Prothioconazole (PTC), a novel broad-spectrum triazole fungicide, has attracted widespread concern due to its wide use and toxicological effects on non-target organisms. However, little is known about the impact of PTC on oocyte quality and female fertility, especially on oocyte maturation and fertilization. In the present study, we reported that PTC exposure affects the oocyte developmental competence and oocyte fertilization ability to weaken female fertility. Firstly, PTC compromises oocyte development ability by disrupting spindle morphology and chromosome alignment, as well as decreasing acetylation level of α-tubulin and disrupting kinetochore-microtubule attachments. In addition, PTC compromises oocyte fertilization ability by weakening the sperm binding ability and impairing the dynamics of Juno, Cortical granule and Ovastacin. Finally, single-cell transcriptome analysis revealed that PTC exposure has potentially toxic effects on oocyte development and fertilization, which is caused by the mitochondrial dysfunction and the occurrence of oxidative stress and apoptosis. In summary, our results indicated that PTC exposure had potentially toxic effects on female fertility and led to poor oocyte quality in female mice.

Chlorantraniliprole (CAP) is a new type of diamide insecticide that is mainly used to control lepidopteran pests. However, it has been proven to be hazardous to nontarget organisms, and the effects of its residues need to be monitored. In this study, five hybridoma cell lines were developed that produced anti-CAP monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), of which the mAb originating from the cell line 5C5B9 showed the highest sensitivity and was used to develop a gold nanoparticle-based lateral flow immunoassay (AuNP-LFIA) for CAP. The visible limit of detection of the AuNP-LFIA was 1.25 ng/mL, and the detection results were obtained in less than 10 min. The AuNP-LFIA showed no cross-reactivity for CAP analogs, except for tetraniliprole (50%) and cyclaniliprole (5%). In the detection of spiked and blind samples, the accuracy and reliability of the AuNP-LFIA were confirmed by a comparison with spiked concentrations and verified by ultra-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. Thus, this study provides the core reagents for establishing CAP immunoassays and a AuNP-LFIA for the detection of residual CAP.

Fungicides, including thiophanate-methyl, tebuconazole, pyraclostrobin, and difenoconazole, have been widely used as preservatives to control fungal diseases during pear storage. However, the metabolic capability of pear for exogenous compounds decreases at lower storage temperatures, leading to an increase in the risk of exposure to chemical preservatives. In this work, a sensitive and stable ultraperformance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC–MS/MS) analytical method was established to investigate the dissipation dynamics and dietary intake risk of four chemical preservatives in pears under different conditions. The mean recoveries of the preservatives in pear samples ranged from 73.2% to 117.1%, with relative standard deviations of 0.5–7.2%. The dissipation half-lives (T_1/2) of thiophanate-methyl, tebuconazole, pyraclostrobin, and difenoconazole in pears were 7.2–21.1 d and 31.6–173.3 d at storage temperatures of 25 °C and 4 °C, respectively. The results of dietary risk evaluation showed that the intake risk of preservatives in commercial pears was acceptable. However, some pears from commercial supermarkets still contained preservatives at amounts that exceeded the maximum residue limit (MRL) set by the Chinese government. This work provides a guideline for the risk evaluation of fruit preservatives on human health.

To clarify the residue formation of prothioconazole and its main metabolite in wheat plants, the uptake, translocation, and metabolism of prothioconazole in wheat roots and leaves were investigated by nutrient solution culture and the spraying method. The results showed that prothioconazole and its metabolites showed a trend of increasing and then decreasing in wheat plants under two treatment methods, and the concentration of prothioconazole and its metabolites was higher in the high-concentration group (5000 μg/mL) than in the low-concentration group (1000 μg/mL). The transferability from stem to leaf was stronger than that from root to stem. In the nutrient solution culture, prothioconazole and its metabolites were mainly enriched in wheat roots. The concentration of prothioconazole in wheat roots increases with the increase in prothioconazole concentration and was significantly higher than the prothioconazole concentration on stems and leaves. In wheat leaves in the spraying method, prothioconazole and its metabolites were conducted from leaves to stems and roots up to the nutrient solution. Prothioconazole-desthio was detectable in wheat nutrient solution, while prothioconazole was not detected. Analysis of actual samples of 9 wheat grains and 28 flours showed that the residues of prothioconazole and its metabolites met the maximum residue limit (0.1 mg/mL) set in China and by the Codex Alimentarius Commission. The results will provide a theoretical basis for the scientific use of prothioconazole and food security assurance.

Pesticide residues in soil, especially multiple herbicide residues, cause a series of adverse effects on soil properties and microorganisms. In this work, the degradation of three herbicides and the effect on bacterial communities under combined pollution was investigated. The experimental results showed that the half-lives of acetochlor and prometryn significantly altered under combined exposure (5.02–11.17 d) as compared with those of individual exposure (4.70–6.87 d) in soil, suggesting that there was an antagonistic effect between the degradation of acetochlor and prometryn in soil. No remarkable variation in the degradation rate of atrazine with half-lives of 6.21–6.85 d was observed in different treatments, indicating that the degradation of atrazine was stable. 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing results showed that the antagonistic effect of acetochlor and prometryn on the degradation rate under combined pollution was related to variation of the Sphingomonas and Nocardioide. Furthermore, the potential metabolic pathways of the three herbicides in soil were proposed and a new metabolite of acetochlor was preliminarily identified. The results of this work provide a guideline for the risk evaluation of combined pollution of the three herbicides with respect to their ecological effects in soil.