Unravelling the Molecular Determinants of Bee Sensitivity to Neonicotinoid Insecticides

The impact of neonicotinoid insecticides on the health of bee pollinators is a topic of intensive research and considerable current debate [1]. As insecticides, certain neonicotinoids, i.e., N-nitroguanidine compounds such as imidacloprid and thiamethoxam, are as intrinsically toxic to bees as to th...

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Published in:Current biology Vol. 28; no. 7; p. 1137
Main Authors: Manjon, Cristina, Troczka, Bartlomiej J, Zaworra, Marion, Beadle, Katherine, Randall, Emma, Hertlein, Gillian, Singh, Kumar Saurabh, Zimmer, Christoph T, Homem, Rafael A, Lueke, Bettina, Reid, Rebecca, Kor, Laura, Kohler, Maxie, Benting, Jürgen, Williamson, Martin S, Davies, T G Emyr, Field, Linda M, Bass, Chris, Nauen, Ralf
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: England 02.04.2018
Subjects:
Animals
Bees - drug effects
Bees - metabolism
Bees - physiology
Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System - drug effects
Insecticides - toxicity
Neonicotinoids - toxicity
bumble bee
acetamiprid
pesticide
neonicotinoids
thiacloprid
P450
CYP9Q
honeybee
imidacloprid
ISSN:1879-0445, 1879-0445
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Summary:The impact of neonicotinoid insecticides on the health of bee pollinators is a topic of intensive research and considerable current debate [1]. As insecticides, certain neonicotinoids, i.e., N-nitroguanidine compounds such as imidacloprid and thiamethoxam, are as intrinsically toxic to bees as to the insect pests they target. However, this is not the case for all neonicotinoids, with honeybees orders of magnitude less sensitive to N-cyanoamidine compounds such as thiacloprid [2]. Although previous work has suggested that this is due to rapid metabolism of these compounds [2-5], the specific gene(s) or enzyme(s) involved remain unknown. Here, we show that the sensitivity of the two most economically important bee species to neonicotinoids is determined by cytochrome P450s of the CYP9Q subfamily. Radioligand binding and inhibitor assays showed that variation in honeybee sensitivity to N-nitroguanidine and N-cyanoamidine neonicotinoids does not reside in differences in their affinity for the receptor but rather in divergent metabolism by P450s. Functional expression of the entire CYP3 clade of P450s from honeybees identified a single P450, CYP9Q3, that metabolizes thiacloprid with high efficiency but has little activity against imidacloprid. We demonstrate that bumble bees also exhibit profound differences in their sensitivity to different neonicotinoids, and we identify CYP9Q4 as a functional ortholog of honeybee CYP9Q3 and a key metabolic determinant of neonicotinoid sensitivity in this species. Our results demonstrate that bee pollinators are equipped with biochemical defense systems that define their sensitivity to insecticides and this knowledge can be leveraged to safeguard bee health.
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ISSN:1879-0445
1879-0445
DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2018.02.045