Size changes in honey bee larvae oenocytes induced by exposure to Paraquat at very low concentrations

• Published in: PloS one 2013-05, Vol.8 (5), p.e65693
• Main Authors: Cousin, Marianne, Silva-Zacarin, Elaine, Kretzschmar, André, El Maataoui, Mohamed, Brunet, Jean-Luc, Belzunces, Luc P
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acetylcysteine; Adults; Agricultural production; Agriculture; Agrochemicals; Analytical methods; Animals; Antioxidants; Apis mellifera; Bees; Bees - cytology; Biology; Cell Compartmentation - drug effects; Cell Nucleus - drug effects; Cell Nucleus - metabolism; Cell Shape - drug effects; Cell Size; Chemistry; Detection limits; Environmental Exposure; Exposure; Food; Gene expression; Herbicides; Honey; Insecticides; Larva - cytology; Larva - drug effects; Larvae; Life Sciences; Low concentrations; Medicine; Metabolism; Nuclei; Oenocytes; Oxidative stress; Oxidizing agents; Paraquat; Paraquat - toxicity; Pesticides; Physiology; Plant reproduction; Reversion; Studies; Toxicology; Vegetal Biology
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0065693

The effects of the herbicide Paraquat were investigated in honey bee larvae with attention focused on oenocytes. Honey bee larvae were exposed to Paraquat at different concentrations in the food: 0, 0.001, 0.01, 0.1 and 1 µg/kg. In controls, between 24 h and 48 h, oenocytes grew from 630.1 to 1643.8 µm(2) while nuclei changed in size from 124.9 to 245.6 µm(2). At 24 h, Paraquat induced a slight decrease in the size of oenocytes and nuclei. N-acetylcysteine (NAC), an antioxidant substance, slightly lowered the effects of Paraquat. At 48 h, Paraquat elicited a strong concentration-dependent decrease in the size of oenocytes, even at the lowest concentration. NAC reversed the effect of Paraquat at a concentration of ≥0.01 µg/kg. This reversion suggested different modes of action of Paraquat, with an oxidant action prevalent at concentrations ≥0.01 µg/kg. This study is the first which reports an effect of a pesticide at the very low concentration of 1 ng/kg, a concentration below the detection limits of the most efficient analytic methods. It shows that chemicals, including pesticides, are likely to have a potential impact at such exposure levels. We also suggest that Paraquat could be used as a suitable tool for investigating the functions of oenocytes.