Farm Workers’ DNA the Focus of Pesticide Study

Researchers will study the DNA of U.S. farm workers, most of them Hispanic immigrants, to determine the impact of pesticide use on their health.

"There are families living in the vicinity of farms who are exposed to large quantities of pesticides and a link (has been noticed) between (pesticide exposure) and certain types of cancer such as leukemia,” Veronica Gonzalez, who recently earned a doctorate in pharmacology and toxicology from the University of Arizona, told Efe.

Gonzalez said that scientists have not yet conclusively determined the cause of leukemia among this population, but one of the hypotheses is that pesticide use affects cells and causes them to become cancerous.

"My work will look at the molecular level, specifically in the DNA, (to see) if there are modifications that (occur) when people are exposed to pesticides,” said Gonzalez, who will conduct a significant portion of her research in Salinas, California, in conjunction with the University of California at Berkeley.

The so-called CHAMACOS project will involve taking genetic samples of female farm workers and later comparing them with Hispanic immigrant women who have not been exposed to pesticides. The goal will be to study the differences in the DNA modifications and detect the specific genes that may be affected.

"We’re not talking about a mutation, but a simple DNA modification that perhaps couldn’t be detected before, but now with the new technology we’re able to identity it,” Gonzalez said.

She said there is a chance this genetic modification could be passed on to offspring.

A person’s DNA can be modified as a result of the life he or she has lived, for example if the individual has suffered hunger, the expert said, adding that “in one way or another your DNA is marked.”

"This is something we in the scientific community have learned only very recently,” said the 33-year-old Mexican immigrant, who cleaned guestrooms at a hotel in Nevada before learning English and later going on to the finish her university studies.

Gonzalez said the issue of farm workers’ health is something that hits close to home because her own parents worked in the fields, first in Mexico and later in the United States, to support her family.