Community-level effects of a neonicotinoid pesticide of freshwater microorganisms

Neonicotinoids are among the most used pesticides worldwide, contributingconsiderably to successful agricultural production. Dinotefuran is a third generation neonicotinoid which is considered to have few negative effects on non-target aquatic invertebrates and vertebrates. Little information is available on the consequences of exposure of microorganisms to dinotefuran, but we suspected that dinotefuran can alter the metabolic functionality of the freshwater microbial community. We used Biolog EcoPlates to measure how the riverine epilithic biofilm microbial community catabolized various carbon sources after exposure to dinotefuran. The results provide an ecotoxicological assessment of the effects of dinotefuran on a freshwater microbial community and demonstrate that exposure to dinotefuran alters the metabolism of the microbial community. The concentration of dinotefuran tested here is based on environmentally realistic values, implying potential effects on the functionality of riverine microbial communities.