Glyphosate and Melanization

Given melanin’s broad functions in the biosphere, particularly in insect immune defenses, it is important to understand how environmental conditions affect melanization. Glyphosate, the most widely used herbicide, inhibits melanin production.

Here we elucidate the mechanism underlying glyphosate’s inhibition of melanization demonstrate the herbicide’s multifactorial effects on insects. Glyphosate acts as an antioxidant and disrupts the oxidation-reduction balance of melanization. The drug reduced wax moth larvae survival after infection, increased parasite burden in malaria-transmitting mosquitoes, and altered midgut microbiome composition in adult mosquitoes.