Chemosensory proteins of the eastern honeybee, Apis cerana: Identification, tissue distribution and olfactory related functional characterization.

Chemosensory proteins (CSPs), a class of small soluble proteins, are thought to be involved in insect chemoreceptive behavior. Here, six CSP genes, AcerCSP1-6 from Apis cerana, were cloned and characterized from worker bees' antennae. Results revealed that the AcerCSPs' amino acid sequences shared high similarity with the homologous genes of Apis mellifera, but low similarity with other insect species.