Sex specific antennal transcriptomics and identification of chemosensory genes in Pumpkin fruit fly, Zeugodacus tau
Zeugodacus tau is recognized as most detrimental and consequential dipteran pests, infesting a variety of vegetables, fruits and nuts all around the world. Flies rely heavily on their olfactory modality to identify chemical signals in their surroundings. Despite extensive behavioural studies, the molecular architecture underlying chemoperception in Z. tau is still not well mapped out. Since antennae functions as the primary olfactory organs and houses majority of the olfactory sensilla. The objective of the study was to perform transcriptome analysis on the antennae of adult Z. tau to identify chemosensory genes in both sexes. Through de novo assembly of antennal transcriptome data, a total of 189 chemosensory genes were identified, including 57 odorant-binding proteins, 82 odorant receptors, 18 gustatory receptors, 21 ionotropic receptors, five chemosensory proteins and six sensory neuron membrane proteins. Moreover, gene ontology, pathway enrichment, phylogeny and differential expression of identified unigenes genes was also assessed. Altogether, 12,413 genes were commonly expressed, 168 upregulated and 515 downregulated were discovered through comparative antennal transcriptome-wide analysis of the male and female Z. tau. The present findings provide critical foundational framework for future investigations on molecular and olfactory basis of chemoperception in Z. tau and advances our knowledge of olfactory processing in dipteran insects. These findings provide essential molecular data to promote functional exploration of olfactory genes and aid in designing odor-based targeted pest-control techniques.
Zeugodacus tau is recognized as most detrimental and consequential dipteran pests, infesting a variety of vegetables, fruits and nuts all around the world. Flies rely heavily on their olfactory modality to identify chemical signals in their surroundings. Despite extensive behavioural studies, the molecular architecture underlying chemoperception in Z. tau is still not well mapped out. Since antennae functions as the primary olfactory organs and houses majority of the olfactory sensilla. The objective of the study was to perform transcriptome analysis on the antennae of adult Z. tau to identify chemosensory genes in both sexes. Through de novo assembly of antennal transcriptome data, a total of 189 chemosensory genes were identified, including 57 odorant-binding proteins, 82 odorant receptors, 18 gustatory receptors, 21 ionotropic receptors, five chemosensory proteins and six sensory neuron membrane proteins. Moreover, gene ontology, pathway enrichment, phylogeny and differential expression of identified unigenes genes was also assessed. Altogether, 12,413 genes were commonly expressed, 168 upregulated and 515 downregulated were discovered through comparative antennal transcriptome-wide analysis of the male and female Z. tau. The present findings provide critical foundational framework for future investigations on molecular and olfactory basis of chemoperception in Z. tau and advances our knowledge of olfactory processing in dipteran insects. These findings provide essential molecular data to promote functional exploration of olfactory genes and aid in designing odor-based targeted pest-control techniques.
Indian Biological Data Centre