Ecologically appropriate xenobiotics induce cytochrome P450s in Apis mellifera.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Honey bees are exposed to phytochemicals through the nectar, pollen and propolis consumed to sustain the colony. They may also encounter mycotoxins produced by Aspergillus fungi infesting pollen in beebread. Moreover, bees are exposed to agricultural pesticides, particularly in-hive acaricides used against the parasite Varroa destructor. They cope with these and other xenobiotics primarily through enzymatic detoxificative processes, but the regulation of detoxificative enzymes in honey bees remains largely unexplored.

Methodology/principal findings

We used several approaches to ascertain effects of dietary toxins on bee susceptibility to synthetic and natural xenobiotics, including the acaricide tau-fluvalinate, the agricultural pesticide imidacloprid, and the nat

SUBMITTER: Johnson RM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3272026 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature