Glyphosate-eating fungi: potentiality of soil saprotrophic fungi to exploit glyphosate as a nutritional source and degrade it
| Componente | Qualifica | Struttura | Categoria |
|---|---|---|---|
| Veronica Spinelli | Dottoranda | Biologia ambientale | Altro personale aggregato Sapienza o esterni, titolari di borse di studio di ricerca |
Glyphosate (N-phosphonomethyl-glycine)(GP) is one of the most used herbicide in the world. As post-emergent, broad spectrum, non-selective systemic herbicide, it provides several agricultural benefits, controlling weeds and grasses in agriculture, silviculture and urban areas. However, improper use and excessive spray during the decades resulted in GP contamination of soils and waters, raising concerns about potential deleterious effects on ecosystems, non-target organisms, including humans, and on crops. Fungi provide ecosystem services also through the activity of transforming and detoxifying pollutants. Fungal bioremediation can provide highly efficient, environment-friendly and cost-effective solutions to cope with GP and promising technological approaches inspired by nature.
The present project aims to investigate the interactions between soil saprotrophic fungi and glyphosate through enrichment tests and soil microcosms experiments, in order to deepen the understanding of fungal mechanisms of GP utilization as nutritional source and develop a feasible and sustainable strategy for GP bioremediation.