Mechanisms of larval midgut damage following exposure to phoxim and repair of phoxim-induced damage by cerium in Bombyx mori

Sublethal concentration of emamectin benzoate inhibits the growth of gypsy moth by inducing digestive dysfunction and nutrient metabolism disorder

BACKGROUND

Gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) is one of the most important pests in the world. Emamectin benzoate (EMB) is widely used in the control of agricultural and forestry pests. Here, we explored the sublethal effects of EMB on gypsy moths in order to better understand the toxicological mechanism of EMB.

RESULTS

The sublethal concentration of EMB exposure significantly decreased the larvae body weight. To further explore the mechanism, indicators related to digestion and nutrient metabolism were detected. The results showed that EMB exposure caused midgut damage, reduced the activities of digestive enzymes and changed the content of sugar and amino acids. Moreover, the expression of insulin/phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI3K)/forkhead box protein O (FoxO) pathway and sugar metabolism-related genes was abnormal. The expression of insulin receptor (InR), chico, PI3K, and protein kinase B (Akt) significantly reduced, and that of phosphatase and tensin homologue (PTEN) and FoxO increased. The expression of glycogen phosphorylase (GP) was upregulation and that of glycogen synthase (GS), trehalase (TRE) and trehalose-phosphate synthase (TPS) were downregulation. All results indicated that EMB inhibits the growth of gypsy moth by inducing midgut injury, digestive dysfunction and nutrient metabolism disorder. In addition, EMB caused midgut injury may be related to apoptosis or a collateral effect of the damage in other tissues, and more extensive and deeper research is still needed to investigate the detailed mechanism.

CONCLUSION

Our finding strengthens the understanding of the sublethal effect of EMB, and provides a theoretical basis for the application of EMB in the prevention and control of gypsy moth.

Novaluron impairs the silk gland and productive performance of silkworm Bombyx mori (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) larvae

This study investigates the effects of the insect growth regulator Novaluron on the silk gland (SG) and silk cocoon production in a nontarget insect, the silkworm Bombyx mori, which is a model research insect among Lepidoptera and of great economic importance for the commercial production of silk threads. Larvae were segregated into experimental groups: the control group (CG) and the treatment group (TG), which was exposed to a Novaluron concentration of 0.15 mL/L. Following exposure, we analyzed the cytotoxic effects on the epithelial cells of the anterior, middle and posterior regions of the SG of B. mori larvae in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th instars, as well as the quality of the cocoons from larvae in the 5th instar. Cytotoxic effects were observed in the TG, such as the dilation of cells, emission of cytoplasmic protrusions, extreme rarefaction of the cytoplasm and nuclei, dilation of the endoplasmic reticulum, intracellular and intercellular spaces, spacing between the epithelial cells and the basal lamina and detachment of some cells towards the lumen of the SG, and decreased protein in the lumen, with faults in its composition. In addition, we verified ultrastructural changes in the production of fibers and silk cocoons, including a reduction in the weight of the cocoons constructed by both males and females in the TG and the construction of defective cocoons. Novaluron exposure impairs the SG and may affect the physiological functions of this organ; additionally, it compromises the quality of silk cocoons, potentially causing serious damage to sericulture.

Lipase is associated with deltamethrin resistance in Culex pipiens pallens

The wide application of pyrethroids has led to the rapid development of insecticide resistance in mosquitoes, leading to a rise in mosquito-borne diseases. We previously identified five differentially expressed lipase family genes upon evaluating the transcriptomes of deltamethrin-resistant and deltamethrin-susceptible strains of Culex pipiens pallens. Herein, the gene expression levels were verified by quantitative real-time PCR, and two lipase family genes, lipase A and pancreatic triacylglycerol lipase A, were chosen for further investigations. Using cell viability assays and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention bottle bioassays, lipase A was found to increase the resistance of mosquitoes against deltamethrin both in vitro and in vivo. Our findings indicate that lipase A is involved in conferring deltamethrin resistance in Cx. pipiens pallens.

The mechanism of damage by trace amounts of acetamiprid to the midgut of the silkworm, Bombyx mori

Acetamiprid is widely used for agricultural pest control. However, it remains poorly understood whether the environmental residues of acetamiprid have the potential effects on economic insect. In this study, we evaluated the effects of acetamiprid on silkworm growth and development. The exposure to trace amounts of acetamiprid significantly decreased body weight, viability, and spinning ability. In addition, the activity of trypsin in the midgut was decreased after exposure. DGE and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis revealed that the significantly differentially expressed genes were mainly involved in nutrient metabolism, stress responses, and inflammation pathways. These results, in combination with hematoxylin-eosin staining and transmission electron microscopy, indicated that acetamiprid could cause oxidative damage to midgut, lead to inflammatory responses, and affect the activities of midgut digestive enzymes, thus resulting in abnormal growth and development. Our findings greatly contributed to the evaluation of the effects of acetamiprid residues on other nontarget beneficial insect.

Negative impact of Novaluron on the nontarget insect Bombyx mori (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae)

Due to increased use of agrochemicals and growing concerns about ecotoxicology, the development of new insecticides, moving away from those with neurotoxic and broad spectrum effects towards insecticides that are safer for the environment and nontarget beneficial species, has been a research priority. Novaluron stands out among these newer insecticides, is an insect growth regulator that is used for the control of insect pests in crops grown close to mulberry plantations. Mulberry serves as food for the silkworm Bombyx mori, which is a nontarget insect of great economic importance to silk production. We investigated the lethal and sublethal effects of Novaluron on the development of B. mori. Larvae were segregated into experimental groups: the control groups (CGs) and the treatment groups (TGs), which were treated with the Novaluron concentration of 0.15 mL/L. Following exposure, we analyzed: larval mortality, changes in the insect life cicle and cytotoxic effects on the midgut cells. This is the first report about the Novaluron's effects on B.mori. We detected rupture in the integument, complete cessation of feeding, late development, incomplete ecdysis and production of defective cocoons. After 240 h of exposure, there was 100% mortality in TG larvae exposed in the 3rd instar and 20% mortality from larvae exposed in the 5th instar. Cytotoxic effects was observed, such as dilation of cells, emission of cytoplasmic protrusions, extreme rarefaction of the cytoplasm and nuclei, dilation of the endoplasmic reticulum in addition to changes in mitochondria, the presence of large digestive vacuoles and intercellular spaces and the presence of active caspase. Novaluron exposure impairs the midgut and may affect the physiological functions of this organ. Novaluron additionally compromises several phases of insect development, indicating the importance of toxicology studies that utilize different life stages of nontarget species to evaluate the safe use of insecticides.

Silkworm, Bombyx mori, as an alternative model organism in toxicological research

Silkworms, Bombyx mori, are a promising model animal in health safety and environmental pollution assessment due to their sensitivity to chemical compounds like pesticides, drugs, and heavy metals, in addition to other features like their low cost and body characteristics and their full genome sequencing. In this review, we summarize the silkworm advantages as a model organism in toxicological research. Graphical abstract ᅟ.

The effects of insecticides on butterflies - A review

Pesticides, in particular insecticides, can be very beneficial but have also been found to have harmful side effects on non-target insects. Butterflies play an important role in ecosystems, are well monitored and are recognised as good indicators of environmental health. The amount of information already known about butterfly ecology and the increased availability of genomes make them a very valuable model for the study of non-target effects of pesticide usage. The effects of pesticides are not simply linear, but complex through their interactions with a large variety of biotic and abiotic factors. Furthermore, these effects manifest themselves at a variety of levels, from the molecular to metapopulation level. Research should therefore aim to dissect these complex effects at a number of levels, but as we discuss in this review, this is seldom if ever done in butterflies. We suggest that in order dissect the complex effects of pesticides on butterflies we need to integrate detailed molecular studies, including characterising sequence variability of relevant target genes, with more classical evolutionary ecology; from direct toxicity tests on individual larvae in the laboratory to field studies that consider the potentiation of pesticides by ecologically relevant environmental biotic and abiotic stressors. Such integration would better inform population-level responses across broad geographical scales and provide more in-depth information about the non-target impacts of pesticides.

Mechanisms of TiO2 NPs-induced phoxim metabolism in silkworm (Bombyx mori) fat body

Silkworm is an important economic insect. Abuse of organophosphorus pesticides in recent years often leads to poisoning of silkworms, which significantly affects sericulture development by reducing silk production. Previous studies have shown that TiO2 NPs can effectively mitigate the damages caused by organophosphorus pesticides in silk glands and nerve tissues. The fat body is an important metabolic detoxification organ of silkworms, but it is unknown whether TiO2 NPs affect pesticide metabolism in fat body. In this study, we characterized the transcription of antioxidant genes and enzyme activity in fat body after TiO2 NPs and phoxim treatments using transcriptome sequencing, real-time PCR, and enzyme activity assay. Transcriptome sequencing detected 10 720, 10 641, 10 403, and 10 489 genes for control group, TiO2 NPs group, phoxim group, and TiO2 NPs+phoxim group, respectively. The TiO2 NPs+phoxim group had 705 genes with significantly differential expression (FDR<0.001), among which the antioxidant genes thioredoxin reductase 1 and glutathione S-transferase omega 3 were significantly upregulated. In phoxim group, the expression levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione S-transferase delta (GSTd), and thioredoxin peroxidase (TPx) were increased by 1.365 -fold, 1.335 -fold, 1.642 -fold, and 1.765 -fold, respectively. The level changes of SOD, CAT, GSTd, and TPx were validated by real time PCR. The contents of reactive oxygen species (ROS), malondialdehyde (MDA), and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) were increased by 1.598 -fold, 1.946 -fold, and 1.506 -fold, respectively, indicating that TiO2 NPs treatment can relieve phoxim-induced oxidative stress. To clarify the mechanism of TiO2 NPs's effect, the transcription levels of P450 gene family were measured for the TiO2 NPs+phoxim group; the expression levels of CYP4M5, CYP6AB4, CYP6A8, and CYP9G3 were elevated by 2.784 -fold, 3.047 -fold, 2.254 -fold, and 4.253 -fold, respectively, suggesting that high expression of P450 family genes can enhance the metabolism of phoxim in the fat body. The results of this study indicated that TiO2 NPs treatment promoted the transcriptional expression of the P450 family genes to improve the fat body's ability to metabolize phoxim and reduce phoxim-induced oxidative stress. This may be the main mechanism of TiO2 NPs' mitigation of phoxim-induced damages in the fat body.

Molecular Signatures of Reduced Nerve Toxicity by CeCl3 in Phoxim-exposed Silkworm Brains

CeCl3 can reduce the damage caused by OP pesticides, in this study we used the brain of silkworms to investigate the mechanism of CeCl3 effects on pesticide resistance. The results showed that phoxim treatments led to brain damages, swelling and death of neurons, chromatin condensation, and mitochondrial damage. Normal nerve conduction was severely affected by phoxim treatments, as revealed by: increases in the contents of neurotransmitters Glu, NO, and ACh by 63.65%, 61.14%, and 98.54%, respectively; decreases in the contents of 5-HT and DA by 53.19% and 43.71%, respectively; reductions in the activities of Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase, Ca(2+)/Mg(2+)-ATPase, and AChE by 85.27%, 85.63%, and 85.63%, respectively; and increase in the activity of TNOS by 22.33%. CeCl3 pretreatment can significantly reduce such damages. Results of DGE and qRT-PCR indicated that CeCl3 treatments significantly upregulated the expression levels of CYP4G23, cyt-b5, GSTs-σ1, ace1, esterase-FE4, and β-esterase 2. Overall, phoxim treatments cause nerve tissue lesions, neuron death, and nerve conduction hindrance, but CeCl3 pretreatments can promote the expression of phoxim resistance-related genes in silkworm brains to reduce phoxim-induced damages. Our study provides a potential new method to improve the resistance of silkworms against OP pesticides.

Nanoparticulate TiO2 protection of midgut damage in the silkworm (Bombyx mori) following phoxim exposure

Bombyx mori (B. mori) is often subjected to phoxim poisoning in China due to phoxim exposure, which leads to a decrease in silk production. Nanoparticulate (NP) titanium dioxide (nano-TiO2) has been shown to attenuate damages in B. mori caused by phoxim exposure. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms of midgut injury due to organophosphorus insecticide exposure and its repair by nano-TiO2 pretreatment. In this study, phoxim exposure for 36 h led to significant decreases in body weight and survival and increased oxidative stress and midgut injury. Pretreatment with nano-TiO2 attenuated the phoxim-induced midgut injury, increased body weight and survival, and decreased oxidative stress in the midgut of B. mori. Digital gene-expression data showed that exposure to phoxim results in significant changes in the expression of 254 genes in the phoxim-exposed midgut and 303 genes in phoxim + nano-TiO2-exposed midgut. Specifically, phoxim exposure led to upregulation of Tpx, α-amylase, trypsin, and glycoside hydrolase genes involved in digestion and absorption. Phoxim exposure also led to the downregulation of Cyp450 and Cyp4C1 genes involved in an antioxidant capacity. In contrast, a combination of both phoxim and nano-TiO2 treatment significantly decreased the change in α-amylase, trypsin, and glycoside hydrolases (GHs), which are involved in digestion and absorption. These results indicated that Tpx, α-amylase, trypsin, GHs, Cyp450, and Cyp4C1 may be potential biomarkers of midgut toxicity caused by phoxim exposure and the attenuation of these toxic impacts by nano-TiO2.