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Research article2019Peer reviewedOpen access

A novel lineage of candidate pheromone receptors for sex communication in moths

Bastin-Héline, Lucie; de Fouchier, Arthur; Cao, Song; Koutroumpa, Fotini; Caballero-Vidal, Gabriela; Robakiewicz, Stefania; Monsempes, Christelle; François, Marie-Christine; Ribeyre, Tatiana; Maria, Annick; Chertemps, Thomas; de Cian, Anne; Walker, William B.; Wang, Guirong; Jacquin-Joly, Emmanuelle; Montagne, Nicolas

Abstract

Sex pheromone receptors (PRs) are key players in chemical communication between mating partners in insects. In the highly diversified insect order Lepidoptera, male PRs tuned to female-emitted type I pheromones (which make up the vast majority of pheromones identified) form a dedicated subfamily of odorant receptors (ORs). Here, using a combination of heterologous expression and in vivo genome editing methods, we bring functional evidence that at least one moth PR does not belong to this subfamily but to a distantly related OR lineage. This PR, identified in the cotton leafworm Spodoptera littoralis, is highly expressed in male antennae and is specifically tuned to the major sex pheromone component emitted by females. Together with a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of moth ORs, our functional data suggest two independent apparitions of PRs tuned to type I pheromones in Lepidoptera, opening up a new path for studying the evolution of moth pheromone communication.

Keywords

Sex pheromone receptors (PRs); Lepidoptera; moths; odorant receptors (ORs); moth pheromone communication

Published in

eLife
2019, Volume: 8, article number: e49826

    UKÄ Subject classification

    Evolutionary Biology
    Ecology
    Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

    Publication identifier

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.49826

    Permanent link to this page (URI)

    https://res.slu.se/id/publ/103237