Arsenic accumulation, biotransformation and localisation in bertha armyworm moths

Ruwandi Andrahennadi; Ingrid J. Pickering

doi:10.1071/EN08065

RESEARCH ARTICLE

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Arsenic accumulation, biotransformation and localisation in bertha armyworm moths

Ruwandi Andrahennadi ^A and Ingrid J. Pickering ^A ^B

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A Department of Geological Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, 114 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5E2, Canada.

^B Corresponding author. Email: ingrid.pickering@usask.ca

Environmental Chemistry 5(6) 413-419 https://doi.org/10.1071/EN08065
Submitted: 13 September 2008 Accepted: 27 November 2008 Published: 18 December 2008

Environmental context. Insects play an important role in the impact of environmental pollutants such as arsenic. They may accumulate arsenic to high levels, potentially modifying its chemical form, which affects the insects’ toxicity to predators such as fish and birds. Here we use synchrotron X-ray techniques to determine the distribution and chemical form of arsenic in larva, pupa and adult of the bertha armyworm moth.

Abstract. Insects are important in bioaccumulation and dispersal of environmental contaminants such as arsenic, and biotransformation of arsenic to various chemical forms directly impacts its toxicity to insects and to their predators. In a model study, the toxic effects and biotransformation of arsenic were examined in larvae, pupae and adults of bertha armyworm moth (Mamestra configurata Walker) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). A synthetic diet containing 100 μM arsenate caused reduced larval survival and increased pupal stage duration but no effect on pupal weight or larval stage duration. Synchrotron X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) showed that larvae biotransformed dietary arsenate to yield predominantly trivalent arsenic coordinated with three aliphatic sulfurs, modelled as As^III-tris-glutathione. Similar species were found in pupae and adults. XAS imaging with micro X-ray fluorescence imaging revealed highly localised arsenic species, and zinc and copper within the gut. The implication of these arsenic species in the diets of predators is discussed.

Acknowledgements

The present research is supported by the Province of Saskatchewan and a Discovery Grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) (to I. J. Pickering). I. J. Pickering is a Canada Research Chair. We thank Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (Saskatoon Research Centre) for insects and rearing facilities. We also thank Graham George and Helen Nichol for helpful discussions and Pickering/George group members for assistance in data collection. Portions of this research were carried out at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (SSRL), a national user facility operated by Stanford University on behalf of the US Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences. The SSRL Structural Molecular Biology Program is supported by the Department of Energy, Office of Biological and Environmental Research, and by the National Institutes of Health, National Center for Research Resources, Biomedical Technology Program.

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