Thiamethoxam acts as a target-site synergist of spinosad in resistant strains of Frankliniella occidentalis

Enhanced fungicidal efficacy and improved interfacial properties with the co-delivery of prothioconazole and tebuconazole using polylactic acid microspheres

BACKGROUND

Prothioconazole (PTC) is one of the leading fungicide products worldwide. However, excessive use of PTC facilitates the development of resistance. Pesticide compounding technology plays an important role in reducing pesticide resistance. Microspherization technology for the construction of pesticide dual-loaded systems has recently provided a new direction for researching novel and efficient pesticide formulations. In this study, prothioconazole-tebuconazole@polylactic acid microspheres (PTC-TBA@PLA MS) were constructed by combining these two technologies.

RESULTS

The final PTC-TBA@PLA MS were selected by an orthogonal method, which were uniformly spherical with smooth surface. The resultant drug loading (DL) and average particle size of PTC-TBA@PLA MS were 31.34% and 22.3 μm, respectively. A PTC-TBA@PLA MS suspending agent (SC) with a high suspension rate of 94.3% was prepared according to the suspension rate, dumping ability and stability. Compared with a commercial SC, the PTC-TBA@PLA MS SC had a larger cumulative release and better interfacial properties. Biological experiments showed that PTC-TBA@PLA MS SC had an obviously improved bactericidal effect than the commercial SC.

CONCLUSION

The constructed PTC-TBA@PLA MS system detailed here is expected to reduce the risk of resistance and the frequency of pesticide use while enhancing fungal control. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Selenium alleviates biological toxicity of thiamethoxam (TMX): Bioaccumulation of TMX, organ damage, and antioxidant response of red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii)

Pesticides are important for agricultural development; however, animals involved in rice-fish farming absorb the pesticides used during the farming process. Thiamethoxam (TMX) is extensively used in agriculture and is gradually occupying the market for traditional pesticides. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate whether selenomethionine (SeMet) could affect the survival rate, bioaccumulation of TMX, serum biochemical parameters, lipid peroxidation, antioxidants in the hepatopancreas, and expression of stress genes after exposure of red swamp crayfish to 10 ppt TMX for 7 days. The results showed that the survival rate significantly increased and the bioaccumulation of TMX significantly decreased with SeMet administration (P < 0.05). Furthermore, severe histological damage to the hepatopancreas of red crayfish was observed after exposure to TMX; however, this damage was alleviated after SeMet administration. SeMet also significantly reduced the TMX-induced changes in serum biochemical parameters, malondialdehyde content, and antioxidant enzyme activity in crayfish hepatopancreas (P < 0.05). Notably, analysis of the expression of 10 stress response genes showed that 0.5 mg/kg SeMet might decrease cell damage in the hepatopancreas. Consequently, our findings suggest that higher levels of TMX in crayfish may cause hepatopancreatic cell toxicity, which can be harmful to human health; however, SeMet could mitigate these effects, providing an understanding of pesticide compounds and food safety.

Joint toxicity of imidacloprid and azoxystrobin to Chironomus dilutus at organism, cell, and gene levels

Pesticides occur in the environment as mixtures, yet the joint toxicity of pesticide mixtures remains largely under-explored and is usually overlooked in ecological risk assessment. In the current study, joint toxicity of a neonicotinoid insecticide (imidacloprid, IMI) and a strobilurin fungicide (azoxystrobin, AZO) was investigated with Chironomus dilutus over a wide range of concentrations and at different effect levels (organism, cell, and gene levels). The two pesticides, both individually and in combination, were found to induce oxidative stress and cause lethality in C. dilutus. Median lethal concentrations for IMI and AZO were 3.98 ± 1.17 and 52.9 ± 1.1 μg/L, respectively. Mixtures of the two pesticides presented synergetic effects at environmentally relevant concentrations whilst antagonistic effects at high concentrations, showing concentration-dependent joint toxicity. Investigation on the expressions of 12 genes (cyt b, coi, cox1, cyp4, cyp12m1, cyp9au1, cyp6fv1, cyp315, gst, Zn/Cu-sod, Mn-sod, and cat) revealed that the two pesticides impaired mitochondrial respiration, detoxification, and antioxidant system of C. dilutus, and the joint effects of the two pesticides were likely due to an interplay between their respective influences on these physiological processes. Collectively, the synergistic effects of the two pesticides at environmentally relevant concentrations highlight the importance to incorporate combined toxicity studies into ecological risk assessment of pesticides.

Thiamethoxam induces oxidative stress and antioxidant response in zebrafish (Danio Rerio) livers

Thiamethoxam, a second-generation neonicotinoid insecticide, was found to be toxic to nontarget aquatic organisms. The purpose of this study was to investigate the toxicity of thiamethoxam (0.30, 1.25, and 5.00 mg/L) on zebrafish (Danio rerio) livers at the 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th days. The reactive oxygen species (ROS), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione-s-transferase (GST), malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and DNA damage were used to evaluate the toxic effects of thiamethoxam on zebrafish. Compared to control groups, ROS levels were ascended in the exposure period; SOD and CAT activities were dramatically increased during early exposure and then inhibited. GST activity only increased on days 28. MDA content was slightly elevated on days 21 and 28. Additionally, a clear dose-response relationship was found for DNA damage. In conclusion, thiamethoxam could induce oxidative stress and DNA damage on the exposed zebrafish. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 31: 2006-2015, 2016.

Binding of imidacloprid, thiamethoxam and N-desmethylthiamethoxam to nicotinic receptors of Myzus persicae: pharmacological profiling using neonicotinoids, natural agonists and antagonists

BACKGROUND

The increasing structural diversity of the neonicotinoid class of insecticides presently used in crop protection calls for a more detailed analysis of their mode of action at their cellular targets, the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors.

RESULTS

Comparative radioligand binding studies using membranes of Myzus persicae (Sulzer) and representatives of the chloropyridyl subclass (imidacloprid), the chlorothiazolyl subclass (thiamethoxam), the tetrahydrofuranyl subclass (dinotefuran), as well as the novel sulfoximine type (sulfoxaflor), which is not a neonicotinoid, reveal significant differences in the number of binding sites, the displacing potencies and the mode of binding interference. Furthermore, the mode of interaction of [³ H]thiamethoxam and the nicotinic antagonists methyllycaconitine and dihydro-β-erythroidine is unique, with Hill values of >1, clearly different to the values of around unity for [³ H]imidacloprid and [³ H]N-desmethylthiamethoxam. The interaction of [³ H]N-desmethylthiamethoxam with the agonist (-)nicotine is also characterised by a Hill value of >1.

CONCLUSIONS

There is no single conserved site or mode of binding of neonicotinoids and related nicotinic ligands to their target receptor, but a variety of binding pockets depending on the combination of receptor subunits, the receptor subtype, its functional state, as well as the structural flexibility of both the binding pockets and the ligands. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

Cyantraniliprole: a valuable tool for Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) management

BACKGROUND

Frankliniella occidentalis is a worldwide economically important pest. Scarcity of effective products and cross-resistance issues make resistance to existing insecticides a recurring problem that requires the development of new control tools, such as incorporating novel compounds. Lethal effects of cyantraniliprole on adults and larvae from field and insecticide-resistant populations were evaluated. In addition, the sublethal effects on biological features such as fecundity, fertility, feeding, oviposition and mating were studied.

RESULTS

Results obtained for larvae produced LC50 values ranging from 33.4 to 109.2 mg L(-1) , with a low natural variability (3.3-fold) and a LC50 composite value of 52.2 mg L(-1) . The susceptibility for adults was 23-fold lower than for larvae. No evidence of cross-resistance between cyantraniliprole and established insecticides used against thrips was evident. Relevant sublethal effects of cyantraniliprole were demonstrated, including reduced fecundity, fertility, feeding, oviposition and mating success.

CONCLUSION

Low variation in susceptibility across contemporary populations of F. occidentalis and a lack of cross-resistance to other insecticides indicate that cyantraniliprole is a potential candidate in rotation programmes within an insecticide resistance management strategy. The combined sublethal effect on reproduction will have an important impact on population reduction. Available data indicate that cyantraniliprole is likely to be a valuable tool for managing thrips populations.

Thiamethoxam resistance selected in the western flower thrips Frankliniella occidentalis (Thysanoptera: Thripidae): cross-resistance patterns, possible biochemical mechanisms and fitness costs analysis

The western flower thrips (WFT) Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), an important pest of various crops in the world, has invaded China since 2003. To understand the risks and to determine possible mechanisms of resistance to thiamethoxam in WFT, a resistant strain was selected under the laboratory conditions. Cross-resistance and the possible biochemical resistance mechanisms were investigated in this study. A 15.1-fold thiamethoxam-resistant WFT strain (TH-R) was established after selection for 55 generations. Compared with the susceptible strain (TH-S), the selected TH-R strain showed extremely high level cross-resistance to imidaclothiz (392.1-fold) and low level cross-resistance to dinotefuran (5.7-fold), acetamiprid (2.9-fold) and emamectin benzoate (2.1-fold), respectively. No cross-resistance to other fourteen insecticides was detected. Synergism tests showed that piperonyl butoxide (PBO) and triphenyl phosphate (TPP) produced a high synergism of thiamethoxam effects in the TH-R strain (2.6- and 2.6-fold respectively). However, diethyl maleate (DEM) did not act synergistically with thiamethoxam. Biochemical assays showed that mixed function oxidase (MFO) activities and carboxylesterase (CarE) activity of the TH-R strain were 2.8- and 1.5-fold higher than that of the TH-S strain, respectively. When compared with the TH-S strain, the TH-R strain had a relative fitness of 0.64. The results show that WFT develops resistance to thiamethoxam after continuous application and thiamethoxam resistance had considerable fitness costs in the WFT. It appears that enhanced metabolism mediated by cytochrome P450 monooxygenases and CarE was a major mechanism for thiamethoxam resistance in the WFT. The use of cross-resistance insecticides, including imidaclothiz and dinotefuran, should be avoided for sustainable resistance management.

A nicotinic acetylcholine receptor transmembrane point mutation (G275E) associated with resistance to spinosad in Frankliniella occidentalis

High levels of resistance to spinosad, a macrocyclic lactone insecticide, have been reported previously in western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis, an economically important insect pest of vegetables, fruit and ornamental crops. We have cloned the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) α6 subunit from F. occidentalis (Foα6) and compared the nucleotide sequence of Foα6 from susceptible and spinosad-resistant insect populations (MLFOM and R1S respectively). A single nucleotide change has been identified in Foα6, resulting in the replacement of a glycine (G) residue in susceptible insects with a glutamic acid (E) in resistant insects. The resistance-associated mutation (G275E) is predicted to lie at the top of the third α-helical transmembrane domain of Foα6. Although there is no direct evidence identifying the location of the spinosad binding site, the analogous amino acid in the C. elegans glutamate-gated chloride channel lies in close proximity (4.4 Å) to the known binding site of ivermectin, another macrocyclic lactone pesticide. The functional consequences of the resistance-associated mutation have been examined in the human nAChR α7 subunit. Introduction of an analogous (A272E) mutation in α7 abolishes the modulatory effects of spinosad whilst having no significant effect upon activation by acetylcholine, consistent with spinosad having an allosteric mechanism of action.