The challenge of balancing fungicide use and pollinator health

Fisher, Adrian; DeGrandi-Hoffman, Gloria; Liao, Ling Hsiu; Tadei, Rafaela; Harrison, Jon F.

doi:10.1016/bs.aiip.2023.01.002

Cited by 9 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 200 publications

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“…Efficient food production can help increase supply and reduce costs for consumers; however, agricultural practices aimed at increasing yields and preserving food quality may sometimes be at odds with the pollination of flowering crops. For example, fungicide applications are often necessary to limit the impact of plant fungal diseases, but accumulating evidence suggests that these chemicals can produce negative effects on honey bees and other pollinators (reviewed in Fisher et al, 2023). Fungicides can be applied multiple times to the same crop, even during the bloom period (Favaro et al, 2019; reviewed in Gierer et al, 2019; Graham et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fungicides can also have interactive effects via modulation of responses to symbiotic and pathogenic microorganisms (Al Naggar et al, 2022; Pettis et al, 2013; Yoder et al, 2013) and other chemicals, including pollen phytochemicals, insecticides, spray adjuvants, and beekeeper‐applied acaricides (Johnson et al, 2013; Mao et al, 2017; Wade et al, 2019; Walker et al, 2022). The risks that fungicides pose for honey bees are variable and depend on several factors, such as method of application, stage of honey bee development, including behavioral development, and the duration, route, and timing of exposure (Fisher et al, 2022; reviewed in Fisher et al, 2023 and in Rondeau & Raine, 2022). Many fungicides are designed to target fungal mitochondrial complexes needed for energy production (reviewed in Bartlett et al, 2002), but they can also have effects on nontarget organisms (reviewed in Wang et al, 2021), including pollinators.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessment of Mitochondrial Function in the AmE‐711 Honey Bee Cell Line: Boscalid and Pyraclostrobin Effects

Martinović‐Weigelt,

Dang,

Mord

et al. 2024

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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There is a growing concern that chronic exposure to fungicides contributes to negative effects on honey bee development, life span, and behavior. Field and caged‐bee studies have helped to characterize the adverse outcomes (AOs) of environmentally relevant exposures, but linking AOs to molecular/cellular mechanisms of toxicity would benefit from the use of readily controllable, simplified host platforms like cell lines. Our objective was to develop and optimize an in vitro‐based mitochondrial toxicity assay suite using the honey bee as a model pollinator, and the electron transport chain (ETC) modulators boscalid and pyraclostrobin as model fungicides. We measured the effects of short (~30 min) and extended exposures (16–24 h) to boscalid and pyraclostrobin on AmE‐711 honey bee cell viability and mitochondrial function. Short exposure to pyraclostrobin did not affect cell viability, but extended exposure reduced viability in a concentration‐dependent manner (median lethal concentration = 4175 µg/L; ppb). Mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) was affected by pyraclostrobin in both short (median effect concentration [EC50] = 515 µg/L) and extended exposure (EC50 = 982 µg/L) scenarios. Short exposure to 10 and 1000 µg/L pyraclostrobin resulted in a rapid decrease in the oxygen consumption rate (OCR), approximately 24% reduction by 10 µg/L relative to the baseline OCR, and 64% by 1000 µg/L. Extended exposure to 1000 µg/L pyraclostrobin reduced all respiratory parameters (e.g., spare capacity, coupling efficiency), whereas 1‐ and 10‐µg/L treatments had no significant effects. The viability of AmE‐711 cells, as well as the MMP and cellular respiration were unaffected by short and extended exposures to boscalid. The present study demonstrates that the AmE‐711‐based assessment of viability, MMP, and ETC functionality can provide a time‐ and cost‐effective platform for mitochondrial toxicity screening relevant to bees. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;00:1–12. © 2024 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC. This article has been contributed to by U.S. Government employees and their work is in the public domain in the USA.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of Mitochondrial Function in the AmE‐711 Honey Bee Cell Line: Boscalid and Pyraclostrobin Effects

Martinović‐Weigelt,

Dang,

Mord

et al. 2024

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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“…Some research has shown that field-relevant doses of fungicides are damaging to bees (Belsky & Joshi, 2020;Ricke et al, 2021;Zaluski et al, 2017). There are questions concerning whether the levels of contamination that bees are exposed to when fungicides are applied to crops are damaging for these insects; however, it has been shown that they can be prejudicial because of synergism with other pesticides or disease and pest (Fisher et al, 2023;Rondeau & Raine, 2022).To assess whether the use of a pesticide in the field can impact bee health, it is necessary to determine the environmental concentration of the pesticide based on the applied dose. For this purpose, the BeeREX model is used in some countries, such as Brazil, the United States, and Canada (IBAMA, 2020; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contact exposure of honey bees and social stingless bees to fungicide sprayed on cotton and soybean in a controlled field simulation system

Freitas,

Kato,

Gomes

et al. 2024

J Applied Entomology

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Bees can be exposed to pesticides when visiting crops or plants in adjacent areas affected by spray drift. Among pesticide categories, fungicides tend to be considered relatively safe, though they also can negatively affect pollinators. Most evidence of damage by fungicides to bees comes from laboratory tests; there is little information concerning contamination levels in the field. We examined exposure of honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) (Hymenoptera: Apidae) and a common Brazilian native species of social stingless bees (Scaptotrigona postica Latreille; Hymenoptera: Apidae), which is about a third the size of a honey bee, to a commercial fungicide (Fox Xpro), with three active ingredients (trifloxystrobin, bixafen, and prothioconazole), applied to crops they often visit according to label directions. A spraying apparatus mounted on tracks in a laboratory spray room was used to simulate field conditions. Soybean and cotton plants grown in pots were transferred to the spray room when the plants were in flower. Anaesthetized bees were attached with insect pins at the top and middle of the plants, on leaves and flowers. The fungicide was applied using fine or coarse droplets. The amounts of the individual active ingredients absorbed by bees were then quantified. Concentrations of trifloxystrobin were highest in both honey bees and stingless bees, followed by bixafen, and then prothioconazole, which was detected in the bees at much lower levels. Overall, bees at the top of the plants and those sprayed with fine droplets absorbed more pesticide. As a function of body mass, the stingless bees were more heavily contaminated than the larger honey bees. Tests using spraying systems that simulate field conditions can better estimate the actual doses that contaminate bees to help determine the impact of fungicides and other pesticides applied to crops.

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Effects of the insecticide acetamiprid and the fungicide azoxystrobin on locomotion activity and mushroom bodies of solitary bee Centris analis

Tadei,

Silva,

Mathias da Silva

et al. 2024

Chemosphere

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The challenge of balancing fungicide use and pollinator health

Cited by 9 publications

References 200 publications

Assessment of Mitochondrial Function in the AmE‐711 Honey Bee Cell Line: Boscalid and Pyraclostrobin Effects

Assessment of Mitochondrial Function in the AmE‐711 Honey Bee Cell Line: Boscalid and Pyraclostrobin Effects

Contact exposure of honey bees and social stingless bees to fungicide sprayed on cotton and soybean in a controlled field simulation system

Effects of the insecticide acetamiprid and the fungicide azoxystrobin on locomotion activity and mushroom bodies of solitary bee Centris analis

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