1
|
Agathokleous E, Blande JD, Masui N, Calabrese EJ, Zhang J, Sicard P, Guedes RNC, Benelli G. Sublethal chemical stimulation of arthropod parasitoids and parasites of agricultural and environmental importance. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2023; 237:116876. [PMID: 37573021 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.116876] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2023] [Revised: 08/09/2023] [Accepted: 08/10/2023] [Indexed: 08/14/2023]
Abstract
An increasing number of studies have reported stimulation of various organisms in the presence of environmental contaminants. This has created a need to critically evaluate sublethal stimulation and hormetic responses of arthropod parasitoids and parasites following exposure to pesticides and other contaminants. Examining this phenomenon with a focus on arthropods of agricultural and environmental importance serves as the framework for this literature review. This review shows that several pesticides, with diverse chemical structures and different modes of action, applied individually or in combination at sublethal doses, commonly stimulate an array of arthropod parasitoids and parasites. Exposure at sublethal doses can enhance responses related to physiology (e.g., respiration, total lipid content, and total protein content), behavior (e.g., locomotor activity, antennal drumming frequency, host location, and parasitization), and fitness (longevity, growth, fecundity, population net and gross reproduction). Concordantly, the parasitic potential (e.g., infestation efficacy, parasitization rate, and parasitoid/parasite emergence) can be increased, and as a result host activities inhibited. There is some evidence illustrating hormetic dose-responses, but the relevant literature commonly included a limited number and range of doses, precluding a robust differentiation between sub- and superNOAEL (no-observed-adverse-effect level) stimulation. These results reveal a potentially significant threat to ecological health, through stimulation of harmful parasitic organisms by environmental contaminants, and highlight the need to include sublethal stimulation and hormetic responses in relevant ecological pesticide risk assessments. Curiously, considering a more utilitarian view, hormesis may also assist in optimizing mass rearing of biological control agents for field use, a possibility that also remains neglected.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Evgenios Agathokleous
- Collaborative Innovation Center on Forecast and Evaluation of Meteorological Disasters (CIC-FEMD), Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing, 210044, Jiangsu, China; Research Center for Global Changes and Ecosystem Carbon Sequestration & Mitigation, School of Applied Meteorology, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, 210044, Jiangsu, China.
| | - James D Blande
- Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, P. O. Box 1627, 70211, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Noboru Masui
- School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Shizuoka, Shizuoka, 4228526, Japan
| | - Edward J Calabrese
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Morrill I, N344, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA
| | - Jing Zhang
- College of Ecological Technology and Engineering, Shanghai Institute of Technology, Shanghai, 201418, PR China
| | | | - Raul Narciso C Guedes
- Departamento de Entomologia, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, MG, 36570-900, Brazil
| | - Giovanni Benelli
- Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Via Del Borghetto 80, 56124, Pisa, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Agathokleous E, Sonne C, Benelli G, Calabrese EJ, Guedes RNC. Low-dose chemical stimulation and pest resistance threaten global crop production. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 878:162989. [PMID: 36948307 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162989] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2023] [Revised: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 03/17/2023] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Pesticide resistance increases and threatens crop production sustainability. Chemical contamination contributes to the development of pest resistance to pesticides, in part by causing stimulatory effects on pests at low sub-toxic doses and facilitating the spread of resistance genes. This article discusses hormesis and low-dose biological stimulation and their relevance to crop pest resistance. It highlights that a holistic approach is needed to tackle pest resistance to pesticides and reduce imbalance in accessing food and improving food security in accordance with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. Among others, the effects of sub-toxic doses of pesticides should be considered when assessing the impact of synthetic and natural pesticides, while the promotion of alternative agronomical practices is needed to decrease the use of agrochemicals. Potential alternative solutions include camo-cropping, exogenous application of phytochemicals that are pest-suppressing or -repelling and/or attractive to carnivorous arthropods and other pest natural enemies, and nano-technological innovations. Moreover, to facilitate tackling of pesticide resistance in poorer countries, less technology-demanding and low-cost practices are needed. These include mixed cropping systems, diversification of cultures, use of 'push-pull cropping', incorporation of flower strips into cultivations, modification of microenvironment, and application of beneficial microorganisms and insects. However, there are still numerous open questions, and more research is needed to address the ecological and environmental effects of many of these potential solutions, with special reference to trophic webs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Evgenios Agathokleous
- Collaborative Innovation Center on Forecast and Evaluation of Meteorological Disasters (CIC-FEMD), Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, Jiangsu, China; Research Center for Global Changes and Ecosystem Carbon Sequestration & Mitigation, School of Applied Meteorology, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, Jiangsu, China.
| | - Christian Sonne
- Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, Arctic Research Center (ARC), Frederiksborgvej 399, PO Box 358, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark; Sustainability Cluster, School of Engineering, University of Petroleum & Energy Studies, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248007, India
| | - Giovanni Benelli
- Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, Italy
| | - Edward J Calabrese
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Morrill I, N344, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
| | - Raul Narciso C Guedes
- Departamento de Entomologia, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, MG 36570-900, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|