Hormetic stimulation of insects exposed to low intensity stress

兴奋作用是一种生物学反应，其特征是在暴露于高强度应激时功能受到抑制，而当有机体暴露在低强度应激源下时刺激生物过程。也就是说，轻微的压力可以刺激生物功能。兴奋效应的出现从根本上改变了科学家对“低剂量区”应激的思考和研究方式。我的实验室用昆虫来研究兴奋效应。我的长期研究计划的目标是使用昆虫模型来理解兴奋作用的剂量-反应现象，并将这些知识用于应用昆虫学。这是我们短期研究问题的基础，所有这些问题都将涉及对本科生和研究生的培训：1.多种轻度应激源能否以可预测的方式刺激生物功能？2.处于不同营养水平的动物能否同时受到轻度应激的刺激。3.温和的化学应激刺激昆虫的行为吗？4.为商业生产而大量饲养的昆虫能否应用数学原理？5.暴露在低压力下能刺激蜜蜂的学习和繁殖吗？这项拟议的工作具有很高的原创性，对我的学科和其他学科都具有基础性和实用性。没有研究--即使是不涉及昆虫的工作--检验了多种温和应激源共同作用的潜在兴奋(刺激)效应(包括热休克，这是气候变化引发的天气事件可能出现的现场情景)，可能从兴奋反应中表现出来的营养相互作用的变化，或者对觅食等行为的潜在刺激效应。除了对了解生物系统和功能具有基本重要性外，这些知识对于虫害管理具有实际的生态学意义，例如，预测虫害暴发或加强生物防治之间的平衡，特别是在气候变化的情况下，这对粮食安全具有至关重要的影响。同样，对蟋蟀的研究将揭示在大规模饲养昆虫期间战略性地施加低水平的压力将如何提高这种新兴食物来源的盈利能力和营养价值(例如蛋白质含量)，从而改善商业生产。了解如何准确评估对蜜蜂的威胁至关重要，正确描述应激源剂量-反应关系是风险评估过程中不可或缺的一部分。我提出的关于蜜蜂如何应对温和压力的实验可能是开创性的，并将产生重大影响，为科学家、立法者和从事传粉者风险评估的公民提供一个“毒物学觉醒”。对杀虫剂诱导的蜜蜂兴奋作用的演示可能会导致对蜜蜂如何适应化学应激以及不同剂量的化学应激如何与蜜蜂的目标部位相互作用的新的机制和进化的见解，同时重塑传粉者风险评估的叙事和政策。

Hormesis is a biological response characterized by inhibition of functions with exposure to high amounts of stress, and stimulation of biological processes when the organism is exposed to low amounts of the stressor. That is, mild stress can stimulate biological functions. The emergence of hormesis has fundamentally changed the way scientists think about and study stress in the `low dose zone'. My lab uses insects to study hormesis. My long-term research program objective is to use insect models to understand the hormesis dose-response phenomenon, and to use this knowledge for applied entomology. This serves as a foundation for our short-term research questions, all of which will involve training of undergraduate and graduate students: 1. Can multiple mild stressors stimulate biological functions in predictable ways? 2. Can animals at different trophic levels can be simultaneously stimulated by mild stress. 3. Does mild chemical stress stimulate insect behaviours? 4. Can hormetic principles be applied to insects mass reared for commercial production? 5. Can exposure to low stress stimulate learning and reproduction in bees? The proposed work is highly original and of fundamental and practical importance to my discipline and beyond. No studies - even work not involving insects - have examined potential hormetic (stimulatory) effects from multiple mild stressors applied together (including heat shock, a likely scenario in the field with climate change induced weather events), changes to trophic interactions that may manifest from hormetic responses, or potential stimulatory effects on behaviors like feeding. Besides being of fundamental importance to understanding biological systems and functions, this knowledge is of practical ecological significance for insect pest management, e.g., predicting balance between a pest outbreak or increased biological control, particularly in a changing climate, which has crucial ramifications for food security. Similarly, research with crickets will reveal how strategically applying low levels of stress during mass rearing of insects will improve commercial production with increased profitability and nutritional value (e.g. protein content) of this emerging food source. Understanding how to accurately assess threats to bees is critically important, and correctly characterizing stressor dose-response relationships is an indispensable part of that risk assessment process. My proposed experiments on how bees respond to mild stress are potentially ground-breaking and will have significant impact, serving as a "toxicological awakening" for scientists, legislators, and citizens engaged in pollinator risk assessment. Demonstration of insecticide-induced hormesis in bees could lead to new mechanistic and evolutionary insights into how bees adapt to chemical stress and how different doses of chemical stress interact with target sites in bees, while reshaping narrative and policy for pollinator risk assessment.