Perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA), one of the short-chain replacement perfluoroalkyl substances, has been shown to accumulate in plants. The potential of PFBA to modulate the developmental cycle of the beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua, a polyphagous pest, was investigated. Second-instar larvae were fed with PFBA-spiked artificial diets and leaves from soybean plants grown with PFBA-spiked irrigation water. Spiked PFBA concentrations were 200 μg/kg for the artificial diet, whereas 405 to 15,190 ng/kg accumulated in the soybean leaves. The larvae fed with the PFBA-spiked diet showed a significant increase in weight gain compared with the controls over a 7-day exposure period. A similar weight gain trend was observed with larvae fed with the PFBA-containing soybean leaves, with the dose–response data fitting into a Brain-Cousens hormesis model with a 57% stimulation over controls. The artificial diet treatments showed 66.7% metamorphosed larva to pupa at 9 days after exposure (dpe) compared with 33.3% of the controls. The adult emergence at 16-dpe followed a similar trend with 57.7% and 33.3%, respectively, for the exposed and control groups. The duration of transition from larvae to adults was more symmetrical and 0.5 day faster for the exposed groups over controls. The beet armyworm caused more damage on leaves from the PFBA exposed plants in a nonmonotonic dose–response manner. The results suggest PFBA may have a stimulatory impact on some hormonal signaling pathways at low doses.

全氟丁酸（PFBA）是短链替代全氟烷基物质之一，已显示在植物中积累。PFBA的潜在调节甜菜夜蛾的发育周期，甜菜夜蛾，多食性鼠疫，进行了调查。给二龄幼虫喂以PFBA加标的人工饲料和用PFBA加标的灌溉水生长的大豆植物的叶片。对于人工饮食，加标的PFBA浓度为200μg/ kg，而在大豆叶片中累积的浓度为405至15.190 ng / kg。与对照组相比，在7天的暴露时间内，饲喂PFBA加标饮食的幼虫体重增加显着。用含PFBA的大豆叶片喂食的幼虫也观察到类似的体重增加趋势，其剂量-反应数据拟合到Brain-Cousens兴奋剂模型中，其刺激比对照高57％。人工饮食处理显示，暴露（dpe）后第9天，幼虫到to的变态率为66.7％，而对照组为33.3％。16 dpe处的成虫出现趋势与57发生了类似的趋势。暴露组和对照组分别为7％和33.3％。从幼虫过渡到成虫的持续时间更加对称，暴露组比对照组快0.5天。甜菜军虫以非单调的剂量响应方式对暴露于PFBA的植物的叶片造成更大的伤害。结果表明，低剂量时，PFBA可能对某些激素信号通路具有刺激作用。