title: Receptor for detection of a Type II sex pheromone in the winter moth Operophtera brumata.
abstract: How signal diversity evolves under stabilizing selection in a pheromone-based mate recognition system is a conundrum. Female moths produce two major types of sex pheromones, i.e., long-chain acetates, alcohols and aldehydes (Type I) and polyenic hydrocarbons and epoxides (Type II), along different biosynthetic pathways. Little is known on how male pheromone receptor (PR) genes evolved to perceive the different pheromones. We report the identification of the first PR tuned to Type II pheromones, namely ObruOR1 from the winter moth, Operophtera brumata (Geometridae). ObruOR1 clusters together with previously ligand-unknown orthologues in the PR subfamily for the ancestral Type I pheromones, suggesting that O. brumata did not evolve a new type of PR to match the novel Type II signal but recruited receptors within an existing PR subfamily. AsegOR3, the ObruOR1 orthologue previously cloned from the noctuid Agrotis segetum that has Type I acetate pheromone components, responded significantly to another Type II hydrocarbon, suggesting that a common ancestor with Type I pheromones had receptors for both types of pheromones, a preadaptation for detection of Type II sex pheromone.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Lund University, SE-223 62 Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Dan-Dan
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Lund University, SE-223 62 Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Hong-Lei
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physiology, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schultze
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physiology, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: Heidrun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Froß
authors.affiliation: Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Wittko
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Francke
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physiology, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany.|Department of Animal Physiology, MLU Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany.
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Krieger
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Lund University, SE-223 62 Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Christer
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Löfstedt
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D057506:Arthropod Antennae / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D017344:Genes, Insect; D008297:Male; D009036:Moths / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology*; D010802:Phylogeny; D043563:Receptors, Pheromone / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D012621:Seasons; D058618:Sensilla / Q000502:physiology; D012724:Sex Attractants / Q000378:metabolism*; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012737:Sex Factors
chemical_list: D043563:Receptors, Pheromone; D012724:Sex Attractants