Pervasive sublethal effects of agrochemicals on insects at environmentally relevant concentrations
Insect biomass is declining globally, likely driven by climate change and pesticide use, yet systematic studies on the effects of various chemicals remain limited. In this work, we used a chemical library of 1024 molecules-covering insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, and plant growth inhibitors-to assess the impact of sublethal pesticide doses on insects. In <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i>, 57% of chemicals affected larval behavior, and a higher proportion compromised long-term survivability. Exposure to sublethal doses also induced widespread changes in the phosphoproteome and changes in development and reproduction. The negative effects of agrochemicals were amplified when the temperature was increased. We observed similar behavioral changes across multiple insect species, including mosquitoes and butterflies. These findings suggest that widespread sublethal pesticide exposure can alter insect behavior and physiology, threatening long-term population survival.
Authors
- Mikhail M. Savitski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2011-9247)
- Richard P. Jacoby (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6777-7012)
- Natalia Misunou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4075-2595)
- Jean-Karim Hèriché (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6867-9425)
- Michael Zimmermann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5797-3589)
- Maria Zimmermann‐Kogadeeva (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6021-1246)
- François Laurent (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1615-6400)
- Bartosz J. Bartmanski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0495-9150)
- Martín Garrido‐Rodríguez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4125-5643)
- Lautaro Gándara (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3695-6592)
- Noa Ottilie Borst
- Clément M. Potel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3655-4665)
- Justin Crocker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5113-0476)
- Dominik Kutra (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4202-3908)
- Jean‐Baptiste Masson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5484-9056)
- Christian Tischer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4105-1990)
- Nikolaos Vlachopoulos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7876-9990)
- Victoria A. Ingham (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5708-4741)
- Matteo Spatuzzi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-0188-9461)
- Antonia L. Böhmert
- Gülina Ekmen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-2474-8886)
- Xueying Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1100-4694)
Institutions
- Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies du numérique (FR)
- Institut Pasteur (FR)
- Heidelberg University (DE)
- University Hospital Heidelberg (DE)
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Science
- Published
- 2024-10-24
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ado0251
- Citations
- 98
- Primary Topic
- Insect and Pesticide Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 52.34