Comparative Transcriptomic Assessment of Chemosensory Genes in Adult and Larval Olfactory Organs of .

The rice leaf folder, (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), is a notorious pest of rice in Asia. The larvae and adults of utilize specialized chemosensory systems to adapt to different environmental odors and physiological behaviors. However, the differences in chemosensory genes between the olfactory organs of these two different developmental stages remain unclear. Here, we conducted a transcriptome analysis of larvae heads, male antennae, and female antennae in and identified 131 putative chemosensory genes, including 32 s (8 novel s), 23 s (2 novel s), 55 s (17 novel s), 19 s (5 novel s) and 2 s. Comparisons between larvae and adults of by transcriptome and RT-qPCR analysis revealed that the number and expression of chemosensory genes in larval heads were less than that of adult antennae. Only 17 chemosensory genes (7 s and 10 s) were specifically or preferentially expressed in the larval heads, while a total of 101 chemosensory genes (21 s, 9 s, 51 s, 18 s, and 2 s) were specifically or preferentially expressed in adult antennae. Our study found differences in chemosensory gene expression between larvae and adults, suggesting their specialized functions at different developmental stages of . These results provide a theoretical basis for screening chemosensory genes as potential molecular targets and developing novel management strategies to control .