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Plants as biofactories for production of the aphid sex pheromone nepetalactone

Ontiveros-Cisneros, Abraham LU orcid ; Salfeld, Jule ; Ding, Bao Jian LU ; Wang, Hong Lei LU ; Moss, Oliver LU ; Friberg, Magne LU ; Van Moerkercke, Alex LU ; Löfstedt, Christer LU and Van Aken, Olivier LU (2025) In Physiologia Plantarum 177(1).
Abstract

Aphids cause massive agricultural losses through direct damage or as pathogen vectors. Control often relies on insecticides, which are expensive and not selective. An interesting alternative is to use aphid sex pheromones nepetalactone (NON) and nepetalactol (NOL) to interfere with aphid mating or attract aphid predators. Here, we explore production of these compounds in plants, as their precursors can be derived from mevalonate (MVA) and methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathways. By introducing six genes, including a major latex protein-like (MLPL) enzyme, we engineered a functional nepetalactol biosynthetic pathway into plants. Transient expression of these enzymes in N. benthamiana caused production of nepetalactone, without the need... (More)

Aphids cause massive agricultural losses through direct damage or as pathogen vectors. Control often relies on insecticides, which are expensive and not selective. An interesting alternative is to use aphid sex pheromones nepetalactone (NON) and nepetalactol (NOL) to interfere with aphid mating or attract aphid predators. Here, we explore production of these compounds in plants, as their precursors can be derived from mevalonate (MVA) and methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathways. By introducing six genes, including a major latex protein-like (MLPL) enzyme, we engineered a functional nepetalactol biosynthetic pathway into plants. Transient expression of these enzymes in N. benthamiana caused production of nepetalactone, without the need for external supplementation with substrates. Targeting all six enzymes into the chloroplast appeared to result in higher NON yields than just chloroplast-targeting the first two enzymes. We could not detect NOL, suggesting it is rapidly oxidised to NON. In addition, we produced NON in stably transformed Camelina sativa (Camelina) lines. Interestingly, the specific NON enantiomer was different in N. benthamiana compared to in Camelina, indicating the value of different platforms for producing specific isoforms. This opens possibilities for using plants as green factories of pheromones for baits or as pheromone dispensers that interfere with insect behaviour.

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author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Physiologia Plantarum
volume
177
issue
1
article number
e70110
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • scopus:85218961015
  • pmid:39956757
ISSN
0031-9317
DOI
10.1111/ppl.70110
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © 2025 The Author(s). Physiologia Plantarum published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Scandinavian Plant Physiology Society.
id
c6ddbe1f-3555-411d-a06c-0261a7f74236
date added to LUP
2025-07-03 09:52:42
date last changed
2025-07-04 03:00:02
@article{c6ddbe1f-3555-411d-a06c-0261a7f74236,
  abstract     = {{<p>Aphids cause massive agricultural losses through direct damage or as pathogen vectors. Control often relies on insecticides, which are expensive and not selective. An interesting alternative is to use aphid sex pheromones nepetalactone (NON) and nepetalactol (NOL) to interfere with aphid mating or attract aphid predators. Here, we explore production of these compounds in plants, as their precursors can be derived from mevalonate (MVA) and methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathways. By introducing six genes, including a major latex protein-like (MLPL) enzyme, we engineered a functional nepetalactol biosynthetic pathway into plants. Transient expression of these enzymes in N. benthamiana caused production of nepetalactone, without the need for external supplementation with substrates. Targeting all six enzymes into the chloroplast appeared to result in higher NON yields than just chloroplast-targeting the first two enzymes. We could not detect NOL, suggesting it is rapidly oxidised to NON. In addition, we produced NON in stably transformed Camelina sativa (Camelina) lines. Interestingly, the specific NON enantiomer was different in N. benthamiana compared to in Camelina, indicating the value of different platforms for producing specific isoforms. This opens possibilities for using plants as green factories of pheromones for baits or as pheromone dispensers that interfere with insect behaviour.</p>}},
  author       = {{Ontiveros-Cisneros, Abraham and Salfeld, Jule and Ding, Bao Jian and Wang, Hong Lei and Moss, Oliver and Friberg, Magne and Van Moerkercke, Alex and Löfstedt, Christer and Van Aken, Olivier}},
  issn         = {{0031-9317}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{01}},
  number       = {{1}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{Physiologia Plantarum}},
  title        = {{Plants as biofactories for production of the aphid sex pheromone nepetalactone}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ppl.70110}},
  doi          = {{10.1111/ppl.70110}},
  volume       = {{177}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}