Chemical analysis of the environment can document contamination by various xenobiotics but it is also important to understand the effect of pollutants on living organisms. Thus, in the present work we investigated the effect of the pesticide imidacloprid on isoforms of the detoxifying enzyme glutathione S-transferase (GST) from F. candida, a standard test organism for estimating the effects of pesticides and environmental pollutants on non-target soil arthropods. Test animals were treated with different concentrations of imidacloprid for 72 hours. Alterations of steady state levels of GST mRNAs and GST enzyme activities were investigated. Extracted proteins were separated according to their sizes on 4-20% gels and the resolved protein bands were detected by silver staining. A 4 fold up regulation of GSH steady state mRNA levels was detected in the samples treated with the higher imidacloprid concentration compared to controls, while a 2 fold up regulation was found at the lower imidacloprid concentration. GST enzyme activity increased with increasing imidacloprid concentration and increased from an initial activity of 0.39 �mol/min.mg protein up to 0.45 �mol/min.mg protein in the samples treated with the highest concentration of pesticide. The results suggest that glutathione S-ransferase may be involved in the response of F. candida to the toxic stress of imidacloprid.

Imidacloprid: Effect on glutathione S-transferases in Folsomia candida (Collembola)

248th National Meeting (2014)

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