Exposure to flupyradifurone affect health of biocontrol parasitoid Binodoxys communis (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) via disrupting detoxification metabolism and lipid synthesis

Abstract

Assessing the potential effects of insecticides on beneficial biological control agents is key to facilitating the success of integrated pest management (IPM) approaches. Flupyradifurone (FPF) is a novel neonicotinoid insecticide that is replacing traditional neonicotinoids over a large geographical range to control pests. Binodoxys communis, is the dominant parasitic natural enemy of aphids. To date, no reports have addressed sublethal effects of FPF on B. communis. In this study, the lethal and sublethal effects of FPF on B. communis were investigated by indirect exposure to larvae and direct exposure to adults. Results showed that the sublethal LC10 and LC25 of FPF had negative effects on the biological parameters of B. communis, including significantly reducing survival rate, adult longevity, parasitism rate, and emergence rate, and significantly prolonging the developmental stages from egg to cocoons. In addition, we observed a transgenerational effect of FPF on the next generation (F1). RNA-Seq transcriptomic analysis identified a total of 1429 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) that were significantly changed between FPF-treated and control groups. These DEGs are mainly enriched in metabolic pathways such as peroxisomes, glutamate metabolism, carbon metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, and amino acid metabolism. This report is the first comprehensive evaluation of how FPF effects B. communis, which adds to the methods of assessing pesticide exposure in parasitic natural enemies. We speculate that the significant changes in pathways, especially those related to lipid synthesis, may be the reason for weakened parasitoid biocontrol ability. The present study provides new evidence for the toxic effects and environmental residue risk of FPF.