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Ali MZ, Anushree A, Bilgrami AL, Ahsan A, Ola MS, Haque R, Ahsan J. Phenylacetaldehyde induced olfactory conditioning in Drosophila melanogaster (Diptera: Drosophilidae) larvae. JOURNAL OF INSECT SCIENCE (ONLINE) 2023; 23:25. [PMID: 38092368 PMCID: PMC10718815 DOI: 10.1093/jisesa/iead112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2023] [Revised: 11/09/2023] [Accepted: 12/05/2023] [Indexed: 12/17/2023]
Abstract
Phenylacetaldehyde (PAH), an aromatic odorant, exists in varied fruits including overripe bananas and prickly pear cactus, the 2 major host fruits of Drosophila melanogaster. It acts as a potent ligand for the Ionotropic receptor 84a (IR84a) and the Odorant receptor 67a (OR67a), serving as an important food and courtship cue for adult fruit flies. Drosophila melanogaster larvae respond robustly to diverse feeding odorants, such as ethyl acetate (EA), an aliphatic ester. Since the chemical identity and concentration of an odorant are vital neural information handled by the olfactory system, we studied how larvae respond to PAH, an aromatic food odorant with aphrodisiac properties for adult flies. Our findings revealed that PAH attracted larvae significantly in a dose-dependent manner. Larvae could also be trained with PAH associated to appetitive and aversive reinforcers. Thus, like EA, PAH might serve as an important odorant cue for larvae, aiding in food tracking and survival in the wild. Since IR84a/IR8a complex primarily governs PAH response in adult flies, we examined expression of Ir84a and Ir8a in early third-instar larvae. Our experiments showed the presence of Ir8a, a novel finding. However, contrary to adult flies, PAH-responsive Ir84a was not found. Our behavioral experiments with Ir8a1 mutant larvae exhibited normal chemotaxis to PAH, whereas Orco1 mutant showed markedly reduced chemotaxis, indicating an OR-mediated neural circuitry for sensing of PAH in larvae. The results obtained through this study are significantly important as information on how larvae perceive and process PAH odorant at the neuronal level is lacking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Md Zeeshan Ali
- Department of Biotechnology, Central University of South Bihar, Gaya, Bihar, India
| | - Anushree Anushree
- Department of Biotechnology, Central University of South Bihar, Gaya, Bihar, India
| | - Anwar L Bilgrami
- Deanship of Scientific Research, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Aarif Ahsan
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Mohammad Shamsul Ola
- Department of Biochemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Rizwanul Haque
- Department of Biotechnology, Central University of South Bihar, Gaya, Bihar, India
| | - Jawaid Ahsan
- Department of Biotechnology, Central University of South Bihar, Gaya, Bihar, India
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Abstract
Among the many wonders of nature, the sense of smell of the fly Drosophila melanogaster might seem, at first glance, of esoteric interest. Nevertheless, for over a century, the 'nose' of this insect has been an extraordinary system to explore questions in animal behaviour, ecology and evolution, neuroscience, physiology and molecular genetics. The insights gained are relevant for our understanding of the sensory biology of vertebrates, including humans, and other insect species, encompassing those detrimental to human health. Here, I present an overview of our current knowledge of D. melanogaster olfaction, from molecules to behaviours, with an emphasis on the historical motivations of studies and illustration of how technical innovations have enabled advances. I also highlight some of the pressing and long-term questions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard Benton
- Center for Integrative Genomics, Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
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Drosophila melanogaster Chemosensory Pathways as Potential Targets to Curb the Insect Menace. INSECTS 2022; 13:insects13020142. [PMID: 35206716 PMCID: PMC8874460 DOI: 10.3390/insects13020142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2021] [Revised: 01/19/2022] [Accepted: 01/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Simple Summary The perception and processing of chemosensory stimuli are indispensable to the survival of living organisms. In insects, olfaction and gustation play a critical role in seeking food, finding mates and avoiding signs of danger. This review aims to present updated information about olfactory and gustatory signaling in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. We have described the mechanisms involved in olfactory and gustatory perceptions at the molecular level, the receptors along with the allied molecules involved, and their signaling pathways in the fruit fly. Due to the magnifying problems of disease-causing insect vectors and crop pests, the applications of chemosensory signaling in controlling pests and insect vectors are also discussed. Abstract From a unicellular bacterium to a more complex human, smell and taste form an integral part of the basic sensory system. In fruit flies Drosophila melanogaster, the behavioral responses to odorants and tastants are simple, though quite sensitive, and robust. They explain the organization and elementary functioning of the chemosensory system. Molecular and functional analyses of the receptors and other critical molecules involved in olfaction and gustation are not yet completely understood. Hence, a better understanding of chemosensory cue-dependent fruit flies, playing a major role in deciphering the host-seeking behavior of pathogen transmitting insect vectors (mosquitoes, sandflies, ticks) and crop pests (Drosophila suzukii, Queensland fruit fly), is needed. Using D. melanogaster as a model organism, the knowledge gained may be implemented to design new means of controlling insects as well as in analyzing current batches of insect and pest repellents. In this review, the complete mechanisms of olfactory and gustatory perception, along with their implementation in controlling the global threat of disease-transmitting insect vectors and crop-damaging pests, are explained in fruit flies.
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Jiang XC, Liu S, Jiang XY, Wang ZW, Xiao JJ, Gao Q, Sheng CW, Shi TF, Zeng HR, Yu LS, Cao HQ. Identification of Olfactory Genes From the Greater Wax Moth by Antennal Transcriptome Analysis. Front Physiol 2021; 12:663040. [PMID: 34093226 PMCID: PMC8172125 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2021.663040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2021] [Accepted: 04/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The olfactory system is used by insects to find hosts, mates, and oviposition sites. Insects have different types of olfactory proteins, including odorant-binding proteins (OBPs), chemosensory proteins (CSPs), odorant receptors (ORs), ionotropic receptors (IRs), and sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMPs) to perceive chemical cues from the environment. The greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella, is an important lepidopteran pest of apiculture. However, the molecular mechanism underlying odorant perception in this species is unclear. In this study, we performed transcriptome sequencing of G. mellonella antennae to identify genes involved in olfaction. A total of 42,544 unigenes were obtained by assembling the transcriptome. Functional classification of these unigenes was determined by searching against the Gene Ontology (GO), eukaryotic orthologous groups (KOG), and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) databases. We identified a total of 102 olfactory-related genes: 21 OBPs, 18 CSPs, 43 ORs, 18 IRs, and 2 SNMPs. Results from BLASTX best hit and phylogenetic analyses showed that most of the genes had a close relationship with orthologs from other Lepidoptera species. A large number of OBPs and CSPs were tandemly arrayed in the genomic scaffolds and formed gene clusters. Reverse transcription-quantitative PCR results showed that GmelOBP19 and GmelOR47 are mainly expressed in male antennae. This work provides a transcriptome resource for olfactory genes in G. mellonella, and the findings pave the way for studying the function of these genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xing-Chuan Jiang
- Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management on Crops, School of Plant Protection, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, China
| | - Su Liu
- Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management on Crops, School of Plant Protection, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, China
| | - Xiu-Yun Jiang
- Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management on Crops, School of Plant Protection, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, China
| | - Zheng-Wei Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
| | - Jin-Jing Xiao
- Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management on Crops, School of Plant Protection, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, China
| | - Quan Gao
- Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management on Crops, School of Plant Protection, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, China
| | - Cheng-Wang Sheng
- Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management on Crops, School of Plant Protection, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, China
| | - Teng-Fei Shi
- Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management on Crops, School of Plant Protection, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, China
| | - Hua-Rui Zeng
- Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management on Crops, School of Plant Protection, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, China
| | - Lin-Sheng Yu
- Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management on Crops, School of Plant Protection, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, China
| | - Hai-Qun Cao
- Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management on Crops, School of Plant Protection, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, China
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Shrestha B, Lee Y. Cellular and molecular mechanisms of DEET toxicity and disease-carrying insect vectors: a review. Genes Genomics 2020; 42:1131-1144. [DOI: 10.1007/s13258-020-00991-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2020] [Accepted: 08/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
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Kepchia D, Xu P, Terryn R, Castro A, Schürer SC, Leal WS, Luetje CW. Use of machine learning to identify novel, behaviorally active antagonists of the insect odorant receptor co-receptor (Orco) subunit. Sci Rep 2019; 9:4055. [PMID: 30858563 PMCID: PMC6411751 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-40640-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2017] [Accepted: 02/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Olfaction is a key component of the multimodal approach used by mosquitoes to target and feed on humans, spreading various diseases. Current repellents have drawbacks, necessitating development of more effective agents. In addition to variable odorant specificity subunits, all insect odorant receptors (ORs) contain a conserved odorant receptor co-receptor (Orco) subunit which is an attractive target for repellent development. Orco directed antagonists allosterically inhibit odorant activation of ORs and we previously showed that an airborne Orco antagonist could inhibit insect olfactory behavior. Here, we identify novel, volatile Orco antagonists. We functionally screened 83 structurally diverse compounds against Orco from Anopheles gambiae. Results were used for training machine learning models to rank probable activity of a library of 1280 odorant molecules. Functional testing of a representative subset of predicted active compounds revealed enrichment for Orco antagonists, many structurally distinct from previously known Orco antagonists. Novel Orco antagonist 2-tert-butyl-6-methylphenol (BMP) inhibited odorant responses in electroantennogram and single sensillum recordings in adult Drosophila melanogaster and inhibited OR-mediated olfactory behavior in D. melanogaster larvae. Structure-activity analysis of BMP analogs identified compounds with improved potency. Our results provide a new approach to the discovery of behaviorally active Orco antagonists for eventual use as insect repellents/confusants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Devin Kepchia
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, 33136, USA
| | - Pingxi Xu
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - Raymond Terryn
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, 33136, USA.,Center for Computational Science, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, 33146, USA
| | - Ana Castro
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, 33136, USA
| | - Stephan C Schürer
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, 33136, USA.,Center for Computational Science, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, 33146, USA
| | - Walter S Leal
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - Charles W Luetje
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, 33136, USA.
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Devillers J. 2D and 3D structure-activity modelling of mosquito repellents: a review $. SAR AND QSAR IN ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2018; 29:693-723. [PMID: 30220218 DOI: 10.1080/1062936x.2018.1513218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Repellents disrupt the behaviour of blood-seeking mosquitoes protecting humans against their bites which can transmit serious diseases. Since the mid-1950s, N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide (DEET) is considered as the standard mosquito repellent worldwide. However, DEET presents numerous shortcomings. Faced with the heightening risk of mosquito expansion caused by global climate changes and increasing international exchanges, there is an urgent need for a better repellent than DEET and the very few other commercialised repelling molecules such as picaridin and IR3535. In silico approaches have been used to find new repellents and to provide better insights into their mechanism of action. In this context, the goal of our study was to retrieve from the literature all the papers dealing with qualitative and quantitative structure-activity relationships on mosquito repellents. A critical analysis of the SAR and QSAR models was made focusing on the quality of the biological data, the significance of the molecular descriptors and the validity of the statistical tools used for deriving the models. The predictive power and domain of application of these models were also discussed. The hypotheses to compute homology and pharmacophore models, their interest to find new repellents and to provide insights into the mechanisms of repellency in mosquitoes were analysed. The interest to consider the mosquito olfactory system as the target to compute new repellents was discussed. The potential environmental impact of these chemicals as well as new ways of research were addressed.
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Chemical Ecology of Chemosensation in Asteroidea: Insights Towards Management Strategies of Pest Species. J Chem Ecol 2018; 44:147-177. [PMID: 29362949 DOI: 10.1007/s10886-018-0926-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2017] [Revised: 12/03/2017] [Accepted: 01/09/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Within the Phylum Echinodermata, the class Asteroidea, commonly known as starfish and sea stars, encompasses a large number of benthos inhabiting genera and species with various feeding modalities including herbivores, carnivores, omnivores and detritivores. The Asteroidea rely on chemosensation throughout their life histories including hunting prey, avoiding or deterring predators, in the formation of spawning aggregations, synchronizing gamete release and targeting appropriate locations for larval settlement. The identities of many of the chemical stimuli that mediate these physiological and behavioural processes remain unresolved even though evidence indicates they play pivotal roles in the functionality of benthic communities. Aspects of chemosensation, as well as putative chemically-mediated behaviours and the molecular mechanisms of chemoreception, within the Asteroidea are reviewed here, with particular reference to the coral reef pest the Crown-of-Thorns starfish Acanthaster planci species complex, in the context of mitigation of population outbreaks.
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Kepchia D, Moliver S, Chohan K, Phillips C, Luetje CW. Correction: Inhibition of insect olfactory behavior by an airborne antagonist of the insect odorant receptor co-receptor subunit. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0183009. [PMID: 28771601 PMCID: PMC5542651 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0183009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
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