AUTHOR=He Xiaoli , Cai Yajie , Zhu Jinglei , Zhang Mengdi , Zhang Yadong , Ge Yang , Zhu Zengrong , Zhou Wenwu , Wang Guirong , Gao Yulin 

TITLE=Identification and Functional Characterization of Two Putative Pheromone Receptors in the Potato Tuber Moth, Phthorimaea operculella

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Physiology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2020.618983

DOI=10.3389/fphys.2020.618983

ISSN=1664-042X

ABSTRACT=<p>Pheromones are a kind of signal produced by an animal that evoke innate responses in conspecifics. In moth, pheromone components can be detected by specialized olfactory receptor neurons (OSNs) housed in long sensilla trichoids on the male antennae. The pheromone receptors (PRs) located in the dendrite membrane of OSNs are responsible for pheromone sensing in most Lepidopteran insects. The potato tuber moth <italic>Phthorimaea operculella</italic> is a destructive pest of Solanaceae crops. Although sex attractant is widely used in fields to monitor the population of <italic>P. operculella</italic>, no study has been reported on the mechanism the male moth of <italic>P. operculella</italic> uses to recognize sex pheromone components. In the present study, we cloned two pheromone receptor genes <italic>PopeOR1</italic> and <italic>PopeOR3</italic> in <italic>P. operculella</italic>. The transcripts of them were highly accumulated in the antennae of male adults. Functional analysis using the heterologous expression system of <italic>Xenopus</italic> oocyte demonstrated that these two PR proteins both responded to (<italic>E</italic>, <italic>Z</italic>)-4,7–13: OAc and (<italic>E</italic>, <italic>Z</italic>, <italic>Z</italic>)-4,7,10–13: OAc, the key sex pheromone components of <italic>P. operculella</italic>, whilst they responded differentially to these two ligands. Our findings for the first time characterized the function of pheromone receptors in gelechiid moth and could promote the olfactory based pest management of <italic>P. operculella</italic> in the field.</p>