AI Article Synopsis
- Olfaction is crucial for herbivorous insects when choosing host plants, and this study focuses on two related moth species with differing plant preferences.
- Researchers investigated 11 female-biased odorant receptors (ORs) and found that specific chemicals, like guaiene and benzyl acetone, have distinct attraction effects—guaiene only attracts females while benzyl acetone attracts both sexes.
- The study highlights how these chemical signals play a role in oviposition (egg-laying) preferences and can aid in managing pest populations by using them as attractants.
Article Abstract
Olfaction plays an instrumental role in host plant selection by phytophagous insects. and are two closely related moth species with different host plant ranges. In this study, we first comparatively analyzed the function of 11 female-biased odorant receptors (ORs) and their orthologs in the two species by the T1 neuron expression system and then examined the electroantennography responses of the two species to the most effective OR ligands. Behavioral assays using a Y-tube olfactometer indicate that guaiene, the primary ligand of HassOR21-2 and HarmOR21-2, only attracts the females, while benzyl acetone, the main ligand of HassOR35 and HarmOR35, attracts both sexes of the two species. Oviposition preference experiments further confirm that guaiene and benzyl acetone are potent oviposition attractants for the mated females of both species. These findings deepen our understanding of the olfactory coding mechanisms of host plant selection in herbivorous insects and provide valuable attractants for managing pest populations.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.3c05368 | DOI Listing |
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