Chronic Cadmium Exposure Induces Impaired Olfactory Learning and Altered Brain Gene Expression in Honey Bees (Apis mellifera).

ABSTRACT: The honey bee (Apis mellifera) plays vital ecological roles in the pollination of crops and the maintenance of ecological balance, and adult honey bees may be exposed to exogenous chemicals including heavy metals during their foraging activities. Cadmium (Cd) is regarded as a nonessential toxic metal and is readily accumulated in plants; honey bees can therefore acquire Cd through the collection of contaminated nectar. In the present study, honey bees were chronically exposed to Cd to investigate the effects of sublethal cadmium doses on the olfactory learning and brain gene expression profiles of honey bees. The results showed that Cd-treated bees exhibited significantly impaired olfactory learning performances in comparison with control bees. Moreover, the head weight was signific

SUBMITTER: Li Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9696575 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature