Imidacloprid Decreases Honey Bee Survival Rates but Does Not Affect the Gut Microbiome.

Accumulating evidence suggests that pesticides have played a role in the increased rate of honey bee colony loss. One of the most commonly used pesticides in the United States is the neonicotinoid imidacloprid. Although the primary mode of action of imidacloprid is on the insect nervous system, it has also been shown to cause changes in insects' digestive physiology and alter the microbiota of Drosophila melanogaster larvae. The honey bee gut microbiome plays a major role in bee health. Although many studies have shown that imidacloprid affects honey bee behavior, its impact on the microbiome has not been fully elucidated. Here, we investigated the impact of imidacloprid on the gut microbiome composition, survivorship, and susceptibility to pathogens of honey bees. Consistent with other studies, we show that imidacloprid exposure results in an elevated mortality of honey bees in the hive and increases the susceptibility to infection by pathogens. However, we did not find evidence that imidacloprid affects the gut bacterial community of honey bees. Our in vitro experiments demonstrated that honey bee gut bacteria can grow in the presence of imidacloprid, and we found some evidence that imidacloprid can be metabolized in the bee gut environment. However, none of the individual bee gut bacterial species tested could metabolize imidacloprid, suggesting that the observed metabolism of imidacloprid within in vitro bee gut cultures is not caused by the gut bacteria. Overall, our results indicate that imidacloprid causes increased mortality in honey bees, but this mortality does not appear to be linked to the microbiome.IMPORTANCE Growing evidence suggests that the extensive use of pesticides has played a large role in the increased rate of honey bee colony loss. Despite extensive research on the effects of imidacloprid on honey bees, it is still unknown whether it impacts the community structure of the gut microbiome. Here, we investigated the impact of imidacloprid on the gut microbiome composition, survivorship, and susceptibility to pathogens of honey bees. We found that the exposure to imidacloprid resulted in an elevated mortality of honey bees and increased the susceptibility to infection by opportunistic pathogens. However, we did not find evidence that imidacloprid affects the gut microbiome of honey bees. We found some evidence that imidacloprid can be metabolized in the bee gut environment in vitro, but because it is quickly eliminated from the bee, it is unlikely that this metabolism occurs in nature. Thus, imidacloprid causes increased mortality in honey bees, but this does not appear to be linked to the microbiome.

Faecal bile acids are natural ligands of the mouse accessory olfactory system.

The accessory olfactory system (AOS) guides behaviours that are important for survival and reproduction, but understanding of AOS function is limited by a lack of identified natural ligands. Here we report that mouse faeces are a robust source of AOS chemosignals and identify bile acids as a class of natural AOS ligands. Single-unit electrophysiological recordings from accessory olfactory bulb neurons in ex vivo preparations show that AOS neurons are strongly and selectively activated by peripheral stimulation with mouse faecal extracts. Faecal extracts contain several unconjugated bile acids that cause concentration-dependent neuronal activity in the AOS. Many AOS neurons respond selectively to bile acids that are variably excreted in male and female mouse faeces, and others respond to bile acids absent in mouse faeces. These results identify faeces as a natural source of AOS information, and suggest that bile acids may be mammalian pheromones and kairomones.

(E)-4-[7-(2,3-Di-hydro-thieno[3,4-b][1,4]dioxin-5-yl)-2,1,3-benzo-thia-diazol-4-yl]-2-[(neo-pentyl-imino)-meth-yl]phenol.

In the title mol-ecule, C24H23N3O3S2, the benzo-thia-diazole ring system is essentially planar, with an r.m.s. deviation of 0.020 (8) Å. The thio-phene and hy-droxy-substitiuted rings form dihedral angles of 23.43 (9) and 35.45 (9)°, respectively, with the benzo-thia-diazole ring system. An intra-molecular O-H⋯N hydrogen bond is observed. In the crystal, weak C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds and π-π stacking inter-actions [centroid-centroid distance = 3.880 (3) Å] link mol-ecules into chains along [100]. In addition, there are short S⋯S contacts [3.532 (3) Å] which link these chains, forming a two-dimensional network parallel to (010).

Stereospecific Suzuki, Sonogashira, and Negishi coupling reactions of N-alkoxyimidoyl iodides and bromides.

A high-yielding stereospecific route to the synthesis of single geometric isomers of diaryl oxime ethers through Suzuki coupling of N-alkoxyimidoyl iodides is described. This reaction occurs with complete retention of the imidoyl halide geometry to give single E- or Z-isomers of diaryl oxime ethers. The Sonogashira coupling of N-alkoxyimidoyl iodides and bromides with a wide variety of terminal alkynes to afford single geometric isomers of aryl alkynyl oxime ethers has also been developed. Several of these reactions proceed through copper-free conditions. The Negishi coupling of N-alkoxyimidoyl halides is introduced. The E and Z configurations of nine Suzuki-coupling products and two Sonogashira-coupling products were confirmed by X-ray crystallography.