An odorant receptor mediates the avoidance of Plutella xylostella against parasitoid
2024
Liu, Yipeng | Zhang, Sai | Cao, Song | Jacquin-Joly, Emmanuelle | Zhou, Qiong | Liu, Yang | Wang, Guirong | Institut d'écologie et des sciences de l'environnement de Paris (iEES Paris) ; Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Université Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne - Paris 12 (UPEC UP12)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE) | This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32102197 to Y.P.L., 31725023, 31861133019 to G.W., and 32072509 to Y.L), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2021M693460 to Y.P.L), the International Associated Laboratory for Plant Protection INRAE-CAAS BIPi, and COMIX funding from the French Embassy in China, the Innovation Program of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS-CSCB-202302 to Y.L.). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
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Show more [+] Less [-]English. Background: Ecosystems are brimming with myriad compounds, including some at very low concentrations that are indispensable for insect survival and reproduction. Screening strategies for identifying active compounds are typically based on bioassay-guided approaches. <br />Results Here, we selected two candidate odorant receptors from a major pest of cruciferous plants—the diamondback moth Plutella xylostella —as targets to screen for active semiochemicals. One of these ORs, PxylOR16, exhibited a specific, sensitive response to heptanal, with both larvae and adult P. xylostella displaying heptanal avoidance behavior. Gene knockout studies based on CRISPR/Cas9 experimentally confirmed that PxylOR16 mediates this avoidance. Intriguingly, rather than being involved in P. xylostella –host plant interaction, we discovered that P. xylostella recognizes heptanal from the cuticular volatiles of the parasitoid wasp Cotesia vestalis , possibly to avoid parasitization. <br />Conclusions Our study thus showcases how the deorphanization of odorant receptors can drive discoveries about their complex functions in mediating insect survival. We also demonstrate that the use of odorant receptors as a screening platform could be efficient in identifying new behavioral regulators for application in pest management.
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