Insect sex-pheromone signals mediated by specific combinations of olfactory receptors.
We describe two male-specific olfactory receptors (ORs) in the silk moth, Bombyx mori, that are mutually exclusively expressed in a pair of adjacent pheromone-sensitive neurons of male antennae: One is specifically tuned to bombykol, the sex pheromone, and the other to bombykal, its oxidized form. Both pheromone ORs are coexpressed with an OR from the highly conserved insect OR subfamily. This coexpression promotes the functional expression of pheromone receptors and confers ligand-stimulated nonselective cation channel activity. The same effects were also observed for general ORs. Both odorant and pheromone signaling pathways are mediated by means of a common mechanism in insects.
Nakagawa
Takao
T
Department of Integrated Biosciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Chiba 277-8562, Japan.
Sakurai
Takeshi
T
Nishioka
Takaaki
T
Touhara
Kazushige
K
D000466:Alkadienes / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D012831:Bombyx / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D002412:Cations / Q000378:metabolism; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005233:Fatty Alcohols / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D017344:Genes, Insect; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000502:physiology; D008024:Ligands; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009812:Odorants; D018034:Olfactory Receptor Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D018035:Receptors, Odorant / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D012679:Sense Organs / Q000502:physiology; D012724:Sex Attractants / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000502:physiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014982:Xenopus laevis
D000466:Alkadienes; D002412:Cations; D005233:Fatty Alcohols; D019476:Insect Proteins; D007473:Ion Channels; D008024:Ligands; D018035:Receptors, Odorant; D012724:Sex Attractants; C066482:bombykal; C006787:bombykol