Fuente: PubMed "apis cerana" Pestic Biochem Physiol. 2026 Jan;216(Pt 1):106742. doi: 10.1016/j.pestbp.2025.106742. Epub 2025 Oct 10.ABSTRACTHoney bees are important pollinators that enhance food safety and promote biodiversity. However, honey bees are increasingly threatened by the use of insecticides. Matrine, a plant-derived insecticide, has been used in plants such as pear trees, citrus, and cotton, whose flowers serve as a honey source. Despite matrine's economic significance, its impact on bees is rarely reported. In this study, newly emerged honey bee workers (Apis cerana) were randomly divided into four groups and reared to adulthood within a simulated colony environment with suitable temperatures, humidity, and food sources. The adult workers were exposed to four concentrations (0, 1.2, 10, and 40 mg/L) of matrine. Continuous matrine intake for more than 9 days caused the rapid death of honey bees but had no significant effect on food consumption and body weight of the honey bees. Oral exposure to matrine decreased the abundance of beneficial Gilliamella, Dorea, and Lachnoclostridium in gut microbiota. It also led to the up-regulation of argininosuccinic acid and spermidine, and the down-regulation of arachidonic acid and LOC107998471 (Aldh), which control the decomposition of spermidine. This finding underscored the role of these microbes, metabolites, and genes in honey bees under matrine stress. This study provides a comprehensive understanding of matrine toxicity to honey bees, revealing the crucial roles of microbiota, metabolites, and genes. These findings provide important references for honey bee poisoning and the associated detoxification mechanism.PMID:41326104 | DOI:10.1016/j.pestbp.2025.106742