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Sex pheromone receptors of the light brown apple moth, Epiphyas postvittana, support a second major pheromone receptor clade within the Lepidoptera

Yuvaraj, Jothi Kumar LU ; Jordan, Melissa D ; Zhang, Dan-Dan LU ; Andersson, Martin N LU ; Löfstedt, Christer LU ; Newcomb, Richard D and Corcoran, Jacob A LU (2022) In Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 141.
Abstract

Sex pheromones facilitate species-specific sex communication within the Lepidoptera. They are detected by specialised pheromone receptors (PRs), most of which to date fall into a single monophyletic receptor lineage (frequently referred to as "the PR clade") within the odorant receptor (OR) family. Here we investigated PRs of the invasive horticultural pest, Epiphyas postvittana, commonly known as the light brown apple moth. Ten candidate PRs were selected, based on their male-biased expression in antennae or their relationship to the PR clade, for functional assessment in both HEK293 cells and Xenopus oocytes. Of these, six ORs responded to compounds that include components of the E. postvittana ('Epos') sex pheromone blend or... (More)

Sex pheromones facilitate species-specific sex communication within the Lepidoptera. They are detected by specialised pheromone receptors (PRs), most of which to date fall into a single monophyletic receptor lineage (frequently referred to as "the PR clade") within the odorant receptor (OR) family. Here we investigated PRs of the invasive horticultural pest, Epiphyas postvittana, commonly known as the light brown apple moth. Ten candidate PRs were selected, based on their male-biased expression in antennae or their relationship to the PR clade, for functional assessment in both HEK293 cells and Xenopus oocytes. Of these, six ORs responded to compounds that include components of the E. postvittana ('Epos') sex pheromone blend or compounds that antagonise sex pheromone attraction. In phylogenies, four of the characterised receptors (EposOR1, 6, 7 and 45) fall within the PR clade and two other male-biased receptors (EposOR30 and 34) group together well outside the PR clade. This new clade of pheromone receptors includes the receptor for (E)-11-tetradecenyl acetate (EposOR30), which is the main component of the sex pheromone blend for this species. Interestingly, receptors of the two clades do not segregate by preference for compounds associated with behavioural response (agonist or antagonist), isomer type (E or Z) or functional group (alcohol or acetate), with examples of each scattered across both clades. Phylogenetic comparison with PRs from other species supports the existence of a second major clade of lepidopteran ORs including, EposOR30 and 34, that has been co-opted into sex pheromone detection in the Lepidoptera. This second clade of sex pheromone receptors has an origin that likely predates the split between the major lepidopteran families.

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author
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
sex pheromone, Lepidoptera, PR clade, HEK293 cells, Xenopus oocytes, LBAM
in
Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
volume
141
article number
103708
pages
12 pages
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85122641353
  • pmid:34973420
ISSN
1879-0240
DOI
10.1016/j.ibmb.2021.103708
project
Evolutionary mechanisms of pheromone divergence in Lepidoptera
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
c7e28af5-dd7f-4e84-b447-e3ef56c083ee
date added to LUP
2022-02-04 12:00:57
date last changed
2024-06-06 21:05:54
@article{c7e28af5-dd7f-4e84-b447-e3ef56c083ee,
  abstract     = {{<p>Sex pheromones facilitate species-specific sex communication within the Lepidoptera. They are detected by specialised pheromone receptors (PRs), most of which to date fall into a single monophyletic receptor lineage (frequently referred to as "the PR clade") within the odorant receptor (OR) family. Here we investigated PRs of the invasive horticultural pest, Epiphyas postvittana, commonly known as the light brown apple moth. Ten candidate PRs were selected, based on their male-biased expression in antennae or their relationship to the PR clade, for functional assessment in both HEK293 cells and Xenopus oocytes. Of these, six ORs responded to compounds that include components of the <i>E. postvittana</i> ('Epos') sex pheromone blend or compounds that antagonise sex pheromone attraction. In phylogenies, four of the characterised receptors (EposOR1, 6, 7 and 45) fall within the PR clade and two other male-biased receptors (EposOR30 and 34) group together well outside the PR clade. This new clade of pheromone receptors includes the receptor for (E)-11-tetradecenyl acetate (EposOR30), which is the main component of the sex pheromone blend for this species. Interestingly, receptors of the two clades do not segregate by preference for compounds associated with behavioural response (agonist or antagonist), isomer type (E or Z) or functional group (alcohol or acetate), with examples of each scattered across both clades. Phylogenetic comparison with PRs from other species supports the existence of a second major clade of lepidopteran ORs including, EposOR30 and 34, that has been co-opted into sex pheromone detection in the Lepidoptera. This second clade of sex pheromone receptors has an origin that likely predates the split between the major lepidopteran families.</p>}},
  author       = {{Yuvaraj, Jothi Kumar and Jordan, Melissa D and Zhang, Dan-Dan and Andersson, Martin N and Löfstedt, Christer and Newcomb, Richard D and Corcoran, Jacob A}},
  issn         = {{1879-0240}},
  keywords     = {{sex pheromone; Lepidoptera; PR clade; HEK293 cells; Xenopus oocytes; LBAM}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{02}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology}},
  title        = {{Sex pheromone receptors of the light brown apple moth, <i>Epiphyas postvittana</i>, support a second major pheromone receptor clade within the Lepidoptera}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ibmb.2021.103708}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.ibmb.2021.103708}},
  volume       = {{141}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}