Disputas – cand. scient. Marek Cuhra
Doktorgradskandidat Marek Cuhra disputerer for ph.d.-graden i medisinske fag og vil offentlig forsvare avhandlingen:
Ecotoxicological assessment of Roundup-ready soybean agriculture investigated in a D. magna model
Each year approximately 300 million ton of soybean is produced globally. More than 85% of this is genetically modified to tolerate glyphosate herbicides (“Roundup-ready soybean”). Glyphosate herbicides will affect organisms in the farmed environment as well as fresh-water animals in ponds or streams which receive toxins through effluents from nearby fields.
The work by Marek Cuhra and colleagues investigates how glyphosate affects the soybeans onto which it is sprayed (is quality affected by glyphosate?), and through ecotoxicological testing in water-flea Daphnia magna, the work presents a model of how aquatic invertebrates are affected by glyphosate from agriculture (is glyphosate as harmless as previously assumed?). In subsequent experimental work, different types of soybeans are used for feed in a D. magna model. This is relevant to assess potential effects in consumers of aquaculture feed, and potential ecological effects from post-harvest biomass.
Primary research findings:
• Glyphosate and Roundup herbicide are toxic to D. magna
• Glyphosate tolerant soybean accumulates residues of glyphosate
• Biochemical and mineral constituents in soybean is affected by glyphosate
• Feed from glyphosate tolerant soy is not equivalent to that of organic or conventional soy.
• Growth and reproduction in D. magna is negatively correlated with glyphosate levels.
• There is little published evidence on glyphosate residues in glyphosate-tolerant crops.
(Avhandlingen er tilgjengelig for utlån hos Seksjon for forskningstjenester frem til disputasdato)
Veiledere
Hovedveileder professor Thomas Bøhn, Genøk Nasjonalt senter for biosikkerhet, Tromsø
Biveileder professor Terje Traavik, Institutt for farmasi, UiT Norges arktiske universitet
Bedømmelseskomiteen
Dr.scient Åshild Krogdahl, Norges veterinærhøgskole, Oslo
Professor Brian Wynne, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Lancaster, UK
Professor Einar Jensen, Institutt for farmasi, Det helsevitenskapelige fakultet, UiT Norges arktiske universitet
Disputasleder
Thrina Loennechen, Institutt for farmasi, Det helsevitenskapelige fakultet, UiT Norges arktiske universtet
Prøveforelesning over oppgitt emne holdes kl. 10:15, samme sted: “Risk evaluation of glyphosate-tolerant plants – Limitations of Current Scientific Knowledge, and How They Could be Addressed”.