Jean-Marc Bonmatin

French National Centre for Scientific Research | CNRS · Centre de Biophysique Moléculaire, Orléans, France

Neonicotinoid insecticides, the most widely used category of insecticides for 20 years, have been detected in various human tissues including blood, cerebrospinal fluid, urine, and hair. We collected spot urine from 99 volunteers in three islands of the Philippines, and compared their neonicotinoid concentrations with those obtained in paired hair...

Intégration de l’exposome dans les activités de l’Anses

Neonicotinoid insecticides, the most widely used category of insecticides for 20 years and candidate risk of neurodevelopment, have been detected in human urine and in hair. If the former reflecting dietary contamination over short periods and the latter total exposure over longer periods is not known. We quantified and compared the concentrations...

A3 Magazine-Rayonnement du CNRS (in French), n°77, 2021, https://www.a3cnrs.org/ Travaillant sur les pesticides neurotoxiques depuis plus de 20 ans, d’années en années, en tirant le fil des découvertes successives, le constat est devenu alarmant. Tout a commencé en 1995 lorsque les apiculteurs ont sonné les premières alertes : les abeilles dispara...

Neonicotinoids are systemic insecticides used since the 1990’s , that possess renal tubular toxicity. We conducted a field-based descriptive study in the North Central Dry-zone of Sri Lanka, where chronic kidney disease (CKD) of unknown etiology has been increasing since the 1990’s. To elucidate the relationship between renal tubular dysfunctions a...

The growing worldwide prevalence of chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology (CKDu) has been reported since the 1990’s. Neonicotinoids are systemic insecticides used since 1990’s, which may cause renal dysfunction, but the effect on the urinary concentration was unknown. We conducted a field-based case-control study in the North Central Dry-zone...

Background: The growing worldwide prevalence of chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology (CKDu) has been reported since the 1990’s. Neonicotinoids are systemic insecticides started to use in 1990’s with nicotinic acetylcholine receptor competitive modulator action, which may cause renal dysfunction as well as neurological symptoms. Methods: We co...

With the exponential number of published data on neonicotinoids and fipronil during the last decade, an updated review of literature has been conducted in three parts. The present part focuses on gaps of knowledge that have been addressed after publication of the Worldwide Integrated Assessment (WIA) on systemic insecticides in 2015. More specifica...

New information on the lethal and sublethal effects of neonicotinoids and fipronil on organisms is presented in this review, complementing the previous Worldwide Integrated Assessment (WIA) in 2015. The high toxicity of these systemic insecticides to invertebrates has been confirmed and expanded to include more species and compounds. Most of the re...

Over-reliance on pesticides for pest control is inflicting serious damage to the environmental services that underpin agricultural productivity. The widespread use of systemic insecticides, neonicotinoids, and the phenylpyrazole fipronil in particular is assessed here in terms of their actual use in pest management, effects on crop yields, and the...

The One Health approach acknowledges that human health is firmly linked to animal and environmental health. It involves using animals such as bees and other pollinators as sentinels for environmental contamination or biological indicators. Beekeepers noticed intoxications of apiaries located in the vicinity of sheep and cattle farms, which led to t...

Synthetic pesticides such as neonicotinoids are commonly used to treat crops in tropical regions, where data on environmental and human contamination are patchy and make it difficult to assess to what extent pesticides may harm human health, especially in less developed countries. To assess the degree of environmental and human contamination with n...

This is the Editorial introducing: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11356-017-0394-3 and https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11356-017-0341-3 and https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11356-017-1052-5 and https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11356-020-09279-x

Van Klink et al. (Reports, 24 April 2020, p. 417) argue for a more nuanced view of insect decline, and of human responsibility for this decline, than previously suggested. However, shortcomings in data selection and methodology raise questions about their conclusions on trends and drivers. We call for more rigorous methodology to be applied in meta...

Food can be health-giving. A global transition towards plant-based diets may equally help curb carbon emissions, slow land-system change and conserve finite resources. Yet, projected benefits of such 'planetary health' diets imperfectly capture the environmental or societal health outcomes tied to food production. Here, we examine pesticide-related...

Correspondence: Wanger et al. and 366 signatories (2020) (see https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-020-1262-y)

We present a synthetic review and expert consultation that assesses the actual risks posed by arthropod pests in four major crops, identifies targets for integrated pest management (IPM) in terms of cultivated land needing pest control and gauges the implementation “readiness” of non-chemical alternatives. Our assessment focuses on the world’s prim...

Interview de deux auteurs du livre "Abeilles, une histoire intime avec l'humanité"

Leonard et al. (Science 367, 573-576, 2020) presented an interesting approach to limit the impact of pathogens on honeybees by stimulating immunity via engineered symbionts. The urgency to safeguard pollinator services is undoubted. Massive declines in bees, insects in general, pose major concerns for ecosystem stability and food production. Howev...

Dossier 2020 L'Apis (Italy) All'inizio dell’inverno 2008-2009, alcuni apicoltori dell’Ariège hanno riferito di preoccupanti mortalità nelle loro colonie: oltre 4000 alveari morti e interi apiari decimati, con un forte sospetto di avvelenamento delle api. Tuttavia, questi apicoltori, che praticano il nomadismo in alta montagna, hanno gli apiari a di...

Cet ouvrage collectif, rédigé par des chercheuses et chercheurs du CNRS et de l’Inra ainsi que des universitaires, nous dévoile le monde fascinant des abeilles – ce qu’elles ont, ce qu’elles sont et ce qu’elles font –, décrypte les liens qu’elles entretiennent avec la nature et l’humanité, les dangers qui les guettent et qui nous menacent, tout en...

Objectives Neonicotinoid insecticides are widely used systemic pesticides with nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonist activity that are a concern as environmental pollutants. Neonicotinoids in humans and the environment have been widely reported, but few studies have examined their presence in fetuses and newborns. The objective of this study is...

Usage of neonicotinoids is common in all agricultural regions of the world but data on environmental contamination in tropical regions is scarce. We conducted a survey of five neonicotinoids in soil, water and sediment samples along gradients from crops fields to protected lowland tropical forest, mangroves and wetlands in northern Belize, a region...

At the beginning of winter 2008-2009, beekeepers from Ariège (South of France) reported worrying death rates in their colonies. They observed more than 4000 dead hives and whole apiaries decimated, leading to a strong suspicion of bee poisoning. However, although they practice transhumance in the high mountains, they are located at considerable dis...

Au début de l’hiver 2008-2009, des apiculteurs ariégeois rapportent d’inquiétantes mortalités dans leurs colonies : plus de 4000 ruches mortes et des ruchers entiers décimés, conduisant à une forte suspicion d’intoxication des abeilles. Pourtant, ces apiculteurs, qui pratiquent la transhumance en haute montagne, sont installés à des distances consi...

On 28 April 2018 the European Parliament voted for a complete and permanent ban on all outdoor uses of the three most commonly used neonicotinoid pesticides. With the partial exception of the state of Ontario, Canada, governments elsewhere have failed to take action. Below is a letter, signed by 232 scientists from around the world, urgently callin...

The Rovaltain Scientific Foundation, based in southern France since 2013, aims to produce and disseminate innovative scientific knowledge on toxic impacts on human health and ecosystems. In this context, the protection of bees and other pollinating insects is a major issue for the Foundation, which proposes science-based solutions and disseminates...

A previous study claimed a differential behavioural resilience between spring or summer honey bees (Apis mellifera) and bumble bees (Bombus terrestris) after exposure to syrup contaminated with 125 µg L−1 imidacloprid for 8 days. The authors of that study based their assertion on the lack of body residues and toxic effects in honey bees, whereas bu...

Our assessment of the multi‑year overwintering study by Pilling et al. (2013) revealed a number of major deficiencies regarding the study design, the protocol and the evaluation of results. Colonies were exposed for short periods per year to flowering oilseed rape and maize grown from thiamethoxam‑coated seeds. Thiamethoxam as the sole active ingre...

Wild and managed bees are facing an unprecedented situation in which their environment and food resources (pollen, nectar and water) are becoming contaminated by cocktails of pesticides at levels known to have adverse effects. We need to find ways to reduce bees’ exposure to these pesticides, which are mainly insecticides and fungicides. Of particu...

Seven scientists give their opinions on the biggest challenges faced by bees and bee researchers.

The side effects of the current global use of pesticides on wildlife, particularly at higher levels of biological organization: populations, communities and ecosystems, are poorly understood (Kohler and Triebskorn 2013). Here, we focus on one of the problematic groups of agrochemicals, the systemic insecticides fipronil and those of the neonicotino...

Since their discovery in the late 1980s, neonicotinoid pesticides have become the most widely used class of insecticides worldwide, with large-scale applications ranging from plant protection (crops, vegetables, fruits), veterinary products, and biocides to invertebrate pest control in fish farming. In this review, we address the phenyl-pyrazole fi...

We assessed the state of knowledge regarding the effects of large-scale pollution with neonicotinoid insecticides and fipronil on non-target invertebrate species of terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments. A large section of the assessment is dedicated to the state of knowledge on sublethal effects on honeybees (Apis mellifera) because this...

Systemic insecticides are applied to plants using a wide variety of methods, ranging from foliar sprays to seed treatments and soil drenches. Neonicotinoids and fipronil are among the most widely used pesticides in the world. Their popularity is largely due to their high toxicity to invertebrates, the ease and flexibility with which they can be app...

In undertaking the Worldwide Integrated Assessment (WIA), over the course of the last 4 years, the TFSP has examined over 800 scientific peer-reviewed papers published over the past two decades. The TFSP areas of expertise span diverse disciplines, including chemistry, physics, biology, entomology, agronomy, zoology, risk assessment and (eco) toxic...

Neonicotinoids are subjected to vigilance because of environmental contaminations and deleterious effects on bees. Imidacloprid (IMI) is one of the most representative insecticides of this family. At chronic exposure, concentration-effect relationships are non linear. An insect model should allow a better description of this toxicity. We compared t...

One of the major interpreters of Galen in Arabic is revealed to be Abû Bakr Mohammed Zakarîya al-Râzî (865-925) (Fig. 1). A work of great originality, ‘al-Djudarî wa al-hasba’ or Smallpox and Measles reveals a detailed scientific and medical reading of Galen by Râzî, and critical remarks on the absence of precise descriptions of these diseases by G...

Several methods for analyzing pesticides in honey have been developed. However, they do not always reach the sufficiently low limits of quantification (LOQ) needed to quantify pesticides toxic to honey bees at low doses. To properly evaluate the toxicity of pesticides, LOQ have to reach at least 1 ng/g. In this context, we developed extraction and...

In less than 20 years, neonicotinoids have become the most widely used class of insecticides with a global market share of more than 25%. For pollinators, this has transformed the agrochemical landscape. These chemicals mimic the acetylcholine neurotransmitter and are highly neurotoxic to insects. Their systemic mode of action inside plants means p...

le 06 juin 2013, Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique : actes du colloque -document de synthèse « L'abeille, indicateur des écosystèmes »

Several factors are suspected to participate to the weakening of honeybee's worldwide (varroa, pesticides, pathogens and poor diversity of food resources being the major ones). Among pesticides, nicotinoid insecticides form the class of the most toxic compounds to bees; considering lethal, sub-lethal and chronic effects. Knowledge of bee exposure i...

ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 100 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract of an article which was published elsewhere, please select a “Full Text” option. The original article is trackable via the “References” option.

Pesticides are suspected to contribute to the decline of pollinators worldwide and especially in countries where farming is intensive. Systemic insecticides, such as nicotinoids and phenylpyrazoles, are powerful neurotoxicants acting on the central nervous system of target-insects. They are mostly used from 50 to 150 g/ha for seed-dressing of crops...

New pesticides are suspected to contribute to the decline of pollinators worldwide, especially where farming is intensive. Systemic insecticides are mainly used at 50-170 g/ha (0.04-0.15 lb/acre) for seed-dressing of crops and for fruit trees. Nicotinoids and pyrazoles are neurotoxicants blocking the central nervous system of target-insects. But ve...

Le fipronil, substance active du Régent TS ® est utilisé pour l'enrobage des semences, notamment de maïs et de tournesol. Neurotoxique puissant, ses principaux métabolites sont également toxiques. Nous avons mis au point et validé des méthodes qui permettent de détecter et quantifier, de manière très spécifique et très sensible, le fipronil et troi...

When Bacillus subtilis S 499 was grown on a culture medium containing L-alanine as nitrogen source, a mixture of surfactins was obtained. Suitable chromatographic conditions allowed the separation of isoforms. Among these compounds, a new variant of surfactin was isolated and its structure was established by chemical and spectrometric methods, espe...

Imidacloprid and fipronil are two insecticides acting on the central nervous system. They have been used worldwide from the mid nineties, especially for seed coating of crops. Concomitantly to their introduction and their increasing use in French fields, honeybee populations decreased. Bee problems are nowadays reported in other countries (also cal...

Virus-like particles, 27 nm in diameter, were observed in extracts of individual Varroa destructor mites and in sections of mite tissue. Application of a purification procedure resulted in virus preparations that were used to prepare an antiserum to detect the virus in individual mites. Immunohistology studies showed that the gastric caecae were he...

Imidacloprid and fipronil are two insecticides acting on the central nervous system. They are used worldwide, from the mid nineties, especially for seed coating of crops. Concomitantly to their introduction and their increasing use in French fields, honeybee populations decreased. Bee problems are nowadays reported in other countries (also called d...

Abeille sur une fleur de tournesol. En France, l'utilisation de semences « Gaucho » en 2004 et • Régent TS » en 2005 a été suspendue pour le tournesol et le maïs. Les semences • Gaucho » et • Régent TS > sont enrobées d'une couche supplémentaire d'insecticide qui doit protéger la plante non seulement de l'attaque prévisible d'insectes ravageurs pré...

The systemic imidacloprid is one of the most used insecticides in the world for field and horticultural crops. This neurotoxicant is often used as seed-dressing, especially for maize, sunflower, and rape. Using a LC/MS/MS technique (LOQ = 1 microg/kg and LOD = 0.1 microg/kg), the presence of imidacloprid has been measured in maize from field sample...

Reinvestigation of surfactin, a previously studied peptidolipid surfactant from Bacillus subtilis, by fast-atom-bombardment mass spectrometry and 1H-NMR spectroscopy, as well as by chemical methods, revealed the presence of a closely related second constituent. This new compound, [Val7]surfactin, differs from the known surfactin by the C-terminal a...

Following evidence for the intoxication of bees, the systemic insecticide imidacloprid was suspected from the mid nineties of having harmful effects. Recently, some studies have demonstrated that imidacloprid is toxic for the bees at sub-lethal doses. These doses are evaluated in the range between 1 and 20 µg kg−1, or less. It appeared thus necessa...

Aggregations of 27 nm virus-like particles were observed in electron microscopy images of sectioned Varroa destructor mite tissue. The scattered occurrence of individual particles and accumulation of the virions in lattices in the cytoplasm gave an apparent indication that the virus replicates in the mite. Sequence analysis of the RNA of the purifi...

The assessment of agropharmaceuticals' side effects requires more realistic simulations of field conditions than those deduced from the dose-lethality relation obtained under laboratory conditions. Because the presence of sublethal doses or concentrations may also alter the behavior of foraging insects, we attempted to devise a quantifiable and acc...

Imidacloprid binds nicotinic ACh receptors. The vital functions of bees are affected by sublethal levels of imidacloprid from 2 to 20 µg/kg in the feeding source [1]. Chronic mortality (50%) was observed at 0.1 µg/kg [2]. We developed a LC/MS-MS methodology for plants and pollens (LOD = 0.1 µg/kg and LOQ =1 µg/kg) according to GLP and directive 96/...

Imidacloprid, a new systemic insecticide used as seed-dressing, has been widely used in France since 1994. Its application mode and its efficiency allow a significant reduction in comparison with the usual quantity of chemicals used during pulverising treatment. But the insecticide imidacloprid is suspected to have harmful effects on the pollinator...

Imidacloprid, a new systemic insecticide used as seed-dressing, has been widely used in France since 1994. Its application mode and its efficiency allow a significant reduction in comparison with the usual quantity of chemicals used during pulverising treatment. But the insecticide imidacloprid is suspected to have harmful effects on the pollinator...

En se fixant dans le système nerveux sur le récepteur nicotinique de l'acétyl choline (nAchR), l'imidaclopride affecte les fonc-tions vitales de l'abeille. Il suffit pour cela de doses de 2 à 20 IJg/kg dans leur ali-mentation [1]. La mortalité chronique de 50% des abeilles (LDchr50) est constatée après une ingestion répétée du toxique à une concent...

A prominent group of bioactive lipopeptides produced by Bacillus species is constituted by iturins, surfactins and lichenysins. Interest in such substances results in their exceptional surfactant power, and their valuable antifungal, antibacterial, antitumoral and anti-Mycoplasma properties. As is typical for peptidic secondary-metabolites synthesi...