Inland salt lakes, such as the Salton Sea, are increasingly succumbing to the effects of extreme salinity and agricultural pollution and there is not an established system to monitor the ecological implications of these stresses. Indicator species are often used to monitor environmental conditions in soil or freshwater. Much like Daphnia magna act as an indicator species for freshwater, Artemia salinas (brine shrimp) could act as an indicator for impaired inland saltwater environments. This study follows an environmental metabolomics approach to monitor the metabolic impact of glyphosate on brine shrimp. Environmental metabolomics is the study of the metabolic response of an organism to environmental stressors. In this work, 1H NMR and GC-MS are used to analyze the metabolite fingerprint of brine shrimp, determine whether glyphosate has a deleterious effect, and gain insights about its mode of action. If successful, this study could help ascertain the environmental impacts of contaminants on the Salton Sea ecosystem and establish brine shrimp as a model indicator species for probing the health of inland saline ecosystems worldwide.

Probing the effect of glyphosate on Artemia salina: An environmental metabolomics approach

251st National Meeting (2016)

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