Morphological and immunocytochemical analysis of africanized apis mellifera contaminated by insecticide dimethoate in laboratory conditions

• Grant number: 14/11535-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): September 01, 2014
• Effective date (End): August 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Morphology of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: Roberta Cornélio Ferreira Nocelli
• Grantee: Grazielly Schimack Devitto
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Agrárias (CCA). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). Araras , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Bees are the most effective pollinators of many crops and native plants, being important for the environment and the economy. In worldwide monocultures the most used species is Apis mellifera. Due to the decline of these pollinators being reported since 2006, a bee has been reasons in several areas of study. Among the several factors for this decline, the indiscriminate use of pesticides is appointed as the most damaging. By foraging in contaminated agricultural areas, the bees, adult and larvae, are highly vulnerable to contamination. With the use of the insecticide dimethoate (insecticide proposed as a model for larval tests standardized by OECD) especially in citrus, wheat, cotton, tomato and apple crops, this paper intends to evaluate the histopathological effects of low doses of this insecticide in bioassays of acute exposure by contact. The histopathological evaluation will be held in tegument, parietal fat body (trophocytes and oenocytes) and Malpighian tubules of africanized A. mellifera in the pre pupae stage because they are initially exposed tissues of contact contamination. The morphological and immunocytochemical analyzes will identify biomarkers for exposure and/or cytotoxicity and can provide data for understanding the eventual downfall of productivity in colonies located around agricultural areas, to improve the management of these areas in order to attend the need of the beekeepers and improving agricultural production potentialized by the bee pollination.