Biopesticide spinosad induces transcriptional alterations in genes associated with energy production in honey bees (Apis mellifera) at sublethal concentrations

Metabolism gene expression in worker honey bees after exposure to 50Hz electric field - semi-field analysis

The investigation of the effects of artificial 50 Hz electric field (E-field) frequency on Apis mellifera is a relatively new field of research. Since the current literature focuses mainly on short-term effects, it is unknown whether E-fields have permanent effects on bees or whether their effects can be neutralized. In this study we assessed gene expression immediately after exposure to the E-field, as well as 7 days after exposure. The aim of this work was to identify potentially dysregulated gene transcripts in honey bees that correlate with exposure time and duration to E-fields.Newly emerged bees were marked daily with a permanent marker (one color for each group). Then bees were exposed to the 50 Hz E-field with an intensity of 5.0 kV/m or 10.0 kV/m for 1-3 h. After exposure, half of the bees were analyzed for gene expression changes. The other half were transferred to a colony kept in a mini-hive. After 7 days, marked bees were collected from the mini-hive for further analysis. Six regulated transcripts were selected of transcripts involved in oxidative phosphorylation (COX5a) and transcripts involved in endocrine functions (HBG-3, ILP-1), mitochondrial inner membrane transport (TIM10), and aging (mRPL18, mRPS30).Our study showed that in Apis mellifera the expression of selected genes is altered in different ways after exposure to 50 Hz electric fields -. Most of those expression changes in Cox5a, mRPL18, mRPS30, and HGB3, were measurable 7 days after a 1-3 h exposure. These results indicate that some E-field effects may be long-term effects on honey bees due to E-field exposure, and they can be observed 7 days after exposure.

Glyphosate exposure affected longevity-related pathways and reduced survival in asian honey bees (Apis cerana)

Glyphosate (N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine, GLY) ranks among the most extensively used and effective herbicides globally. However, excessive GLY utilization poses a substantial threat to the survival of honey bees (Apis cerana). Here we monitored the survival status of A. cerana treated with GLY, and conducted transcriptome sequencing of the bee gut and head to further explore potential GLY influences at the molecular level. We observed that the mortality rate of bees increased as GLY concentration escalated. Pivotal pathways emerged in response to the GLY treatment, with a substantial number of differentially expressed genes enriched in the longevity regulating pathway - multiple species. This strongly suggested that GLY may influence the physiological behavior of bees by impacting this particular pathway. Moreover, our analysis revealed a notable reduction in the enzymatic activities of CYP450 and AChE in both the bee head and intestines of when exposed to GLY. Conversely, the enzymatic activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the head remained unaffected, whereas in the intestines, it exhibited a significant increase. Additionally, prophenol oxidase (PPO) and glutathione-S-transferases (GSTs) displayed contrasting trends in enzymatic activity in both organs. This study offers valuable insights into how GLY impacted the survival of A. cerana.

Quantitation of pesticides in bee bread collected from honey bee colonies in an agricultural environment in Switzerland

Pesticide contamination of bee products is a widespread phenomenon. Due to its composition, bee bread is affected by both lipophilic and hydrophilic substances. As proof of concept of a monitoring campaign and to better understand the extent of contamination, we developed an analytical method based on a modified QuEChERS extraction, with subsequent separation by liquid chromatography and detection by mass spectrometry. This allowed for the quantitation of 51 agricultural- or beekeeping-associated pesticides in bee bread. The workflow was applied to 60 samples taken biweekly throughout spring to autumn 2022 from five colonies at a Swiss apiary in an agricultural area. In total, 30 pesticides were identified (> LOD), among which 26 pesticides were quantitated. The total number of pesticides detected per colony ranged from 11 to 19. The most prevalent substances (> LOQ) were two neonicotinoid insecticides, acetamiprid and thiacloprid (max. 16 μg/kg and 37 μg/kg, respectively); seven fungicides, azoxystrobin (max. 72 μg/kg), boscalid (max. 50 μg/kg), cyprodinil (max. 1965 μg/kg), difenoconazole (max. 73 μg/kg), mandipropamid (max. 33 μg/kg), pyraclostrobin (max. 8 μg/kg) and trifloxystrobin (max. 38 μg/kg); and two herbicides, prosulfocarb (max. 38 μg/kg) and terbuthylazine (max. 26 μg/kg). The study revealed strong variability in pesticide occurrence and concentrations among colonies sampled at the same site and date. The applied biweekly sampling of bee bread from March to August was shown to be reliable in capturing peak contaminations and revealing the onset of certain pesticides in bee bread. The study provides an adequate practical approach for pesticide monitoring campaigns.

Different effects of pesticides on transcripts of the endocrine regulation and energy metabolism in honeybee foragers from different colonies

Honeybees are important pollinators of many crops and contribute to biological biodiversity. For years, a decline in bee populations has been observed in certain areas. This decline in honeybees is accompanied by a decrease in pollinator services. One factor contributing to the decline of bee colonies is the exposure to pesticides. Pesticide exposure of bees, among other effects, can negatively affect orientation, memory, immune system function and gene expression. Among the altered expressed genes are transcripts of endocrine regulation and oxidative phosphorylation. Endocrine regulation plays an important role in the development of nurse bees into foragers and oxidative phosphorylation is involved in energy metabolism. Most of these transcriptional changes were investigated using mixed aged honeybees derived from the same colony. Experiments using nurse bees or foragers of the same age but from different colonies are rare. In the present study, effects of the two pesticides chlorpyrifos and pyraclostrobin on the expression of transcripts linked to endocrine regulation and oxidative phosphorylation in foragers of the same age from three different colonies are investigated to fill this gap. These two pesticides were selected because negative effects at sublethal concentrations on bees are known and because they are found in pollen and nectar of crops and wild plants. For this purpose, 20-22 days old foragers of three different colonies were exposed to different sublethal concentrations of the selected fungicides for 24 h, followed by analysis of the expression of buffy, vitellogenin, hbg-3, ilp-1, mrjp1, 2 and 3, cox5a, cox5b and cox17. Some significant changes in gene expression of both endocrine regulation transcripts and oxidative phosphorylation were shown. Furthermore, it became clear that forager bees from different colonies react differently. This is especially important in relation to the risk analysis of pesticides. In addition, it could be shown that the expression of hbg-3 in the brain of bees is a robust marker to distinguish nurse bees from foragers at the molecular biological level. In summary, this study clearly shows that pesticides, which are often detected in pollen and nectar, display negative effects at sublethal concentrations on bees and that it is important to use bees from different colonies for risk assessment of pesticides.

The sulfoximine insecticide sulfoxaflor exposure reduces the survival status and disrupts the intestinal metabolism of the honeybee Apis mellifera

Honeybees (Apis mellifera) are indispensable pollinators in agricultural production, biodiversity conservation, and nutrients provision. The abundance and diversity of honeybees have been rapidly diminishing, possibly related to the extensive use of insecticides in ecosystems. Sulfoxaflor is a novel sulfoximine insecticide that, like neonicotinoids, acts as a competitive modulator of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR) in insects. However, few studies have addressed the negative effects of sulfoxaflor on honeybees at environmentally relevant concentrations. In the present study, adult workers were fed a 50% (w/v) of sugar solution containing different concentrations (0, 0.05, 0.5 and 2.0 mg/L) of sulfoxaflor for two weeks consecutively. The survival rates, food intake, and body weight of the honeybees significantly decreased after continuous exposure at higher doses (0.5 and 2.0 mg/L) of sulfoxaflor when compared with the control. The change in the metabolites in the honeybee gut was determined using high-throughput non-targeted metabolomics on day 14 after sulfoxaflor treatment. The results revealed that 24 and 105 metabolites changed after exposure to 0.5 and 2.0 mg/L sulfoxaflor, respectively, compared with that of the control groups. A total of 12 changed compounds including pregenolone and glutathione were detected as potential biomarkers, which were eventually found to be enriched in pathways of the steroid hormone biosynthesis (p = 0.0001) and glutathione metabolism (p = 0.021). These findings provide a new perspective on the physiological influence of sulfoxaflor stress in honeybees.

Transcriptome analysis of emamectin benzoate caused midgut damage by inducing oxidative stress, energy metabolism disorder and apoptosis in gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar)

BACKGROUND

Emamectin benzoate (EMB) is a semisynthetic bioinsecticide, which has been widely used in the control of forestry and agricultural pests. However, the mechanism of its toxic effects on the non-neural tissues has been rarely reported. Here, we explored the mechanism of the midgut damage induced by EMB in gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) in order to better understand the toxicological mechanism of EMB.

RESULTS

Our results confirmed that EMB caused damage to the midgut of gypsy moth by inducing apoptosis. Transcriptome showed that 1469, 650 and 950 genes were significantly differentially expressed in the midgut of gypsy moth after 24, 48 and 72 h of EMB exposure, and oxidative stress, energy metabolism disorder and apoptosis may be related to the toxic effects of EMB. The indicators related to oxidative stress, energy metabolism and apoptosis were further examined. The results showed that EMB could cause oxidative stress by increasing ROS level and inhibiting antioxidant enzymes (P < 0.05), such as catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx), which in turn causes mitochondria injury. Subsequently, energy metabolism was inhibited by downregulating the activities and mRNA level of energy metabolism enzymes. Furthermore, the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway was activated, triggering apoptosis, and eventually causing midgut injury in gypsy moth.

CONCLUSION

Our results indicated that EMB caused damage to midgut by inducing oxidative stress, energy metabolism disorder and apoptosis in gypsy moth. Our findings shed new light on the toxicological mechanism of EMB on non-neural tissues from oxidative stress, energy metabolism and apoptosis perspectives. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Review on effects of some insecticides on honey bee health

Insecticides, one of the main agrochemicals, are useful for controlling pests; however, the indiscriminate use of insecticides has led to negative effects on nontarget insects, especially honey bees, which are essential for pollination services. Different classes of insecticides, such as neonicotinoids, pyrethroids, chlorantraniliprole, spinosad, flupyradifurone and sulfoxaflor, not only negatively affect honey bee growth and development but also decrease their foraging activity and pollination services by influencing their olfactory sensation, memory, navigation back to the nest, flight ability, and dance circuits. Honey bees resist the harmful effects of insecticides by coordinating the expression of genes related to immunity, metabolism, and detoxification pathways. To our knowledge, more research has been conducted on the effects of neonicotinoids on honey bee health than those of other insecticides. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge regarding the effects of some insecticides, especially neonicotinoids, on honey bee health. Possible strategies to increase the positive impacts of insecticides on agriculture and reduce their negative effects on honey bees are also discussed.

The Insecticide Imidacloprid Decreases Nannotrigona Stingless Bee Survival and Food Consumption and Modulates the Expression of Detoxification and Immune-Related Genes

Stingless bees are ecologically and economically important species in the tropics and subtropics, but there has been little research on the characterization of detoxification systems and immune responses within them. This is critical for understanding their responses to, and defenses against, a variety of environmental stresses, including agrochemicals. Therefore, we studied the detoxification and immune responses of a stingless bee, Nanotrigona perilampoides, which is an important stingless bee that is widely distributed throughout Mexico, including urban areas, and has the potential to be used in commercial pollination. We first determined the LC50 of the neonicotinoid insecticide imidacloprid for foragers of N. perilampoides, then chronically exposed bees for 10 days to imidacloprid at two field-realistic concentrations, LC10 (0.45 ng/µL) or LC20 (0.74 ng/µL), which are respectively 2.7 and 1.3-fold lower than the residues of imidacloprid that have been found in honey (6 ng/g) in central Mexico. We found that exposing N. perilampoides stingless bees to imidacloprid at these concentrations markedly reduced bee survival and food consumption, revealing the great sensitivity of this stingless bee to the insecticide in comparison to honey bees. The expression of detoxification (GSTD1) and immune-related genes (abaecin, defensin1, and hymenopteacin) in N. perilampoides also changed over time in response to imidacloprid. Gene expression was always lower in bees after 8 days of exposure to imidacloprid (LC10 or LC20) than it was after 4 days. Our results demonstrate that N. perilampoides stingless bees are extremely sensitive to imidacloprid, even at low concentrations, and provide greater insight into how stingless bees respond to pesticide toxicity. This is the first study of its kind to look at detoxification systems and immune responses in Mexican stingless bees, an ecologically and economically important taxon.

Biopesticides and insect pollinators: Detrimental effects, outdated guidelines, and future directions

As synthetic pesticides play a major role in pollinator decline worldwide, biopesticides have been gaining increased attention to develop more sustainable methods for pest management in agriculture. These biocontrol agents are usually considered as safe for non-target species, such as pollinators. Unfortunately, when it comes to non-target insects, only the acute or chronic effects on survival following exposure to biopesticides are tested. Although international boards have highlighted the need to include also behavioral and morphophysiological traits when assessing risks of plant protection products on pollinators, no substantial concerns have been raised about the risks associated with sublethal exposure to these substances. Here, we provide a comprehensive review of the studies investigating the potential adverse effects of biopesticides on different taxa of pollinators (bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, flies, and wasps). We highlight the fragmentary knowledge on this topic and the lack of a systematic investigation of these negative effects of biopesticides on insect pollinators. We show that all the major classes of biopesticides, besides their direct toxicity, can also cause a plethora of more subtle detrimental effects in both solitary and social species of pollinators. Although research in this field is growing, the current risk assesment approach does not suffice to properly assess all the potential side-effects that these agents of control may have on pollinating insects. Given the urgent need for a sustainable agriculture and wildlife protection, it appears compelling that these so far neglected detrimental effects should be thoroughly assessed before allegedly safe biopesticides can be used in the field and, in this view, we provide a perspective for future directions.

Impact of Chronic Exposure to Two Neonicotinoids on Honey Bee Antennal Responses to Flower Volatiles and Pheromonal Compounds

Volatile compounds provide important olfactory cues for honey bees (Apis mellifera L.), which are essential for their ecology, behavior, and social communication. In the external environment bees locate food sources by the use of floral scents, while inside the hive, pheromones such as the queen mandibular pheromone (QMP) and alarm pheromones serve important functions in regulating colony life and inducing aggressive responses against intruders and parasites. Widely reported alterations of various behaviors in- and outside the hive following exposure to pesticides could therefore be associated with a disturbance of odor sensitivity. In the present study, we tested the effects of neonicotinoid pesticides at field concentrations on the ability of honey bees to perceive volatiles at the very periphery of the olfactory system. Bee colonies were subjected to treatments during the summer with either Imidacloprid or Thiacloprid at sublethal concentrations. Antennal responses to apple (Malus domestica L.) flower volatiles were studied by GC-coupled electro-antennographic detection (GC-EAD), and a range of volatiles, a substitute of the QMP, and the alarm pheromone 2-heptanone were tested by electroantennography (EAG). Short-term and long-term effects of the neonicotinoid treatments were investigated on bees collected in the autumn and again in the following spring. Treatment with Thiacloprid induced changes in antennal responses to specific flower VOCs, with differing short- and long-term effects. In the short term, increased antennal responses were observed for benzyl-alcohol and 1-hexanol, which are common flower volatiles but also constituents of the honey bee sting gland secretions. The treatment with Thiacloprid also affected antennal responses to the QMP and the mandibular alarm pheromone 2-heptanone. In the short term, a faster signal degeneration of the response signal to the positive control citral was recorded in the antennae of bees exposed to Thiacloprid or Imidacloprid. Finally, we observed season-related differences in the antennal responses to multiple VOCs. Altogether, our results suggest that volatile-specific alterations of antennal responses may contribute to explaining several behavioral changes previously observed in neonicotinoid-exposed bees. Treatment effects were generally more prominent in the short term, suggesting that adverse effects of neonicotinoid exposure may not persist across generations.

Correlation Between Increased Homing Flight Duration and Altered Gene Expression in the Brain of Honey Bee Foragers After Acute Oral Exposure to Thiacloprid and Thiamethoxam

Neonicotinoids as thiamethoxam and thiacloprid are suspected to be implicated in the decline of honey bee populations. As nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonists, they disturb acetylcholine receptor signaling in insects, leading to neurotoxicity and are therefore globally used as insecticides. Several behavioral studies have shown links between neonicotinoid exposure of bees and adverse effects on foraging activity, homing flight performance and reproduction, but the molecular aspects underlying these effects are not well-understood. In the last years, several studies through us and others showed the effects of exposure to neonicotinoids on gene expression in the brain of honey bees. Transcripts of acetylcholine receptors, hormonal regulation, stress markers, detoxification enzymes, immune system related genes and transcripts of the energy metabolism were altered after neonicotinoid exposure. To elucidate the link between homing flight performance and shifts in gene expression in the brain of honey bees after neonicotinoid exposure, we combined homing flight activity experiments applying RFID technology and gene expression analysis. We analyzed the expression of endocrine factors, stress genes, detoxification enzymes and genes linked to energy metabolism in forager bees after homing flight experiments. Three different experiments (experiment I: pilot study; experiment II: "worst-case" study and experiment III: laboratory study) were performed. In a pilot study, we wanted to investigate if we could see differences in gene expression between controls and exposed bees (experiment I). This first study was followed by a so-called "worst-case" study (experiment II), where we investigated mainly differences in the expression of transcripts linked to energy metabolism between fast and slow returning foragers. We found a correlation between homing flight duration and the expression of cytochrome c oxidase subunit 5A, one transcript linked to oxidative phosphorylation. In the third experiment (experiment III), foragers were exposed in the laboratory to 1 ng/bee thiamethoxam and 8 ng/bee thiacloprid followed by gene expression analysis without a subsequent flight experiment. We could partially confirm the induction of cytochrome c oxidase subunit 5A, which we detected in experiment II. In addition, we analyzed the effect of the feeding mode (group feeding vs. single bee feeding) on data scattering and demonstrated that single bee feeding is superior to group feeding as it significantly reduces variability in gene expression. Based on the data, we thus hypothesize that the disruption of energy metabolism may be one reason for a prolongation of homing flight duration in neonicotinoid treated bees.

Inhibiting the proteasome reduces molecular and biological impacts of the natural product insecticide, spinosad

BACKGROUND

Insecticide targets are often identified by mutations that confer resistance, but the intricacies of insecticide binding and downstream processes leading to insect death often remain obscure. Mutations in α6-like nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunit genes have been associated with high levels of resistance to spinosad in many insect species, including Drosophila melanogaster. Here, we aimed to expand our understanding of the effects of the natural product insecticide spinosad on its protein target, the α6 subunit, using genetic tools available in D. melanogaster.

RESULTS

Functional, fluorescently tagged Dα6 subunits (Dα6^YFP ) were developed to allow observation of the protein in vivo. Larvae expressing Dα6^YFP were exposed to a sub-lethal concentration of spinosyn A (0.025 ppm) for 6 days, leading to a 64% reduction in fluorescence relative to unexposed larvae. Direct application of high doses of spinosyn A to dissected larval brains resulted in a visible 38.25% decrease in Dα6^YFP within 20 min, indicating that degradation of the Dα6 protein occurred in response to spinosyn A exposure. Chemical inhibition of the proteasome system using the multiple myeloma treatment drug, PS-341 reduced loss of Dα6^YFP in response to spinosyn A at the 20-min time point to 6.35%. In addition, in vivo administration of PS-341 prior to spinosad exposure reduced the effect of spinosad on larval activity.

CONCLUSION

Based on these data, we propose that exposure to spinosad leads to degradation of the α6-like target protein, a potentially novel element in the mode of action of spinosyns that may contribute to their toxicity towards insects. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

The Power of Drosophila melanogaster for Modeling Neonicotinoid Effects on Pollinators and Identifying Novel Mechanisms

Neonicotinoids are the most widely used insecticides in the world and are implicated in the widespread population declines of insects including pollinators. Neonicotinoids target nicotinic acetylcholine receptors which are expressed throughout the insect central nervous system, causing a wide range of sub-lethal effects on non-target insects. Here, we review the potential of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster to model the sub-lethal effects of neonicotinoids on pollinators, by utilizing its well-established assays that allow rapid identification and mechanistic characterization of these effects. We compare studies on the effects of neonicotinoids on lethality, reproduction, locomotion, immunity, learning, circadian rhythms and sleep in D. melanogaster and a range of pollinators. We also highlight how the genetic tools available in D. melanogaster, such as GAL4/UAS targeted transgene expression system combined with RNAi lines to any gene in the genome including the different nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunit genes, are set to elucidate the mechanisms that underlie the sub-lethal effects of these common pesticides. We argue that studying pollinators and D. melanogaster in tandem allows rapid elucidation of mechanisms of action, which translate well from D. melanogaster to pollinators. We focus on the recent identification of novel and important sublethal effects of neonicotinoids on circadian rhythms and sleep. The comparison of effects between D. melanogaster and pollinators and the use of genetic tools to identify mechanisms make a powerful partnership for the future discovery and testing of more specific insecticides.

Review on Sublethal Effects of Environmental Contaminants in Honey Bees (Apis mellifera), Knowledge Gaps and Future Perspectives

Honey bees and the pollination services they provide are fundamental for agriculture and biodiversity. Agrochemical products and other classes of contaminants, such as trace elements and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, contribute to the general decline of bees' populations. For this reason, effects, and particularly sublethal effects of contaminants need to be investigated. We conducted a review of the existing literature regarding the type of effects evaluated in Apis mellifera, collecting information about regions, methodological approaches, the type of contaminants, and honey bees' life stages. Europe and North America are the regions in which A. mellifera biological responses were mostly studied and the most investigated compounds are insecticides. A. mellifera was studied more in the laboratory than in field conditions. Through the observation of the different responses examined, we found that there were several knowledge gaps that should be addressed, particularly within enzymatic and molecular responses, such as those regarding the immune system and genotoxicity. The importance of developing an integrated approach that combines responses at different levels, from molecular to organism and population, needs to be highlighted in order to evaluate the impact of anthropogenic contamination on this pollinator species.

Insecticides cause transcriptional alterations of endocrine related genes in the brain of honey bee foragers

Bees are exposed to endocrine active insecticides. Here we assessed expressional alteration of marker genes indicative of endocrine effects in the brain of honey bees. We exposed foragers to chlorpyrifos, cypermethrin and thiacloprid and assessed the expression of genes after exposure for 24 h, 48 h and 72 h. Chlorpyrifos caused the strongest expressional changes at 24 h characterized by induction of vitellogenin, major royal jelly protein (mrjp) 2 and 3, insulin-like peptide (ilp1), alpha-glucosidase (hbg3) and sima, and down-regulation of buffy. Cypermethrin caused minor induction of mrjp1, mrjp2, mmp1 and ilp1. The sima transcript showed down-regulation at 48 h and up-regulation at 72 h. Exposure to thiacloprid caused down-regulation of vitellogenin, mrjp1 and sima at 24 h, and hbg3 at 72 h, as well as induction of ilp1 at 48 h. The buffy transcript was down-regulated at 24 h and up-regulated at 48 h. Despite compound-specific expression patterns, each insecticide altered the expression of some of the suggested endocrine system related genes. Our study suggests that expressional changes of genes prominently expressed in nurse or forager bees, including down-regulation of buffy and mrjps and up-regulation of hbg3 and ilp1 may serve as indicators for endocrine activity of insecticides in foragers.

Transcriptomic and metabolomic landscape of the molecular effects of glyphosate commercial formulation on Apis mellifera ligustica and Apis cerana cerana

Understanding the causes of the decline in bee population has attracted intensive attention worldwide. The indiscriminate use of agrochemicals is a persistent problem due to their physiological and behavioural damage to bees. Glyphosate and its commercial formulation stand out due to their wide use in agricultural areas and non-crop areas, such as parks, railroads, roadsides, industrial sites, and recreational and residential areas, but the mode of action of glyphosate on bees at the molecular level remains largely unelucidated. Here, we found that the numbers of differentially expressed genes and metabolites under glyphosate commercial formulation (GCF) stress were significantly higher in Apis cerana cerana than in Apis mellifera ligustica. Despite these differences, the number of differentially expressed transcripts increased following an increase in the GCF treatment time in both A. cerana cerana and A. mellifera ligustica. GCF exerted adverse impacts on the immune system, digestive system, nervous system, amino acid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, growth and development of both bee species by influencing their key genes and metabolites to some extent. The expression of many genes involved in immunity, agrochemical detoxification and resistance, such as antimicrobial peptides, cuticle proteins and cytochrome P450 families, was upregulated by GCF in both bee species. Collectively, our results indicate that both A. cerana cerana and A. mellifera ligustica strive to mitigate the pernicious effects caused by GCF by regulating detoxification and immune systems. Moreover, A. cerana cerana might be better able to withstand the toxic effects of GCF with lower fitness costs than A. mellifera ligustica. Our work will contribute to elucidating the deleterious physiological and behavioural impacts of GCF on bees.

The neonicotinoid thiacloprid causes transcriptional alteration of genes associated with mitochondria at environmental concentrations in honey bees

Thiacloprid is widely used in agriculture and may affect pollinators. However, its molecular effects are poorly known. Here, we report the global gene expression profile in the brain of honey bee foragers assessed by RNA-sequencing. Bees were exposed for 72 h to nominal concentrations of 25 and 250 ng/bee via sucrose solution. Determined residue concentrations by LC-MS/MS were 0.59 and 5.49 ng/bee, respectively. Thiacloprid exposure led to 5 and 71 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), respectively. Nuclear genes encoding mitochondrial ribosomal proteins and enzymes involved in oxidative phosphorylation, as well as metabolism enzymes and transporters were altered at 5.49 ng/bee. Kyoto Encylopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis revealed that mitochondrial ribosome proteins, mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, pyrimidine, nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism and additional metabolic pathways were altered. Among 21 genes assessed by RT-qPCR, the transcript of farnesol dehydrogenase involved in juvenile hormone III synthesis was significantly down-regulated. Transcripts of cyp6a14-like and apolipophorin-II like protein, cytochrome oxidase (cox17) and the non-coding RNA (LOC102654625) were significantly up-regulated at 5.49 ng/bee. Our findings indicate that thiacloprid causes transcriptional changes of genes prominently associated with mitochondria, particularly oxidative phosphorylation. This highlight potential effects of this neonicotinoid on energy metabolism, which may compromise bee foraging and thriving populations at environmentally relevant concentrations.

Thiacloprid exposure perturbs the gut microbiota and reduces the survival status in honeybees

Honeybees (Apis mellifera) offer ecosystem services such as pollination, conservation of biodiversity, and provision of food. However, in recent years, the number of honeybee colonies is diminishing rapidly, which is probably linked to the wide use of neonicotinoid insecticides. Middle-aged honeybees were fed with 50% (w/v) sucrose solution containing 0, 0.2, 0.6, and 2.0 mg/L thiacloprid (a neonicotinoid insecticide) for up to 13 days, and on each day of exposure experiment, percentage survival, sucrose consumption, and bodyweight of honeybees were measured. Further, changes in honeybee gut microbial community were examined using next-generation 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing on day 1, 7, and 13 of the exposure. When compared to control-treatment, continuous exposure to high (0.6 mg/L) and very high (2.0 mg/L) concentrations of thiacloprid significantly reduced percentage survival of honeybees (p <  0.001) and led to dysbiosis of their gut microbial community on day 7 of the exposure. However, during subsequent developmental stages of middle-aged honeybees (i.e. on day 13), their gut microbiome recovered from dysbiosis that occurred previously due to thiacloprid exposure. Taken together, improper application of thiacloprid can cause loss of honeybee colonies, while the microbial gut community of honeybee is an independent variable in this process.