Caste- and pesticide-specific effects of neonicotinoid pesticide exposure on gene expression in bumblebees.

ABSTRACT: Social bees are important insect pollinators of wildflowers and agricultural crops, making their reported declines a global concern. A major factor implicated in these declines is the widespread use of neonicotinoid pesticides. Indeed, recent research has demonstrated that exposure to low doses of these neurotoxic pesticides impairs bee behaviours important for colony function and survival. However, our understanding of the molecular-genetic pathways that lead to such effects is limited, as is our knowledge of how effects may differ between colony members. To understand what genes and pathways are affected by exposure of bumblebee workers and queens to neonicotinoid pesticides, we implemented a transcriptome-wide gene expression study. We chronically exposed Bombus terrestriscolonies to ei

SUBMITTER: Colgan TJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6563198 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature