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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Physiol.
Sec. Invertebrate Physiology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fphys.2024.1503440
This article is part of the Research Topic Insect Physiology Aspects of Environmentally Friendly Strategies for Crop Pests and Invertebrate Vectors Control, Volume II View all 8 articles

Identification and odor exposure regulation of odorant-binding proteins in Picromerus lewisi

Provisionally accepted
Shan-Cheng Yi Shan-Cheng Yi 1*Jia-Ling Yu Jia-Ling Yu 1*Sara Taha Abdelkhalek Sara Taha Abdelkhalek 1Zhi-Rong Sun Zhi-Rong Sun 2*Man-Qun Wang Man-Qun Wang 1*
  • 1 Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
  • 2 Southwest Guizhou Autonomous Prefecture Tobacco Company, Guizhou Tobacco Company, Guiyang, Guizhou Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The highly developed sensitive olfactory system is essential for Picromerus lewisi Scott (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) adults, an widely distributed natural predatory enemy, to locate host plants. During this process, odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) are thought to have significant involvement in the olfactory recognition. However, the roles of OBPs in the olfactory perception of P. lewisi are not frequently reported. Here, we conducted odor exposure and transcriptome sequencing experiments using healthy and Spodoptera litura-infested tobacco plants as odor sources. The transcriptomic data revealed that the alteration in the expression of mRNA levels upon exposure to odor was sex-dependent. As the expression profiles differed significantly between male and female adults of P. lewisi. A total of 15 P. lewisi OBPs (PlewOBPs) were identified from the P. lewisi transcriptome. Sequence and phylogenetic analysis indicated that PlewOBPs can be classified into two subfamilies (classic OBP and plus-C OBP). The qRT-PCR results showed that the transcript abundance of 8 PlewOBPs substantially altered following exposure to S. litura-infested tobacco plants, compared to the blank control or healthy plants. This implies that these PlewOBPs may have an olfactory function in detecting S. litura-infested tobacco plants. This study establishes the foundation for further understanding of the olfactory recognition mechanism of P. lewisi and helps discover novel targets for functional characterization in future research.

    Keywords: Picromerus lewisi, Spodoptera litura, Odor exposure, Transcriptome, Odorantbinding proteins

    Received: 29 Sep 2024; Accepted: 15 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Yi, Yu, Abdelkhalek, Sun and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Shan-Cheng Yi, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
    Jia-Ling Yu, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
    Zhi-Rong Sun, Southwest Guizhou Autonomous Prefecture Tobacco Company, Guizhou Tobacco Company, Guiyang, Guizhou Province, China
    Man-Qun Wang, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China

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