Abstract
The use of biopesticides based on Bacillus thuringiensis (Berliner 1915) in agriculture has been considered harmless for non-target organisms such as fish. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of a biopesticide based on B. thuringiensis on the physiology and histology of the liver, kidney and intestine of Arapaima gigas (Schinz, 1822), via exposure to water (0.13 g/L) and in the diet (0.13 g), after 24 and 48 h. Fish subjected to B. thuringiensis in the water of their breeding and feeding tanks exhibited mortality due to changes in erythrogram (hematocrit, hemoglobin, erythrocytes), thrombogram and leucogram blood parameters, and plasma (sodium, chloride, potassium, cholesterol, glucose, triglycerides, cortisol and total proteins) and enzymatic (Aspartate Amino Transferase and Alanine Amino Transferase) biochemistry. Histopathological alterations in the liver and kidney ranged from mild to severe and were characterized by the presence of cytoplasmic vacuolization, nuclear hypertrophy and atrophy, melanomacrophage centers and necrosis, and in the intestine by changes to the number of villi and goblet cells. Therefore, these physiological and histopathological alterations indicate that care should be taken with the dispersion of biopesticides based on agricultural B. thuringiensis in fish farming.
Highlights
The use of pesticides is a vital part of the largescale production of food to meet the needs of a continually growing global population
New strategies to minimize the negative effects of pesticides have emerged, mainly using biopesticides based on Bacillus thuringiensis (Berliner 1915) (Mariano et al 2019)
In A. gigas exposed to water or diet containing B. thuringiensis (Bt)-based biopesticide, no fish died within 24 h of the experiment
Summary
The use of pesticides is a vital part of the largescale production of food to meet the needs of a continually growing global population. In general, these pesticides are extremely toxic and contribute to environmental pollution (Wiegand et al 1999, Chapadense et al 2009), while harming aquatic ecosystems. Bt is an aerobic gram-positive and entomopathogenic bacterium, naturally found in soil (Oliveira-Filho 2008). It is responsible for more than 90% of the biopesticides available worldwide. The exposure of Piaractus mesopatamicus (Holmberg 1887) to Bt resulted in blood alterations (Mariano et al 2019), while
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