Neonicotinoid Clothianidin reduces honey bee immune response and contributes to Varroa mite proliferation.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 33208729.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-020-19715-8 and PMC identifier 7675992.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
The neonicotinoid Clothianidin has a negative impact on NF-κB signaling and on immune responses controlled by this transcription factor, which can boost the proliferation of honey bee parasites and pathogens. This effect has been well documented for the replication of deformed wing virus (DWV) induced by Clothianidin in honey bees bearing an asymptomatic infection. Here, we conduct infestation experiments of treated bees to show that the immune-suppression exerted by Clothianidin is associated with an enhanced fertility of the parasitic mite Varroa destructor, as a possible consequence of a higher feeding efficiency. A conceptual model is proposed to describe the synergistic interactions among different stress agents acting on honey bees.
Medical subject headings
- Bees
- Guanidines
- Insecticides
- Neonicotinoids
- Thiazoles
- Varroidae