1. An Antennae-Specific Odorant-Binding Protein Is Involved in Bactrocera dorsalis Olfaction
- Author
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Li Xu, Zhong-Ren Lei, Zhao Liu, Jin-Jun Wang, Guy Smagghe, Xiao-Fei Liang, and Ian W. Keesey
- Subjects
EXPRESSION ,0106 biological sciences ,0301 basic medicine ,Olfactory system ,media_common.quotation_subject ,lcsh:Evolution ,ATTRACTION ,odorant-binding proteins ,dsRNA ,Insect ,Olfaction ,010603 evolutionary biology ,01 natural sciences ,Bactrocera dorsalis ,oriental fruit fly ,03 medical and health sciences ,lcsh:QH540-549.5 ,lcsh:QH359-425 ,TEPHRITIDAE ,Sensillum ,BUG ADELPHOCORIS-LINEOLATUS ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics ,SUPPRESSION ,Antenna (biology) ,media_common ,ORIENTAL FRUIT-FLY ,TASTE ,IDENTIFICATION ,biology ,Ecology ,cDNA library ,fungi ,Biology and Life Sciences ,biology.organism_classification ,antennae ,Cell biology ,030104 developmental biology ,METHYL EUGENOL ,Odorant-binding protein ,biology.protein ,DIPTERA ,lcsh:Ecology ,olfaction - Abstract
Insect antennae are important olfactory organs that house high concentrations of odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) in the sensillum lymph. Previous studies in other insects have shown that OBPs play important roles in transporting odorants and enhancing the sensitivity of the olfactory system. However, the functions of OBPs in the oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis, especially those specifically expressed in antennae, have not been fully elucidated. In this study, cDNA libraries were constructed from both the male and female antennal transcriptome, and twenty OBPs were identified in total. The expression profiles of these OBPs were examined in the adult antenna, head, thorax, leg, and abdomen of both sexes. Seven of the identified OBP genes had significantly higher expression in both the male and female antennae than in other tissues, while the transcript levels of the remaining OBPs varied across different tissues. Regarding the function of antenna-specific OBPs, we targeted Bdorsobp2 as a representative for further RNA interference (RNAi) and identified via electrophysiology a decrease in detection of a potential species-specific a potent attractant, methyl eugenol. Moreover, subsequent behavioral assay data showed that the behavioral response of B. dorsalis toward this odorant decreased when Bdorobp2 was silenced with injection of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA). Combined, these results support our initial hypothesis that antennae-specific OBPs are of critical importance for insect odorant detection, sensitivity, and behavior.
- Published
- 2020