Exploring the impact of 30 commonly used pesticides on gut health and metabolism.

Pesticides are a threat to human health through agricultural work and food chain exposures that reach human populations geographically distant from agricultural sites. Oral exposure through food intake suggests possible interactions with the gut microbiome. Brazil is the third largest exporter of agricultural products in the world with 474 new pesticides approved in 2019. In collaboration with Juliana Peroboli at UNIFESP, Brazil, this project will explore the impact of 30 commonly used pesticides on the human gut microbiota, employing metabolomics measurements and 16S-rRNA sequencing of ex-vivo microbiota cultures to determine impacts on microbiome community composition and on microbiome-mediated pesticide metabolism.