Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar), Department of Biology (DBio), Laboratory of Structural and Functional Biology (LABEF), Brazil; Post-graduate Program in Biotechnology and Environmental Monitoring (PPGBMA), Center for Science and Technology for Sustainability (CCTS), UFSCar, Sorocaba, SP, Brazil.
Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar), Department of Biology (DBio), Laboratory of Structural and Functional Biology (LABEF), Brazil; Post-graduate Program in Biotechnology and Environmental Monitoring (PPGBMA), Center for Science and Technology for Sustainability (CCTS), UFSCar, Sorocaba, SP, Brazil.
Environ Toxicol Pharmacol. 2024 Sep;110:104536. doi: 10.1016/j.etap.2024.104536. Epub 2024 Aug 15.
Fipronil (FP) is an insecticide used in the treatment and control of pests, but it also adversely affects bees. Currently, there is no data on the genotoxic effects of FP in the brain of bumblebees. Thus, through the comet assay and routine morphological analysis, we analyzed the morphological effects and potential genotoxicity of environmentally relevant concentrations of FP on the brain of Bombus atratus. Bumblebees were exposed at concentrations of 2.5 μg/g and 3.5 μg/g for 96 hours. After the exposure, the brains were removed for morphological and morphometric analysis, and the comet assay procedure - used to detect DNA damage in individual cells using electrophoresis. Our data showed that both concentrations (2.5 μg/g and 3.5 μg/g) caused DNA damage in brain cells. These results corroborate the morphological data. We observed signs of synapse loss in the calyx structure, intercellular spaces between compact inner and non-compact inner cells, and cell swelling. This study provides unprecedented evidence of the effects of FP on DNA and cellular structures in the brain of B. atratus and reinforces the need to elucidate its toxic effects on other species to allow future risk assessments and conservation projects.
氟虫腈（FP）是一种用于治疗和控制害虫的杀虫剂，但它也会对蜜蜂产生不利影响。目前，关于 FP 在熊蜂大脑中的遗传毒性影响尚无数据。因此，我们通过彗星试验和常规形态分析，分析了环境相关浓度的 FP 对熊蜂大脑的形态影响和潜在遗传毒性。熊蜂在 2.5μg/g 和 3.5μg/g 的浓度下暴露 96 小时。暴露后，取出大脑进行形态和形态计量学分析，以及彗星试验程序——用于使用电泳检测单个细胞中的 DNA 损伤。我们的数据显示，这两种浓度（2.5μg/g 和 3.5μg/g）都导致了脑细胞的 DNA 损伤。这些结果与形态学数据相符。我们观察到在花萼结构、紧密内细胞和非紧密内细胞之间的细胞间隙以及细胞肿胀中出现突触丢失的迹象。这项研究提供了 FP 对 B. atratus 大脑中的 DNA 和细胞结构影响的前所未有的证据，并强调需要阐明其对其他物种的毒性影响，以进行未来的风险评估和保护项目。
