{"690865":{"#nid":"690865","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Next-Generation Pesticide Disrupts Bumblebee Reproduction","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBumblebees are only an inch long, but they help power the global\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.usda.gov\/about-usda\/general-information\/initiatives-and-highlighted-programs\/peoples-garden\/importance-pollinators\u0022\u003Efood system\u003C\/a\u003E. Roughly one-third of the food we grow depends on pollinators like bees \u2014 and those bees are regularly\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.centerforfoodsafety.org\/issues\/304\/pollinator-protection\/bee-decline-and-pesticide-use-248\u0022\u003Edecimated\u003C\/a\u003E by pesticides.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EModern pesticides have helped boost crop yields, but they can also harm the insects that make those yields possible. Sulfoxaflor, a next-generation pesticide introduced in 2013, kills sap-feeding pests like aphids in crops, including soybeans and corn. Sulfoxaflor is also known to be toxic to bees. Scientists are still working to understand how low-dose exposure affects bee reproduction at the molecular level.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers at Georgia Tech have found that sulfoxaflor disrupts reproduction and gene expression. In a study funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the team exposed groups of worker bumblebees to low doses of the pesticide and analyzed changes in gene activity. They found that ovarian tissues showed the most significant shifts in gene expression. These changes could contribute to reduced reproductive output and, over time, affect bee populations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the study, the researchers flash-froze bee tissues and analyzed RNA to track how gene activity shifted after pesticide exposure. The Georgia Tech team used computational models to pinpoint which biological systems were most affected.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhat makes this study exciting is that it connects molecular changes in gene expression to real-world consequences for individual bees and their colonies,\u201d said\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/people\/michael-goodisman\u0022\u003EMichael Goodisman\u003C\/a\u003E, a professor in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E. \u201cThat type of connection is rare and gives us a much clearer picture of how pesticides affect bees.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe implications of the study highlight a pressing challenge in agriculture.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe need pesticides to control crop pests, but they can also harm essential non-target insects like bumblebees,\u201d said Sarah Orr, who led the research as a postdoctoral fellow at Georgia Tech and now works as an assistant professor at the University of Tampa. \u201cAs a scientist, my goal is to identify practical solutions that support pest management while also protecting beneficial insects and the food systems that depend on them.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat balance between pest control and pollinator protection is critical. \u201cWe need many bees for successful pollination,\u201d Orr said. \u201cIf they\u2019re not producing enough offspring, pollination will decline.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPesticides are only one of several threats facing bumblebees. Stressors like heatwaves also play a growing role. By better understanding how chemicals like sulfoxaflor affect bee biology, researchers hope to help farmers protect both their crops and the pollinators that sustain them.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMichael A. Catto, Jixiang Xu, Kayla A. Murray, Emma Leigh M. Bossard, Michael A.D. Goodisman, Sarah E. Orr,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0147651326004306\u0022\u003EIntegrative assessment of sulfoxaflor effects on gene expression, reproduction, and behavior in the bumblebee \u003Cem\u003EBombus impatiens\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, \u003Cem\u003EEcotoxicology and Environmental Safety\u003C\/em\u003E, Volume 315, 15 April 2026, 120101, ISSN 0147-6513.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003Ehttps:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.ecoenv.2026.120101\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech researchers found that a widely used agricultural pesticide alters bumblebee gene expression, diminishing their ability to reproduce.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech researchers found that a widely used agricultural pesticide alters bumblebee gene expression, diminishing their ability to reproduce."}],"uid":"34541","created_gmt":"2026-06-22 20:20:00","changed_gmt":"2026-06-24 13:31:29","author":"Tess Malone","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-06-22T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-06-22T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680490":{"id":"680490","type":"image","title":"Bee.jpeg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EPhoto by Sarah Orr\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1782159635","gmt_created":"2026-06-22 20:20:35","changed":"1782159635","gmt_changed":"2026-06-22 20:20:35","alt":"Bee on flower","file":{"fid":"264760","name":"Bee.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/22\/Bee.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/06\/22\/Bee.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":246903,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/06\/22\/Bee.jpeg?itok=eXPYWkMh"}}},"media_ids":["680490"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETess Malone, Senior Research Writer\/Editor\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003Etess.malone@gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}