Acute exposure to diesel exhaust induces central nervous system stress and altered learning and memory in honey bees.

ABSTRACT: For effective foraging, many insect pollinators rely on the ability to learn and recall floral odours, behaviours that are associated with a complex suite of cellular processes. Here, we investigated how acute exposure to a high-dose of diesel exhaust (containing 19.8 and 17.5 ppm of NO and NO₂, respectively) affected associative learning behaviour of honey bees (Apis mellifera) and expression of a ubiquitous heat shock protein, HSP70, in their central nervous system (CNS). To determine whether exposure to diesel exhaust would alter their tolerance to a subsequent abiotic stress, we further subjected individuals to heat stress. Diesel exhaust exposure decreased honey bees' ability to learn and recall a conditioned odour stimulus. Whilst there was no significant difference in CNS

SUBMITTER: Reitmayer CM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6453880 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature