were collected from multiple sources and integrated into a dataset spanning agricultural, non-agricultural, and total glyphosate use from 1974–2014 in the United States, and from 1994–2014 globally. Since 1974 in the U.S., over 1.6 billion kilograms of glyphosate active ingredient have been applied, or 19 % of estimated global use of glyphosate (8.6 billion kilograms). Globally, glyphosate use has risen almost 15-fold since so-called “Roundup Ready,” genetically engineered glyphosate-tolerant crops were introduced in 1996. Two-thirds of the total volume of glyphosate applied in the U.S. from 1974 to 2014 has been sprayed in just the last 10 years. The corresponding share globally is 72 %. In 2014, farmers sprayed enough glyphosate to apply ~1.0 kg/ha (0.8 pound/acre) on every hectare of U.S.-cultivated cropland and nearly 0.53 kg/ha (0.47 pounds/acre) on all cropland worldwide. Genetically engineered herbicide-tolerant crops now account for about 56 % of global glyphosate use. In the U.S., no pesticide has come remotely close to such intensive and widespread use. This is likely the case globally, but published global pesticide use data are sparse. Glyphosate will likely remain the most widely applied pesticide worldwide for years to come, and interest will grow in quantifying ecological and human health impacts. Accurate, accessible time-series data on glyphosate use will accelerate research progress.

1,153 citations


Cites background from "Glyphosate: a once-in-a-century her..."

  • ...John Franz, identified the herbicidal activity of glyphosate in 1970, and a formulated end-use product called Roundup was first sold commercially by Monsanto in 1974 [2]....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors proposed a multifaceted approach to mitigate the evolution of herbicide resistance by reducing selection through diversification of weed control techniques, minimizing the spread of resistance genes and genotypes via pollen or propagule dispersal, and eliminating additions of weed seed to the soil seedbank.
Abstract: Herbicides are the foundation of weed control in commercial crop-production systems. However, herbicide-resistant (HR) weed populations are evolving rapidly as a natural response to selection pressure imposed by modern agricultural management activities. Mitigating the evolution of herbicide resistance depends on reducing selection through diversification of weed control techniques, minimizing the spread of resistance genes and genotypes via pollen or propagule dispersal, and eliminating additions of weed seed to the soil seedbank. Effective deployment of such a multifaceted approach will require shifting from the current concept of basing weed management on single-year economic thresholds.

807 citations


Cites background from "Glyphosate: a once-in-a-century her..."

  • ...Strategies for managing resistant weed populations in the context of these new technologies must be developed and adopted (Duke and Powles 2008; Owen 2008; Owen and Zelaya 2005)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Although the major route of Phe and Tyr biosynthesis in plants occurs via the intermediate metabolite arogenate, recent studies suggest that plants can also synthesize phenylalanine via the Intermediate metabolite phenylpyruvate (PPY), similarly to many microorganisms.

515 citations


Cites background from "Glyphosate: a once-in-a-century her..."

  • ...Additionally, the shikimate pathway enzyme 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phospate synthase (EPSPS) is the target of the glyphosate herbicide, and non-plant EPSPS provides the herbicide-resistance trait in a number of commercial transgenic crops (Duke and Powles, 2008)....

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  • ...…the intermediate arrows and in the bottom of the last arrow. at Sussex L anguage Institute on O ctober 16, 2012 http://m plant.oxfordjournals.org/ D ow nloaded from which is the basis for the Roundup-Ready transgenic crops (Duke and Powles, 2008; Singer and McDaniel, 1985; Smart et al., 1985)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Dias et al. as discussed by the authors reviewed the recent advances in the field of organic pollutants removal and degradation and proposed metal-organic frameworks for water reuse, and the next steps in this field.
Abstract: Correction for ‘Towards the use of metal–organic frameworks for water reuse: a review of the recent advances in the field of organic pollutants removal and degradation and the next steps in the field’ by Elton M. Dias et al., J. Mater. Chem. A, 2015, 3, 22484–22506.

510 citations


Cites background from "Glyphosate: a once-in-a-century her..."

  • ...Glyphosate (GP) and glufosinate (GF) are two organophosphorus harmful pesticides widely used in agriculture (54, 55) and can cause harm to human health (56)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Glyphosate-resistant weeds are a major risk for the continued success of glyphosate and transgenic glyphosate-resistant crops, however, lessons can be learnt and actions taken to achieve glyphosate sustainability.
Abstract: Glyphosate is the world's most important herbicide, with many uses that deliver effective and sustained control of a wide spectrum of unwanted (weedy) plant species. Until recently there were relatively few reports of weedy plant species evolving resistance to glyphosate. Since 1996, the advent and subsequent high adoption of transgenic glyphosate-resistant crops in the Americas has meant unprecedented and often exclusive use of glyphosate forweedcontroloververylarge areas.Consequently, in regionsoftheUSA wheretransgenic glyphosate- resistant crops dominate, there are now evolved glyphosate-resistant populations of the economically damaging weed species Ambrosia artemissifolia L., Ambrosia trifida L., Amaranthus palmeri SW atson,Amaranthus rudis JD Sauer, Amaranthus tuberculatus (Moq) JD Sauer and various Conyza and Lolium spp. Likewise, in areas of transgenic glyphosate-resistant crops in Argentina and Brazil, there are now evolved glyphosate-resistant populations ofSorghum halepense (L.) Pers andEuphorbia heterophylla L. respectively. As transgenic glyphosate- resistant crops will remain very popular with producers, it is anticipated that glyphosate-resistant biotypes of other prominent weed species will evolve over the next few years. Therefore, evolved glyphosate-resistant weeds are a major risk for the continued success of glyphosate and transgenic glyphosate-resistant crops. However, glyphosate-resistant weeds are not yet a problem in many parts of the world, and lessons can be learnt and actions taken to achieve glyphosate sustainability. A major lesson is that maintenance of diversity in weed management systems is crucial for glyphosate to be sustainable. Glyphosate is essential for present and future world food production, and action to secure its sustainability for future gene rations is ag lobal imperative.  2008 Society of Chemical Industry

490 citations

References
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The broadspectrum herbicide glyphosate inhibits the enzymatic conversion of shikimic acid to anthranilic acid in a cell-free extract of Aerobacter, aerogenes 50% at 5 to 7 μM concentrations.

985 citations

Book ChapterDOI
TL;DR: Glyphosate-based weed control products are among the most widely used broad-spectrum herbicides in the world and have been extensively investigated for their potential to produce adverse effects in nontarget organisms as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Glyphosate-based weed control products are among the most widely used broad-spectrum herbicides in the world. The herbicidal properties of glyphosate were discovered in 1970, and commercial formulations for nonselective weed control were first introduced in 1974 (Franz et al. 1997). Formulations of glyphosate, including Roundup® Herbicide (RU)1 (Monsanto Company, St. Louis, MO), have been extensively investigated for their potential to produce adverse effects in nontarget organisms. Governmental regulatory agencies, international organizations, and others have reviewed and assessed the available scientific data for glyphosate formulations and independently judged their safety. Conclusions from three major organizations are publicly available and indicate RU can be used with minimal risk to the environment (Agriculture Canada 1991; USEPA 1993a; WHO 1994). Several review publications are available on the fate and effects of RU or glyphosate in the environment (Carlisle and Trevors 1988;Smith and Oehme 1992 ; Malik et al. 1989;Rueppel et al. 1977; Sullivan and Sullivan 1997;Forestry Canada, 1989). In addition, several books have been published about the environmental and human health considerations of glyphosate and its formulations (Grossbard and Atkinson 1985; Franz et al. 1997). In addition, RU and other glyphosate formulations have been selected for use in a number of weed control programs for state and local jurisdictions in the United States. Many of these uses require that ecological risk assessments be conducted in the form of Environmental Impact Statements or Environmental Assessments. These documents are comprehensive and specific to local use situations. Documents are available for risk assessments in Texas, Washington, Oregon, Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, and other states (USDA 1989;USDA 1992;USDA 1996;USDA 1997;USDI 1989; Washington State DOT 1993).

883 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It was concluded that the use of Roundup herbicide does not result in adverse effects on development, reproduction, or endocrine systems in humans and other mammals, and glyphosate is noncarcinogenic.

742 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This study represents one of the most extensive experimental inves- tigations of pesticide effects on aquatic communities and offers a comprehensive perspective on the impacts of pesticides when nontarget organisms are examined under ecologically relevant conditions.
Abstract: Pesticides constitute a major anthropogenic addition to natural communities. In aquatic communities, a great majority of pesticide impacts are determined from single- species experiments conducted under laboratory conditions. Although this is an essential protocol to rapidly identify the direct impacts of pesticides on organisms, it prevents an assessment of direct and indirect pesticide effects on organisms embedded in their natural ecological contexts. In this study, I examined the impact of four globally common pesticides (two insecticides, carbaryl (Sevin) and malathion; two herbicides, glyphosate (Roundup) and 2,4-D) on the biodiversity of aquatic communities containing algae and 25 species of animals. Species richness was reduced by 15% with Sevin, 30% with malathion, and 22% with Roundup, whereas 2,4-D had no effect. Both insecticides reduced zooplankton diversity by eliminating cladocerans but not copepods (the latter increased in abundance). The in- secticides also reduced the diversity and biomass of predatory insects and had an apparent indirect positive effect on several species of tadpoles, but had no effect on snails. The two herbicides had no effects on zooplankton, insect predators, or snails. Moreover, the herbicide 2,4-D had no effect on tadpoles. However, Roundup completely eliminated two species of tadpoles and nearly exterminated a third species, resulting in a 70% decline in the species richness of tadpoles. This study represents one of the most extensive experimental inves- tigations of pesticide effects on aquatic communities and offers a comprehensive perspective on the impacts of pesticides when nontarget organisms are examined under ecologically relevant conditions.

693 citations

Book
01 Jan 1997
TL;DR: A comprehensive review of glyphosate's history, properties, chemistry, biology, formulation, technology, enzymology, and structure/activity relationship can be found in this article, where the authors discuss glyphosate's unique environmental properties, broad range of application, soil inactivity, soil and plant metabolism, low toxicity and uptake and transport in plants.
Abstract: Glyphosate is a popular global post-emergent perennial herbicide. This volume is a comprehensive review of glyphosate's history, properties, chemistry, biology, formulation, technology, enzymology, and structure/activity relationship. The discussion covers glyphosate's unique environmental properties, broad range of application, soil inactivity, soil and plant metabolism, low toxicity, and uptake and transport in plants. It also covers the syntheses of hundreds of analogs and derivatives and clarifies glyphosate's molecular mode of action and its effect on the target enzyme EPSP synthase.

687 citations