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Research Project: Improving Product Quality and Innovation Through Phytochemical Optimization and Discovery of Natural Product-based Solutions

Location: Natural Products Utilization Research

Title: Metabolic Degradation of Glyphosate in Soil Microbes, Endophytes, Crops, and Weeds

Author
item DUKE, STEPHEN - University Of Mississippi

Submitted to: Book / Chapter / eBook
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/30/2025
Publication Date: 8/29/2025
Citation: Duke, S.O. 2025. Metabolic Degradation of Glyphosate in Soil Microbes, Endophytes, Crops, and Weeds. In: Resistance in Weeds from Herbicide Metabolism, First edition. V.K. Nandula and R. Beffa, Eds., John Wiley and Son, Inc., p.41-80. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119686699.ch3.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119686699.ch3

Interpretive Summary: Glyphosate (N-[phosphonomethyl] glycine) is the most used herbicide worldwide, both in the actual amount used and the land area treated with this postemergence, nonselective herbicide. Its widespread and heavy use is due to several factors, including: (1) it is a high use rate herbicide (0.5–2 kg/ha)2; (2) it is a very effective and economical herbicide on almost allweeds; and (3) it is heavily used with widely adopted glyphosate-resistant (GR) crops. As of May 2024, there were almost 29,000 publications and patents involving glyphosate. Despite the huge amount of research on glyphosate, relatively little is known about metabolic degradation of glyphosate in plants. More is known about microbial than plant degradation of glyphosate, and some of the information on microbial degradation is or may be germane to in planta degradation. This book chapter reviews the metabolic degradation of glyphosate in soil microbes, endophytes, crops, and weeds.

Technical Abstract: Glyphosate (N-[phosphonomethyl] glycine) is the most used herbicide worldwide, both in the actual amount used and the land area treated with this postemergence, nonselective herbicide. Its widespread and heavy use is due to several factors, including: (1) it is a high use rate herbicide (0.5–2 kg/ha)2; (2) it is a very effective and economical herbicide on almost allweeds; and (3) it is heavily used with widely adopted glyphosate-resistant (GR) crops. As of May 2024, there were almost 29,000 publications and patents involving glyphosate. Despite the huge amount of research on glyphosate, relatively little is known about metabolic degradation of glyphosate in plants. More is known about microbial than plant degradation of glyphosate, and some of the information on microbial degradation is or may be germane to in planta degradation. This book chapter reviews the metabolic degradation of glyphosate in soil microbes, endophytes, crops, and weeds.