Effects of the fipronil insecticide on the mushroom bodies of workers Scaptotrigon...
| Grant number: | 11/21033-9 |
| Support type: | Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctorate |
| Effective date (Start): | September 01, 2012 |
| Effective date (End): | August 31, 2015 |
| Field of knowledge: | Biological Sciences - Zoology |
| Principal Investigator: | Maria Izabel Souza Camargo |
| Grantee: | Jane Carla Soares Moreira |
| Home Institution: | Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Rio Claro. Rio Claro , SP, Brazil |
Abstract Hymenoptera is one of the largest insect order according to number of species. In the Aculeata, bees are the most important pollinators and are essential to angiosperms diversity maintenance. In the social insects group, the male is fundamental for 2n female offspring development, due to haplo-diploid system. The female offspring development in colony depends on female insemination or eggs fertilization, and unviable sperms and reproductive failures compromise this development. The maintenance of the bees colonies and the pollination process have been threatened by high insecticides use to control pests in crops. In the last 40 years the pesticides consumption has increased over 600%, while the agricultural area increased only 78%. Insecticides can cause bees death, behavioral changes and furthermore, physiological and internal morphology changes. These two last effects are caused by insecticides sublethal doses. Thus, the objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of sublethal insecticide doses in Apis mellifera and Scaptotrigona postica spermatogenesis. To this goal, the males will be submitted to fipronil and thiamethoxam sublethal doses in its diet, and their testes and seminal vesicles will be collect for light and electron microscopy analysis. Therefore, we intend to evaluate the insecticides effects in the male fertility. The information obtained by this study will be helpful in toxicological and reproductive biology studies. (AU) | |