by Jorgen Stenersen

• Describes pesticides according to their mode of action, not according to the pests they are used against

• Includes an extensive list of relevant literature, from classic to cutting edge

• Explores environmental problems with an objective viewpoint, without overemphasizing the benefits or problems of pesticide usage

• Explains the development of resistance in the context of evolution, integrating natural selection and engineered resistance to herbicides

Chemical Pesticides provides answers to questions such as why pesticides are toxic to the target organism and why pesticides are toxic to some organisms and not others. It describes how various poisons interfere with biochemical processes in organisms.

The book also explores how resistance to pesticides develops, how resistance can be used to illustrate the theory of evolution, and how it can be used to produce herbicide-resistant crop plants. Legal matters and potential environmental problems are also discussed.

By providing an integrated, yet simple description of modern chemical pesticides, the author provides a relevant text for professionals and students in biological disciplines such as biochemistry, medicine, agriculture, and veterinary science.

Contents

1. Introduction
   • Motivation • Pesticides and Opinion • A Great Market • Nomenclature, Definitions and Terminology • Helpful Reading • Biochemistry and Cell Biology • General Toxicology • Insect Biochemistry, Plant Physiology, Neurophysiology • Pesticides • Side Effects of Pesticides

2. Why is a Toxicant Poisonous
   • Seven Routes to Death • How to Measure Toxicity • Endpoints • Dose and Effect • Dose and Response • LD50 and Related Parameters • Acute and Chronic Toxicity • Interactions • Mechanisms of Interactions • Examples

3. Pesticides Interfering with Processes Important to All Organisms
   • Pesticides that Disturb Energy Production • Anabolic and Catabolic Processes • Synthesis of Acetyl Coenzyme A and the Toxic Mechanism of Arsenic • The Citric Acid Cycle and Its Inhibitors • The Electron Transport Chain and Production of ATP • Inhibition of ATP Production • Herbicides that Inhibit Photosynthesis • Weak Organic Acids • Free Radical Generators • D1 - Blockers • Inhibitors of Carotene Synthesis • Protoporphyrinogen Oxidase inhibitors • General SH-Reagents and Free Radical Generators • Mercury • Other Multisite Fungicides • Pesticides Interfering with Cell Division • Fungicides • Herbicides • Pesticides Inhibiting Enzymes in Nucleic Acid Synthesis

4. Bacillus Thuringiensis and Its Toxins
   • The Mechanism of Action -endotoxins • Biotechnology • Engineered Plants • Biology • Commercial Products

5. Specific Enzyme Inhibitors
   • Inhibitors of Ergosterol Synthesis • Herbicides that Inhibit Synthesis of Amino Acids • Inhibitors of Chitin Synthesis • Insecticides • Fungicides • Inhibitors of Cholinesterase • Acetylcholinesterase • Organophosphates • Carbamates • Development of Organophosphorus and Carbamate Insecticides • Other Enzymes Inhibited by Organophosphates and Carbamates • The Butyrylcholinesterases • The Neurotoxic Target Enzyme (NTE) • Carboxylesterases

6. Interference with Signal Transduction in the Nerves
   • Potency of Nerve Poisons • Selectivity • The Nerve and the Nerve Cell • Pesticides that Act on the Axon • Impulse Transmission along the Axon • Pyrethroids • DDT and its Analogues • Pesticides Acting on Synaptic Transmission • Inhibitory Synapses • The Cholinergic Synapses • Calcium Channels as Possible Targets for Insecticides

7. Pesticides that Act as Signal Molecules
   • Insect Hormones • Insect Endocrinology • Juvenile Hormone • Ecdysone • Behaviour-Modifying Pesticides • Pheromones • Structure - Activity Relationships • Pheromones used as Pesticides and Lures • Plant Hormones

8. Translocation and Degradation of Pesticides
   • The Compartment Model • The Bioconcentration Factor • The Half-life • The Area under the Curve • Example • Degradation of Pesticides by Micro-organisms • Degradation by Adaption • Degradation by Co-metabolism • Kinetics of Degradation • Importance of Chemical Structure for Degradation • Examples • The Degraders • Soil Adsorption • Why are Chemicals Adsorbed? • Examples • Desorption • Evaporation • Example • Biotransformation in Animals • Oxidation • Epoxide Hydrolase • Glutathione Transferase • Hydrolases • Glucoronosyltransferase and Sulfotransferase • Stereospecific Biotransformation • Designing Pesticides that have Low Mammalian Toxicity

9. Resistance to Pesticides
   • Resistance is an Inevitable Result of Evolution • Questions about Resistance • Biochemical Mechanisms • Increased Detoxication • Insensitive Target Enzyme or Target Receptor Site • Resistance in Fungi • Atrazine Resistance and Plants made Resistant by Genetic Engineering • Resistance to Glyphosate • Resistance to older Biocides used as Pesticides • Resistance to the Third and Fourth Generation Pesticides • How to Delay Development of Resistance • Refuge Strategy • Mixing Pesticides with Different Modes of Action and Different Detoxication Patterns • Switching Life-stage Target • Increased Sensitivity in Resistant Pests • Inhibition of Detoxication Enzymes

10. Pesticides as Environmental Hazards
    • Pesticides are Poisons • Pesticides are Xenobiotics • Various Types of Bias • Benchmark Values • Required Toxicological Tests for Official Approval of a Pesticide • Residue Analysis of Residues in Food and the Environment • Sampling • Sample preparation • Analysis • Pesticide Residues in Food • Toxicity Classification of Pesticides • Definition of ADI and NOEL and Tolerance Limits • Comparing Health Hazard of Pesticides with Other Toxicants Present in the Market Basket • Elixirs of Death • Nomenclature and Structure of Dioxins • Dioxins in Pesticides • Toxicology • The Target • Analysis • Angry Birdwatchers, Youth Criminals, and Impotent Rats • Clear Lake • Peregrine Falcons and Other Birds of Prey

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