Peripheral olfactory signaling in insects

Suh, Eunho; Bohbot, Jonathan D.; Zwiebel, Laurence J.

doi:10.1016/j.cois.2014.10.006

Cited by 202 publications

(195 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…The encoding of olfactory signals from a complex chemical landscapes is mediated by a large number of protein families [54,55]. The most well studied family of chemosensory proteins thus far is the olfactory receptors (ORs) which are selectively expressed in a subset of ORNs.…”

Section: Molecular Correlates Of Olfaction In Vectorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemical ecology and olfaction in arthropod vectors of diseases

Syed

2015

Current Opinion in Insect Science

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Section: Molecular Correlates Of Olfaction In Vectorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemical ecology and olfaction in arthropod vectors of diseases

Syed

2015

Current Opinion in Insect Science

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“…Functionally, insect OR complexes consist of an odorant coreceptor subunit (Orco), necessary for the trafficking and function of the complex, and a highly divergent "tuning OR" (ORx) that determines the odorant specificity of the complex (reviewed in ref. 10).…”

Section: Significancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…As is the case for other insects, the H. saltator genome contains three major classes of chemoreceptors-odorant receptors (ORs), gustatory receptors (GRs), and variant ionotropic receptors (IRs)-and several other receptor classes such as TRP channels, which also have been shown to have chemosensory roles, reviewed in ref. 10.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional characterization of odorant receptors in the ponerine ant, Harpegnathos saltator

Slone

Pask

Ferguson

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Animals use a variety of sensory modalities-including visual, acoustic, and chemical-to sense their environment and interact with both conspecifics and other species. Such communication is especially critical in eusocial insects such as honey bees and ants, where cooperation is critical for survival and reproductive success. Various classes of chemoreceptors have been hypothesized to play essential roles in the origin and evolution of eusociality in ants, through their functional roles in pheromone detection that characterizes reproductive status and colony membership. To better understand the molecular mechanisms by which chemoreceptors regulate social behaviors, we investigated the roles of a critical class of chemoreceptors, the odorant receptors (ORs), from the ponerine ant Harpegnathos saltator in detecting cuticular hydrocarbon pheromones. In light of the massive OR expansion in ants (∼400 genes per species), a representative survey based on phylogenetic and transcriptomic criteria was carried out across discrete odorant receptor subfamilies. Responses to several classes of semiochemicals are described, including cuticular hydrocarbons and mandibular gland components that act as H. saltator pheromones, and a range of more traditional general odorants. When viewed through the prism of caste-specific OR enrichment and distinctive OR subfamily odorant response profiles, our findings suggest that whereas individual HsOrs appear to be narrowly tuned, there is no apparent segregation of tuning responses within any discrete HsOr subfamily. Instead, the HsOR gene family as a whole responds to a broad array of compounds, including both cuticular hydrocarbons and general odorants that are likely to mediate distinct behaviors.ant | odorant receptor | odor coding | pheromone T he detection of ecologically relevant chemosensory information is critical to the survival and propagation of all organisms. For example, sex pheromones allow members of the same species to locate and assess mates, and predators use volatile kairomones to locate prey. There is long-standing interest in understanding the pheromonal communication of insects and, in particular, exploring how semiochemicals govern the interactions of eusocial colonies. Ants are intriguing for the purposes of chemosensory studies, because of their diversity and exploitation of cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) for nest-mate recognition, and as signals of reproductive and caste status. Most ants live in closed societies within a shared colony or nest-with stereotypic social behaviors that involve a strict division of reproductive labor-in which multiple overlapping generations of sterile workers cooperate to nurture the progeny produced by the reproductives, which usually consist of single or small numbers of long-lived, highly fertile queens and short-lived male drones (1). Reproductive status within the colony is thought to be signaled primarily by a subset of the hydrocarbons secreted onto the external cuticle of insects and other arthropods (e.g. ref.2) that also func...

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“…Selection drives the evolution of genes that facilitate host and mate finding, whereas behaviorally redundant OR genes are no longer expressed (Sánchez-Gracia et al, 2009;Hansson and Stensmyr, 2011;Suh et al, 2014;Andersson et al, 2015). Consequently, the insect OR repertoire is expected to be tuned to odor cues of ecological relevance, as indicated in the functional comparison between the OR repertoire of the vinegar fly, Drosophila melanogaster, and the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae, which shows little overlap (Hill et al, 2002;Carey et al, 2010;Suh et al, 2014;Karner et al, 2015). Orthologous ORs are of particular interest since may be tuned to odorants that are behaviorally and ecologically relevant across species (Bohbot et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Conserved Odorant Receptor Detects the Same 1-Indanone Analogs in a Tortricid and a Noctuid Moth

et al. 2015

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Odorant receptors (ORs) interface animals with airborne chemical signals. They are under strong selection pressure and are therefore highly divergent in different taxa. Yet, some OR orthologs are highly conserved. These ORs may be tuned to odorants of broad importance, across species boundaries. Two widely distributed lepidopteran herbivores, codling moth Cydia pomonella (Tortricidae) feeding in apples and pears, and the African cotton leafworm Spodoptera littoralis (Noctuidae), a moth feeding on foliage of a wide range of herbaceous plants, both express a receptor ortholog, OR19, which shares 58% amino acid identity and 69% amino acid similarity. Following heterologous expression in the empty neuron system of Drosophila melanogaster, we show by single sensillum recordings that CpomOR19 and SlitOR19 show similar affinity to several substituted indanes. Tests with a series of compounds structurally related to 1-indanone show that 2-methyl-1-indanone, 2-ethyl-1-indanone, 3-methyl-1-indanone, and 1-indanone elicit a strong response from both ORs. A keto group in position 1 is essential for biological activity and so are both rings of the indane skeleton. However, there is an important difference in steric complementary of the indane rings and the receptor. Methyl substituents on the benzene ring largely suppressed the response. On the other hand, alkyl substituents at position 2 and 3 of the five-membered ring increased the response indicating a higher complementarity with the receptor cavity, in both CpomOR19 and SlitOR19. Our results demonstrate a conserved function of an odorant receptor in two moths that are phylogenetically and ecologically distant. It is conceivable that a conserved OR is tuned to signals that are relevant for both species, although their ecological roles are yet unknown. Our finding demonstrates that functional characterization of ORs leads to the discovery of novel semiochemicals that have not yet been found through chemical analysis of odorants from insects and their associated host plants.

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Peripheral olfactory signaling in insects

Cited by 202 publications

References 74 publications

Chemical ecology and olfaction in arthropod vectors of diseases

Chemical ecology and olfaction in arthropod vectors of diseases

Functional characterization of odorant receptors in the ponerine ant, Harpegnathos saltator

A Conserved Odorant Receptor Detects the Same 1-Indanone Analogs in a Tortricid and a Noctuid Moth

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