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Thiamethoxam exposure deregulates short ORF gene expression in the honey bee and compromises immune response to bacteria

Decio, P�mela; Ustaoglu, Pinar; Derecka, Kamila; Hardy, Ian C. W.; Roat, Thaisa C.; Malaspina, Osmar; Mongan, Nigel; St�ger, Reinhard; Soller, Matthias

Thiamethoxam exposure deregulates short ORF gene expression in the honey bee and compromises immune response to bacteria Thumbnail


Authors

P�mela Decio

Pinar Ustaoglu

Kamila Derecka

IAN HARDY IAN.HARDY@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
Associate Professor & Reader in Animalpopulation Biology

Thaisa C. Roat

Osmar Malaspina

NIGEL MONGAN nigel.mongan@nottingham.ac.uk
Professor of Oncology

Matthias Soller



Abstract

© 2021, The Author(s). Maximizing crop yields relies on the use of agrochemicals to control insect pests. One of the most widely used classes of insecticides are neonicotinoids that interfere with signalling of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, but these can also disrupt crop-pollination services provided by bees. Here, we analysed whether chronic low dose long-term exposure to the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam alters gene expression and alternative splicing in brains of Africanized honey bees, Apis mellifera, as adaptation to altered neuronal signalling. We find differentially regulated genes that show concentration-dependent responses to thiamethoxam, but no changes in alternative splicing. Most differentially expressed genes have no annotated function but encode short Open Reading Frames, a characteristic feature of anti-microbial peptides. As this suggested that immune responses may be compromised by thiamethoxam exposure, we tested the impact of thiamethoxam on bee immunity by injecting bacteria. We show that intrinsically sub-lethal thiamethoxam exposure makes bees more vulnerable to normally non-pathogenic bacteria. Our findings imply a synergistic mechanism for the observed bee population declines that concern agriculturists, conservation ecologists and the public.

Citation

Decio, P., Ustaoglu, P., Derecka, K., Hardy, I. C. W., Roat, T. C., Malaspina, O., …Soller, M. (2021). Thiamethoxam exposure deregulates short ORF gene expression in the honey bee and compromises immune response to bacteria. Scientific Reports, 11(1), Article 1489. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-80620-7

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Dec 23, 2020
Online Publication Date Jan 15, 2021
Publication Date Jan 15, 2021
Deposit Date Jan 16, 2021
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Scientific Reports
Print ISSN 2045-2322
Electronic ISSN 2045-2322
Publisher Nature Publishing Group
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 11
Issue 1
Article Number 1489
DOI https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-80620-7
Keywords Multidisciplinary
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/5234602
Publisher URL https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-80620-7
Additional Information Received: 5 March 2020; Accepted: 23 December 2020; First Online: 15 January 2021; : The authors declare no competing interests.

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