The invisible universe of the human microbiome

Freedom seed

Well-Known Member
Ah yes that was always the sales pitch that humans did not have a shikimate pathway and therefore could not be affected by glyphosate. What they did not say is that for every cell in the human body the are seven microbes living in our gut that we cannot survive without, and they have a shikimate pathway.

Also seldom mentioned, is that certain Cyanobacteria enjoy a competitive advantage in the presence of glyphosate. From the wiki page for Cyanobacteria aeruginosa:

Glyphosate metabolismEdit
Algal blooms of cyanobacteria thrive in the large phosphorus content of agricultural runoff. Besides consuming phosphorus, M. aeruginosa thrives on glyphosate, although high concentrations may inhibit it.[13]M. aeruginosa has shown glyphosate resistance as result of preselective mutations, and glyphosate presence serves as an advantage to this and other microbes that are able to tolerate its effects, while killing those less tolerant.[14]

Which raises some pretty interesting questions about the troubles in the Great Lakes.
 
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