Comparing the Behavioral Impacts of Heavy Metals and Rare Earth Elements on Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens) Larvae
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: ) to perform a comparative behavioral and transcriptomic assessment of 23 HMs and 16 REEs across two acute exposure concentrations. High-throughput video tracking and phenomic analysis showed HMs produced broader disruption than REEs, with low-concentration HMs inducing locomotor suppression, thigmotaxis, reduced fractal dimension and entropy, progressing to severe motor inhibition and rigid low-entropy states. In contrast, REEs showed a biphasic profile, shifting from selective locomotor suppression with preserved organization at low concentrations to hyperactive, fragmented, high-entropy movement with increased thigmotaxis at high concentrations. PCA and hierarchical clustering integrated endpoints into four neurobehavioral fingerprints segregating metal class and concentration, with partial overlap of high-concentration REEs with HMs along a shared high-toxicity axis. Transcriptomic profiling showed that cobalt as a representative HM activated DNA damage and cell-cycle pathways, perturbed energy signaling, and suppressed neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, whereas samarium as a representative REE downregulated xenobiotic metabolism, oxidative phosphorylation, glutathione metabolism, and synaptic vesicle cycling. These findings demonstrate distinct concentration-dependent neurotoxic modes of action for HMs and REEs and establish BSFL behavioral phenomics integrated with transcriptomics as a mechanistically informative platform for ecological risk assessment in contaminated waste systems.
Source: Toxics
Authors: Muhammad Khan, Minh-Quan Tran, Petrus Siregar, Szu-Chieh Wang, Ming-Der Lin, Chung-Der Hsiao
Language: English
Subfield: Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,137
Funder: Tzu Chi University
Award: G3432045660
OpenAlex ID: W7203645536