LAUSR

BACKGROUND The German cockroach, Blattella germanica, is a ubiquitous and medically significant urban pest. The ongoing development of insecticide resistance in global populations of B. germanica has complicated control efforts and created a need for improved tools. We previously reported that disruption of the gut microbiota by oral administration of the antimicrobial doxycycline reduced resistance in an indoxacarb resistant field strain and also delayed nymphal development and reduced adult fecundity. However, the application of doxycycline for cockroach control in the field is impractical. Here, we sought to determine whether two metal nanoparticles with known antimicrobial properties, copper (Cu) and zinc oxide (ZnO), have similar effects to doxycycline on the physiology of B. germanica and could provide more practical alternatives for control. RESULTS We found that dietary exposure to 0.1% Cu nanoparticles, but not ZnO, significantly delays the development of nymphs into adults. On the other hand, neither of the nanoparticles altered the fecundity of females, and ZnO surprisingly increased resistance to indoxacarb in a resistant field strain, in contrast to doxycycline. Semi quantitative PCR further revealed that prolonged dietary exposure (14 days) to Cu or ZnO nanoparticles at the low concentration readily consumed by cockroaches (0.1%) does not reduce the load of the bacterial microbiota, suggesting alternative mechanisms behind their observed effects. CONCLUSIONS Together, our results indicate that ingestion of Cu nanoparticles can impact German cockroach development through an undetermined mechanism that does not involve reducing the overall load of the bacterial microbiota. Cu may have some applications in cockroach control as a result of this activity but antagonistic effects on insecticide resistance should be considered when evaluating the potential of nanoparticles for cockroach control. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.