Biopesticide spinosad: Unraveling ecotoxicological effects on zebrafish, Danio rerio

Inês Amaral; Sara C Antunes; Daniela Rebelo; António Paulo Carvalho; Sara Rodrigues

doi:10.1016/j.etap.2024.104458

Biopesticide spinosad: Unraveling ecotoxicological effects on zebrafish, Danio rerio

Environ Toxicol Pharmacol. 2024 Apr 23:108:104458. doi: 10.1016/j.etap.2024.104458. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Inês Amaral¹, Sara C Antunes¹, Daniela Rebelo², António Paulo Carvalho¹, Sara Rodrigues³

Affiliations

¹ Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre S/N, Porto 4169-007, Portugal; Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental (CIIMAR/CIMAR), Terminal de Cruzeiros do Porto de Leixões, Avenida General Norton de Matos S/N, Matosinhos 4550-208, Portugal.
² Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre S/N, Porto 4169-007, Portugal; Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental (CIIMAR/CIMAR), Terminal de Cruzeiros do Porto de Leixões, Avenida General Norton de Matos S/N, Matosinhos 4550-208, Portugal; Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Rua Jorge de Viterbo Ferreira 228, Porto 4050-313, Portugal.
³ Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre S/N, Porto 4169-007, Portugal; Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental (CIIMAR/CIMAR), Terminal de Cruzeiros do Porto de Leixões, Avenida General Norton de Matos S/N, Matosinhos 4550-208, Portugal. Electronic address: sara.rodrigues@fc.up.pt.

PMID: 38663649
DOI: 10.1016/j.etap.2024.104458

Abstract

Biopesticides are natural compounds considered more safe and sustainable for the environment. Spinosad (SPI) is a bioinsecticide used in marketed worldwide, to eradicate a variety of pests. This study aimed to assess the impacts of the SPI on the non-target organism zebrafish (Danio rerio). Several concentrations of SPI were tested to evaluate the acute (0.07-1.0 mg/L) and chronic (0.006-0.100 mg/L) ecotoxicological effects. To evaluate sub-individual effects, antioxidant defense, lipid peroxidation, energy sources, and cholinergic biomarkers were quantified. In both exposures, SPI induced significant effects on antioxidant defense indicating oxidative stress, disrupting energy pathways, and exhibiting neurotoxic effects, under environmentally relevant conditions. Integrated Biomarker Response (IBRv2) showed that with increasing SPI concentrations, an increase in impacts on organisms was recorded. This study demonstrates the vulnerability of a non-target organism to SPI, a bioinsecticide considered environmentally safe. Further research is essential to fully understand the implications of spinosad to aquatic biota.

Keywords: Acute and chronic exposures; Biomarkers; Biopesticide; Ecotoxicology; Environmental health; Fish.