Liver metabolomic alterations in hatchlings of invasive turtle, Trachemys scripta elegans, following egg exposure to glyphosate-isopropylammonium or aminomethylphosphonic acid.

Abstract

Potential adverse impacts of residual agricultural chemicals and their by-products in soil are generally overlooked in oviparous reptiles. Herein, eggs of an invasive turtle, Trachemys scripta elegans, were incubated on moist substrate with different levels of a glyphosate formulation (glyphosate-isopropylammonium, Gly-IPA) or glyphosate by-product (aminomethylphosphonic acid, AMPA), and then embryonic development, hatchling functional performance and liver metabolomic profile were investigated to evaluate herbicide residue effects in turtle species. No significant alterations in egg survival and incubation length, as well as hatchling size and locomotor performance were observed after egg exposure. Metabolomic analysis revealed only slight alterations in some liver metabolites, probably reflecting mild metabolic disorders caused by embryonic exposure to Gly-IPA or AMPA in T. scripta elegans. Overall, effect of embryonic exposure to Gly-IPA or AMPA on functional and metabolic performances of turtle hatchings might be relatively weak.