Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA.
Graduate Program in Environmental Toxicology, University of California, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA.
Sci Rep. 2017 Aug 15;7(1):8165. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-08683-7.
Drought, rising temperatures, and expanding human populations are increasing water demands. Many countries are extending potable water supplies by irrigating crops with wastewater. Unfortunately, wastewater contains biologically active, long-lived pharmaceuticals, even after treatment. Run-off from farms and wastewater treatment plant overflows contribute high concentrations of pharmaceuticals to the environment. This study assessed the effects of common pharmaceuticals on a cosmopolitan saprophagous insect, Megaselia scalaris (Diptera: Phoridae). Larvae were reared on artificial diets spiked with contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) at environmentally relevant concentrations. Female flies showed no oviposition preference for treated or untreated diets. Larvae exposed to caffeine in diets showed increased mortality, and larvae fed antibiotics and hormones showed signs of slowed development, especially in females. The normal sex ratio observed in M. scalaris from control diets was affected by exposure to caffeine and pharmaceutical mixture treatments. There was an overall effect of treatment on the flies' microbial communities; notably, caffeine fed insects displayed higher microbial variability. Eight bacterial families accounted for approximately 95% of the total microbes in diet and insects. Our results suggest that CECs at environmentally relevant concentrations can affect the biology and microbial communities of an insect of ecological and medical importance.
干旱、气温上升和不断增长的人口正在增加用水需求。许多国家正在通过用废水灌溉作物来扩大饮用水供应。不幸的是，即使经过处理，废水中仍然含有具有生物活性、寿命长的药物。农场和废水处理厂的径流溢出会将高浓度的药物带入环境中。本研究评估了常见药物对世界性腐生昆虫 Megaselia scalaris（双翅目：蚤蝇科）的影响。幼虫在人工饲料中用新兴关注污染物（CECs）以环境相关浓度进行培养。雌性苍蝇对处理过或未处理过的饲料没有产卵偏好。暴露在饲料中的咖啡因中的幼虫死亡率增加，暴露在抗生素和激素中的幼虫发育速度变慢，尤其是雌性。在对照饲料中观察到的 M. scalaris 的正常性别比例受到咖啡因和药物混合物处理的影响。处理对苍蝇的微生物群落有整体影响；值得注意的是，喂食咖啡因的昆虫显示出更高的微生物变异性。八个细菌家族约占饲料和昆虫中总微生物的 95%。我们的结果表明，环境相关浓度的 CECs 可以影响一种具有生态和医学重要性的昆虫的生物学和微生物群落。
