Proteomic responses of Eisenia fetida to fluvo-aquic contaminated with fluoxastrobin

Abstract

Fluoxastrobin (FLUO) is a strobilurin fungicide that effectively prevents and treats fungal diseases in crops. Strobilurin fungicides were detected across a wide range of environmental samples. In the previous study, we have compared the toxicity of FLUO to earthworms in different soils (artificial soil, fluvo-aquic soils, black soils, and red clay). Among the four soils experimented, FLUO in the fluvo-aquic soils exhibited the most toxicity. However, the FLUO toxicity mechanisms to earthworms at protein levels are still unclear. Therefore, proteomics was used to investigate the differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) in earthworms in FLUO-contaminated fluvo-aquic soils. Results indicated that DEPs were mainly in biological pathways involving signal molecules interactions, immunity, and cell death, thus causing stress and affecting the basic physiological activities of the earthworms. The present study enriched the toxicological data of FLUO and provided evaluation methods for the toxicity mechanism of FLUO for soil animals. It also serves as a wake-up call for the use of this class of fungicides and provides a basis for the environmental ecological assessment of such fungicides.