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Sublethal and hormesis effects of imidacloprid on the soybean aphid Aphis glycines

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Abstract

The soybean aphid, Aphis glycines Matsumura, is a major pest in soybean crop. Current management of this pest relies mainly on insecticides applications, and the neonicotinoid imidacloprid has been proposed as an effective insecticide to control A. glycines in soybean field. Imidacloprid at lethal concentrations not only exerts acute toxicity to A. glycines, but also cause various biological changes when aphids are chronically exposed to lower concentrations. In this study, we assessed the effects of a low-lethal (0.20 mg L−1) and two sublethal (0.05 and 0.10 mg L−1) imidacloprid concentrations on various A. glycines life history traits. Aphid exposure to 0.20 mg L−1 imidacloprid caused slower juvenile development, shorter reproductive period, and reduced adult longevity, fecundity and total lifespan. Stimulatory effects, i.e. hormesis, on reproduction and immature development duration were observed in aphids exposed to the lower sublethal imidacloprid concentrations. Consequently, the net reproduction rate (R 0) was significantly higher than in the control aphids. These findings stress the importance of the actual imidacloprid concentration in its toxicological properties on A. glycines. Therefore, our results would be useful for assessing the overall effects of imidacloprid on A. glycines and for optimizing integrated pest management programs targeting this pest.

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Acknowledgments

This research was mainly supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31272077).

Conflict of interest

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Entomology, China Agricultural University, 2 Yuanmingyuan West Road, Beijing, 100193, China

    Yanyan Qu, Da Xiao, Jinyu Li, Zhou Chen, Xiwu Gao & Dunlun Song

  2. UMR1355-ISA, French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA), 400 route des chappes, 06903, Sophia-Antipolis, France

    Nicolas Desneux

  3. University of Catania, Via Santa Sofia 100, 95033, Catania, Italy

    Antonio Biondi

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  1. Yanyan Qu
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  2. Da Xiao
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  3. Jinyu Li
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  4. Zhou Chen
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  5. Antonio Biondi
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  6. Nicolas Desneux
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  7. Xiwu Gao
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  8. Dunlun Song
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Correspondence to Dunlun Song.

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Yanyan Qu and Da Xiao have contributed equally to the study.

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Qu, Y., Xiao, D., Li, J. et al. Sublethal and hormesis effects of imidacloprid on the soybean aphid Aphis glycines . Ecotoxicology 24, 479–487 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-014-1396-2

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