Fruit flies as a platform for ecological developmental biology and environmental exposure.

Insect biomass is declining across the globe at an alarming rate. Climate change and the widespread use of pesticides have been hypothesized as two underlying drivers. However, the lack of systematic experimental studies across chemicals and species limits our causal understanding of this problem. Here, we employed a chemical library encompassing 1024 different molecules—including insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, and inhibitors of plant growth—to investigate how insect populations are affected by varying concentrations of pesticides, focusing on sublethal doses.

Collaborators

Christian Tischer, EMBL Heidelberg

Zimmermann-Kogadeeva group, EMBL Heidelberg

Savitski team, EMBL Heidelberg

Zimmermann group, EMBL Heidelberg

Jean-Baptiste Masson lab, Institut Pasteur

Victoria Ingham group, Heidelberg University Hospital