A new study finds bacteria develop antibiotic resistance up to 100,000 times faster when exposed to herbicides like Roundup. Adding to the growing evidence that herbicides like Roundup and Kamba have a significant impact on bacteria.
The researchers created conditions that could be expected in the real world “The concentrations of herbicides we used were below recommended application levels and hence within relevant environmental ranges, suggesting that what we observe in the laboratory has the potential to occur in many places where both antibiotics and herbicides are found together. Simultaneous herbicide and antibiotic exposures are common.”
The findings suggest a connection of herbicide use like Roundup to the growing presence of antibiotic resistance in both agriculture and medicine today. The researchers added “Unfortunately, antibiotic resistance may increase even if total antibiotic use is reduced, and new ones are invented, unless other environmental exposures are also controlled.”
Image: “Salmonella Bacteria” by NIAID is licensed under CC BY 2.0
ANARCHIMEDIA 