A Search for Neonicotinoid Binding Sites in the Optic Lobes of Honeybees and Blowflies

Sammanfattning: Neonicotinoid insecticides are agonists to nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) in the brains of insects. At sub-lethal doses these chemicals cause behavioral abnormalities in several bee species, reducing overall fitness. nAChRs expressed in the optic lobes of insects bind neonicotinoids, thus may be involved in these behavioral changes. Here we attempted without success to visualize the precise location of nicotinic cholinergic receptors together with choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) in the optic lobes of Calliphora sp. and Apis mellifera using immunohistochemistry techniques and the nAChR probe α-bungarotoxin.