Toxicity and Risk Assessment Division, Department of Agro-Food Safety and Crop Protection, National Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Rural Development Administration, Iseo-myeon, Wanju-gun 55365, Jeollabuk-do, Republic of Korea.
Int J Mol Sci. 2024 Nov 6;25(22):11923. doi: 10.3390/ijms252211923.
Pesticide toxicity is a global concern for honeybee populations, and understanding these effects at the molecular level is critical. This study analyzed the transcriptome of honeybees at larval and adult stages after chronic exposure to a sublethal dose (0.0017 µg a.i./larva) of spinetoram (SPI) during the larval phase. Four groups were used: acetone-treated honeybee larvae (ATL), acetone-treated honeybee adults (ATAs), SPI-treated honeybee larvae (STL), and SPI-treated honeybee adults (STAs). In total, 5719 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified for ATL vs. ATAs, 5754 for STL vs. STAs, 273 for ATL vs. STL, and 203 for ATAs vs. STAs (FC ≤ 1.5, < 0.05). In response to SPI, 29 unique DEGs were identified in larvae and 42 in adults, with 23 overlapping between comparisons, suggesting genes linked to SPI toxicity. Gene ontology analysis showed that SPI affected metabolism-related genes in larvae and lipid-transport-associated genes in adults. KEGG pathway analysis revealed an enrichment of pathways predominantly associated with metabolism, hormone biosynthesis, and motor proteins in STL. The transcriptomic data were validated by qPCR. These findings demonstrated that SPI disrupts essential molecular processes, potentially harming honeybee development and behavior, underscoring the need for safer agricultural practices.
农药毒性是全球蜜蜂种群关注的问题，因此在分子水平上了解这些影响至关重要。本研究分析了在幼虫阶段慢性暴露于低剂量（0.0017 µg a.i./larva）螺旋霉素（SPI）后，幼虫和成虫阶段蜜蜂的转录组。使用了四个组：丙酮处理的蜜蜂幼虫（ATL）、丙酮处理的蜜蜂成虫（ATAs）、SPI 处理的蜜蜂幼虫（STL）和 SPI 处理的蜜蜂成虫（STAs）。总共鉴定出 ATL 与 ATAs 之间有 5719 个差异表达基因（DEGs），STL 与 STAs 之间有 5754 个，ATL 与 STL 之间有 273 个，ATAs 与 STAs 之间有 203 个（FC ≤ 1.5， < 0.05）。对 SPI 作出响应，幼虫中有 29 个独特的 DEGs，成虫中有 42 个，两者之间有 23 个重叠，表明与 SPI 毒性相关的基因。基因本体论分析表明，SPI 影响幼虫中的代谢相关基因和成虫中的脂质转运相关基因。KEGG 通路分析显示，STL 中与代谢、激素生物合成和运动蛋白相关的途径富集。通过 qPCR 对转录组数据进行了验证。这些发现表明，SPI 破坏了重要的分子过程，可能会损害蜜蜂的发育和行为，这凸显了采用更安全的农业实践的必要性。
