Transgenerational effects of sublethal glyphosate exposure on the predatory spider Pardosa pseudoannulata in rice...

Glyphosate, the most widely used herbicide globally, may inadvertently affect non-target arthropods, including beneficial predators such as spiders. Here, we evaluated the lethal and sublethal effects of glyphosate on spiders (G0) and explored transgenerational impacts on their offspring (G1). Short-term exposure to LC₁₀ and LC₃₀ concentrations significantly altered mating behavior and reproductive output in G0 individuals. Parental exposure further impacted G1 spiders, leading to delayed development, reduced juvenile survival, altered prosoma morphology, and disrupted population-level parameters such as intrinsic growth rate and generation time. Transcriptomic profiling revealed extensive molecular perturbations in glyphosate-exposed spiders. Functional analysis via RNA interference (RNAi) confirmed that detoxification genes-including cytochrome P450, glutathione S-transferase, and carboxylesterase-contribute to glyphosate tolerance. Knockdown of these genes significantly increased spider mortality under glyphosate exposure. Glyphosate suppresses spider reproduction by disrupting both oocyte meiosis-related genes and endocrine pathways. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that glyphosate poses a compound threat to spiders by altering physiological, developmental, and molecular processes across generations, potentially impairing their ecological role as biological control agents.