Analysis of mitochondrial DNA copy number variation in Brazilian farmers occupationally exposed to pesticides

ABSTRACT

The use of pesticide use has been linked to the higher production of reactive oxygen species, resulting in oxidative stress, which in turn can cause genomic instability. A marker for instability is the copy number variation of the mitochondrial genome (mtDNAcn), which has been found to be altered in diverse human diseases, including tumors. This research aimed to examine the variation of mtDNAcn in individuals occupationally exposed to pesticides. Real-time PCR assays were conducted on 154 individuals (78 exposed and 76 non-exposed). Pesticide-exposed ndividuals exhibited a significant reduction in mtDNAcn (1.11 ± 0.37mtDNAcn/genome) compared to non-exposed individuals (1.30 ± 0.33mtDNAcn/genome; p = 0.001). The multivariate analysis indicated that individuals who reported using haloxyfop and copper sulfate demonstrated an increase (β = 0.200, p = 0.053) and a decrease (β=-0.2, p = 0.021), respectively, in mtDNAcn. In conclusion, our findings suggest that chronic exposure to pesticides results in changes in mtDNAcn.

KEYWORDS:

• Genome mitochondrial
• pesticides exposure
• rural workers

Acknowledgements

We express our gratitude to the staff at the Barretos Cancer Hospital, Brazil, including the library and statisticians. Furthermore, Henrique C.S. Silveira is a recipient of the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) productivity fellowships. Paula Rohr has received a fellowship from the Ministry of Health (grant number 881187/2018). Additionally, we extend our gratitude to the São Paulo Science Foundation (FAPESP grant number 2018/23105-6, ReSEARCH-Recognizing Signatures of the Exposome to Anticipate the Risks for a Continuous Health) and the Ministry of Health from Brazil, for grants numbers 881187/2018, 879335/2018, 894586/2019, 894588/2019.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/09603123.2023.2280147

Additional information

Funding

Henrique C.S. Silveira is the recipient of productivity fellowships from the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq). Paula Rohr has a fellowship from the Ministry of Health grant number 881187/2018. Additionally, we would like to acknowledge the support of the São Paulo Science Foundation (FAPESP grant number 2018/23105-6, ReSEARCH-Recognizing Signatures of the Exposome to Anticipate the Risks for a Continuous Health), and the Ministry of Health from Brazil for grants numbers 881187/2018, 879335/2018, 894586/2019, 894588/2019.