Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR), Rimouski, QC, G5L 3A1, Canada.
Centre de la Science de la Biodiversité du Québec (QCBS), Montréal, QC, Canada.
Sci Rep. 2021 Jul 27;11(1):15252. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-93894-2.
Neonicotinoids are insecticides widely used as seed treatments that appear to have multiple negative effects on birds at a diversity of biological scales. Adult birds exposed to a low dose of imidacloprid, one of the most commonly used neonicotinoids, presented reduced fat stores, delayed migration and potentially altered orientation. However, little is known on the effect of imidacloprid on birds growth rate despite studies that have documented disruptive effects of low imidacloprid doses on thyroid gland communication. We performed a [Formula: see text] factorial design experiment in Zebra finches, in which nestling birds were exposed to a very low dose (0.205 mg kg body [Formula: see text]) of imidacloprid combined with food restriction during posthatch development. During the early developmental period, imidacloprid exposure resulted in an improvement of body condition index in treated nestlings relative to controls. Imidacloprid also led to compensatory growth in food restricted nestlings. This early life neonicotinoid exposure also carried over to adult age, with exposed birds showing higher lean mass and basal metabolic rate than controls at ages of 90-800 days. This study presents the first evidence that very low-dose neonicotinoid exposure during early life can permanently alter adult phenotype in birds.
新烟碱类杀虫剂被广泛用作种子处理剂，它们似乎对鸟类在多种生物学尺度上产生了多种负面影响。暴露于低剂量吡虫啉（最常用的新烟碱类杀虫剂之一）的成年鸟类表现出脂肪储存减少、迁徙延迟和可能的定向改变。然而，尽管有研究记录了低剂量吡虫啉对甲状腺通讯的破坏作用，但关于吡虫啉对鸟类生长速度的影响却知之甚少。我们在斑胸草雀中进行了一项[公式：见正文]析因设计实验，其中雏鸟在孵化后发育过程中暴露于非常低的剂量（0.205 mg kg 体重[公式：见正文]）的吡虫啉和食物限制。在早期发育阶段，与对照组相比，吡虫啉暴露使处理组的雏鸟的身体状况指数得到改善。吡虫啉还导致了食物限制的雏鸟的补偿性生长。这种早期的新烟碱类杀虫剂暴露也延续到了成年期，暴露的鸟类在 90-800 天的年龄时比对照组具有更高的瘦体重和基础代谢率。这项研究首次表明，在生命早期接触极低剂量的新烟碱类杀虫剂可能会永久性地改变鸟类的成年表型。
