Exposure to pesticides is correlated with gut microbiota alterations in a farmland raptor

Abstract

The gut microbiota is crucial for host health and can be impacted by various environmental disruptions, yet the effects of multiple pesticide exposures on farmland organisms’ microbiomes remain largely unexplored. We assessed microbiota changes in a wild apex predator exposed to multiple pesticides in agricultural landscapes. Pesticides, including acetochlor and quinoxyfen, which are supposed to be banned, were significantly positively correlated with certain key bacteria from Actinobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria classes. Our results light up the potential collateral effect of pesticides on gut bacterial assemblages through unknown mechanisms. These effects could result in dysbiosis and the promotion of potential pathogens and/or the selection of bacteria that might allow the organism to detoxify the organism. Although formal metagenomic analyses would be required soon, these microbial shifts underline the broader ecological consequences of pesticide exposure, emphasising the need for integrated biodiversity conservation and ecosystem management to protect environmental and public health.