title: Identification and functional characterization of sex pheromone receptors in the common cutworm (Spodoptera litura).
abstract: Male moths can finely discriminate the sex pheromone emitted by conspecific females from similar compounds. Pheromone receptors, expressed on the dendritic membrane of sensory neurons housed in the long trichoid sensilla of antennae, are thought to be associated with the pheromone reception. In this study, we identified and functionally characterized 4 pheromone receptors from the antennae of Spodoptera litura (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). A tissue distribution analysis showed that the expression of the 4 SlituPRs was restricted to antennae. In addition, SlituOR6 and SlituOR13 were specifically expressed in male antennae whereas SlituOR11 and SlituOR16 were male-biased. Functional investigation by heterologous expression in Xenopus oocytes revealed that SlituOR6 was specifically tuned to the second major pheromone component, Z9,E12-14:OAc, SlituOR13 was equally tuned to Z9,E12-14:OAc and Z9-14:OAc, with a small response to the major pheromone component Z9,E11-14:OAc, SlituOR16 significantly responded to the behavioral antagonist Z9-14:OH, whereas SlituOR11 did not show response to any of the pheromone compounds tested in this study. Our results provide molecular data to better understand the mechanisms of sex pheromone detection in the moth S. litura and bring clues to investigate the evolution of the sexual communication channel in closely related species through comparison with previously reported pheromone receptors in other Spodoptera species.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No. 2 Yuanmingyuan West Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100193, China, Education Ministry Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Crop Disease and Pests, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, No. 1 Weigang, Xuanwu District, Nanjing 210095, China and.
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No. 2 Yuanmingyuan West Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100193, China, Education Ministry Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Crop Disease and Pests, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, No. 1 Weigang, Xuanwu District, Nanjing 210095, China and.
authors.forename: Shuwei
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No. 2 Yuanmingyuan West Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100193, China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: INRA, UMR 1392 Institute of Ecology and Environmental Science iEES-Paris, Route de Saint-Cyr, 78026 Versailles cedex, France.
authors.forename: Emmanuelle
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Jacquin-Joly
authors.affiliation: Education Ministry Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Crop Disease and Pests, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, No. 1 Weigang, Xuanwu District, Nanjing 210095, China and.
authors.forename: Shuanglin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No. 2 Yuanmingyuan West Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100193, China, grwang@ippcaas.cn.
authors.forename: Guirong
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000187:drug effects; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009865:Oocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D010675:Pheromones / Q000494:pharmacology; D010802:Phylogeny; D012313:RNA / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D043563:Receptors, Pheromone / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D018411:Spodoptera / Q000378:metabolism*; D014981:Xenopus / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D010675:Pheromones; D043563:Receptors, Pheromone; D012313:RNA
keywords: Spodoptera littoralis; Spodoptera litura; Xenopus oocytes; pheromone receptor