Effects of a novel neonicotinoid insecticide cycloxaprid on earthworm, Eisenia fetida

Cycloxaprid (CYC) is a novel neonicotinoid insecticide with high activity against resistant pests but is safe for mammals. The toxic effects of CYC on earthworms (Eisenia fetida) were studied in this paper. The 14-day exposure results showed that CYC is potentially toxic to earthworms, with a 14d-LC50 of 10.21 mg/kg (dry soil), and that it induced tissue damage to the epidermis, gut, and neurochord at sublethal doses. During a 21-day exposure, CYC induced oxidative stress in earthworms, and both enzyme activities of catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were impacted. In addition, expression of the genes Cat and Sod were down- and upregulated, respectively. The activity of the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE) was increased at day 7 but decreased at day 21 after CYC exposure, while expression of the signal transduction-related genes was significantly regulated. Our study shows for the first time that negative impacts could be induced by CYC on earthworms under both acute and chronic exposure through oxidative stress and gene regulation. The present study provides a database for assessing the environmental risk to non-target organisms resulting from the use of CYC.