Cellular stress and activity of biomarkers enzymes in Africanized honeybees Apis mellifera Lineu, 1758 (Hymenoptera, Apidae) exposed to thiamethoxam

• Grant number: 14/23197-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): March 01, 2015
• Effective date (End): March 31, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Applied Zoology
• Acordo de Cooperação: Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)
• Principal Investigator: Osmar Malaspina
• Grantee: Pâmela Decio Horst
• Host Institution: Centro de Estudos de Insetos Sociais (CEIS). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Rio Claro. Rio Claro , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 12/50197-2 - Action of products used in cultivation of sugar cane on non-target organisms, AP.BIOEN.TEM
• Associated scholarship(s): 15/22368-5 - Analysis of expression ELAV and Dscam genes in Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) exposed to thiamethoxam, BE.EP.DR

Abstract

Africanized Apis mellifera are considered important pollinators in Brazil, once many food crops depend on pollination promoted by these insects. However, with the growth of agricultural productivity, the use of insecticides for pest control increased, affecting beneficial insects too. After sharp losses in the number of bee colonies in the northern hemisphere, with the action of insecticides as one possible cause of this disappearance, studies about effects of pesticides on bees became more relevant. The present study aims to investigate the effects of sublethal dose of thiamethoxam, an important insecticide from the class of neonicotinoids, in the gut and brain of Apis mellifera Africanized, through the evaluation of the activity of enzymes related to the antioxidant process (Superoxide Dismutase, Glutathione Peroxidase and Catalase) and biomarkers enzymes of exposure (Carboxylesterase and Glutathione S-Transferase). In addition, the project aims to evaluate the activities of Acetylcholinesterase, responsible for mediating the transmission of nerve impulses in the brain, and digestive enzyme Alkaline Phosphatase in the intestine, of foraging bees. The level of cellular stress will be investigated with marking HSP 70 proteins and evaluation cell death, through confocal microscopy. The results obtained will contribute with data that may support arguments in the search of sustainable use and management of these pollinators in agricultural areas and also to lead the discussion on the laws regulating the use of these pesticides. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

DECIO, PAMELA; USTAOGLU, PINAR; ROAT, THAISA C.; MALASPINA, OSMAR; DEVAUD, JEAN-MARC; STOGER, REINHARD; SOLLER, MATTHIAS. Acute thiamethoxam toxicity in honeybees is not enhanced by common fungicide and herbicide and lacks stress-induced changes in mRNA splicing. SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, v. 9, DEC 16 2019. (15/22368-5, 14/23197-7, 12/13370-8)

DECIO, PAMELA; MIOTELO, LUCAS; PEREIRA, FRANCO DANI CAMPOS; ROAT, THAISA CRISTINA; MARIN-MORALES, MARIA APARECIDA; MALASPINA, OSMAR. Enzymatic responses in the head and midgut of Africanized Apis mellifera contaminated with a sublethal concentration of thiamethoxam. ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY, v. 223, OCT 15 2021. (14/23197-7, 17/21097-3, 12/13370-8)

DECIO, PAMELA; USTAOGLU, PINAR; DERECKA, KAMILA; HARDY, IAN C. W.; ROAT, THAISA C.; MALASPINA, OSMAR; MONGAN, NIGEL; STOGER, REINHARD; SOLLER, MATTHIAS. Thiamethoxam exposure deregulates short ORF gene expression in the honey bee and compromises immune response to bacteria. SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, v. 11, n. 1, JAN 15 2021. (15/22368-5, 14/23197-7, 12/13370-8, 13/07251-9)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

HORST, Pâmela Decio. Cell stress and activity of biomarkers enzymes in Africanized bees Apis mellifera LINEU, 1758 (Hymenoptera, Apidae) exposed to thiamethoxam. 2019. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp). Instituto de Biociências. Rio Claro Rio Claro.