Topics in current chemistry

The sense of smell enables insects to recognize and discriminate a broad range of volatile chemicals in their environment originating from prey, host plants and conspecifics. These olfactory cues are received by olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) that relay information about food sources, oviposition sites and mates to the brain and thus elicit distinct odor-evoked behaviors. Research over the last decades has greatly advanced our knowledge concerning the molecular basis underlying the reception of odorous compounds and the mechanisms of signal transduction in OSNs. The emerging picture clearly indicates that OSNs of insects recognize odorants and pheromones by means of ligand-binding membrane proteins encoded by large and diverse families of receptor genes. In contrast, the mechanisms of the chemo-electrical transduction process are not fully understood; the present status suggests a contribution of ionotropic as well as metabotropic mechanisms. In this review, we will summarize current knowledge on the peripheral mechanisms of odor sensing in insects focusing on olfactory receptors and their specific role in the recognition and transduction of odorant and pheromone signals by OSNs.

Access to the odor world: olfactory receptors and their role for signal transduction in insects.

Recently, two alternative targets in insect periphery nerve system have been explored for environmentally-friendly approaches in insect pest management, namely odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) and odorant receptors (ORs). Located in insect antennae, OBPs are thought to be involved in the transport of odorants to ORs for the specific signal transduction of behaviorally active odorants. There is rich information on OBP binding affinity and molecular docking to bioactive compounds as well as ample 3D crystal structures due to feasible production of recombinant proteins. Although these provide excellent opportunities for them to be considered as pest control targets and a tool to design pest control agents, the debates on their binding specificity represent an obstacle. On the other hand, ORs have recently been functionally characterized with increasing evidence for their specificity, sensitivity and functional roles in pest behaviors. However, a major barrier to use ORs for semiochemical discovery is the lack of 3D crystal structures. Thus, OBPs and ORs have not been analyzed comparatively together so far for their feasibility as pest control targets. Here, we summarize the state of OBPs and ORs research in terms of its application in insect pest management. We discuss the suitability of both proteins as pest control targets and their selection toward the discovery of new potent semiochemicals. We argue that both proteins represent promising targets for pest control and can be used to identify new super-ligands likely present in nature and with reduced risk of resistance development than insect pesticides currently used in agriculture. We discuss that with the massive identification of OBPs through RNA-seq and improved binding affinity measurements, these proteins could be reconsidered as suitable targets for semiochemical discovery.

/pdf/odorant-receptors-and-odorant-binding-proteins-as-insect-2tu2xus9oe.pdf

Odorant Receptors and Odorant-Binding Proteins as Insect Pest Control Targets: A Comparative Analysis.

Insects thrive in diverse ecological niches in large part because of their highly sophisticated olfactory systems. Over the last two decades, a major focus in the study of insect olfaction has been on the role of olfactory receptors in mediating neuronal responses to environmental chemicals. In vivo, these receptors operate in specialized structures, called sensilla, which comprise neurons and non-neuronal support cells, extracellular lymph fluid and a precisely shaped cuticle. While sensilla are inherent to odour sensing in insects, we are only just beginning to understand their construction and function. Here, we review recent work that illuminates how odour-evoked neuronal activity is impacted by sensillar morphology, lymph fluid biochemistry, accessory signalling molecules in neurons and the physiological crosstalk between sensillar cells. These advances reveal multi-layered molecular and cellular mechanisms that determine the selectivity, sensitivity and dynamic modulation of odour-evoked responses in insects.

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsob.200252

Molecular mechanisms of olfactory detection in insects: beyond receptors.

The vast majority of lepidopterans, about 90%, are moths. Some moths, particularly their caterpillars, are major agricultural and forestry pests in many parts of the world. However, some other members of moths, such as the silkworm Bombyx mori, are famous for their economic value. Fire et al. in 1998 initially found that exogenous double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) can silence the homolog endogenous mRNA in organisms, which is called RNA interference (RNAi). Soon after, the RNAi technique proved to be very promising not only in gene function determination but also in pest control. However, later studies demonstrate that performing RNAi in moths is not as straightforward as shown in other insect taxa. Nevertheless, since 2007, especially after 2010, an increasing number of reports have been published that describe successful RNAi experiments in different moth species either on gene function analysis or on pest management exploration. So far, more than 100 peer-reviewed papers have reported successful RNAi experiments in moths, covering 10 families and 25 species. By using classic and novel dsRNA delivery methods, these studies effectively silence the expression of various target genes and determine their function in larval development, reproduction, immunology, resistance against chemicals, and other biological processes. In addition, a number of laboratory and field trials have demonstrated that RNAi is also a potential strategy for moth pest management. In this review, therefore, we summarize and discuss the mechanisms and applications of the RNAi technique in moths by focusing on recent progresses.

RNA Interference in Moths: Mechanisms, Applications, and Progress

Identification of odorant binding proteins in Carpomya vesuviana and their binding affinity to the male-borne semiochemicals and host plant volatiles.

The invention relates to the field of biological attractants, and specifically discloses an attractant for dendroctonus. The attractant comprises Frontalin (F), exo-Brevicomin (xB) and (S)-cis-Verbenol (cV). The attractant provided by the invention has the advantages of low cost, wide spectrum and extremely strong attractive effect to a variety of adult insects of dendrotonus; highly-efficient attractive effect is simultaneously exerted on a variety of dendrotonus in different working environment, wherein a part of the attracted dendrotonus is not yet clarified in pheromone thereof; meanwhile, the attractant provided by the invention has strong attracting action to a variety of insects like long-horned beetles, snout beetles and ground beetles.

Attractant for dendroctonus

The invention relates to a platypodidae insect attractant.The platypodidae insect attractant comprises active components including 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-ol, n-hexanol, 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one and ethyl alcohol, wherein all the active components are put in independent slow-release carriers respectively.The invention further provides a preparation method and application of the platypodidae insect attractant.The platypodidae insect attractant can have efficient trap capacity on platypodidae insects of different genuses, the harms of foreign platypodidae to precious imported timber can be greatly reduced by means of the attractant, and wide application prospects are achieved.

Platypodidae insect attractant and preparation method and application thereof

The present invention relates to the field of biological attractants, and specifically discloses a xyleborus eichhoff attractant, which comprises alpha-pinene, beta-pinene, camphene, myrcene, 3-carene, and ethanol. According to the present invention, the attractant has characteristics of low cost and broad spectrum, provides extremely strong attracting effects for the imago of a variety of xyleborus eichhoff insects, can simultaneously provide efficient attracting effects for a variety of xyleborus eichhoff in different working environments, and further provides extremely strong attracting effects for platypodidae, chrysomelidae and other insects, wherein even the pheromone of the partial attracted xyleborus eichhoff is not clear.

Xyleborus eichhoff attractant

The invention relates to a fruit fly quarantine technology, in particular to a quarantine fruit fly multi-target rapid identification method. The quarantine fruit fly multi-target rapid identification method comprises the following steps: extracting genome DNA of a to-be-detected sample; performing PCR by taking the genome DNA as a template and by using specific primers as shown in SEQ ID NO.1 and SEQ ID NO.2; and detecting the PCR product by gel electrophoresis, wherein the sample belongs to quarantine fruit flies if a 603bp specific band occurs, and the sample does not belong to the quarantine fruit flies if the 603bp specific band does not occur. The quarantine fruit flies relate to anastrepha schiner, bactrocera macquart, carpomya, ceratitis, dacus fabricius and/or rhagoletis; and the specific primers can distinguish the quarantine fruit flies from other tephritidae and diptera close species, have high universality and provide powerful technological support for effectively preventing and controlling introduction and diffusion of the quarantine fruit flies and protecting the ecological safety in China.

Quarantine fruit fly multi-target rapid identification method

Handle everyday research tasks with reliable, citation-backed results

Your personal Research Agent to handle research tasks with citation-backed results

Popular Tasks used by Researchers

How can I help with your research?

Meet SciSpace

Get more enhanced response by uploading the PDFs you want me to reference.

No relevant PDFs in your library

SciSpace is the AI research assistant for academics. Run systematic literature reviews on 280M+ papers, and write papers with cited sources. Trusted by 1M+ students, PhDs & researchers.

SciSpace | AI for Research

Analyze PDFs

Code & Manuscripts

Funding & Grants

Literature & Patents

Medical & Clinical Data

Systematic Review

Visualize & Present

Web & Data

Build a Google Scholar-like website for your research.

Build a website

Create charts and images for your research

Create a Chart

Write a paper for submission to a journal

Draft a manuscript

Patent Search

Design eye-catching scientific posters in minutes.

Scientific Poster Generation

Systematic Literature Review

One task is running at the moment. Your messages will be shown right after.

Drag and drop or click here to browse

Loved by <highlight>1 million+</highlight> researchers

Extract a list of specific topics and their sources from unstructured text

Topics

Compare and analyze relevant papers that matches with your search

Papers

Get insights from PDFs and bookmarked papers from your library

My library

Recent searches

Try searching for:

Catch AI-generated content in scholarly and non-scholarly content

{ai} Detector

Ai Writer

Get PDF Summaries, highlighted text explanations 

Chat with PDF

Effortlessly create in-text citations and bibliographies in APA and 2,500 other formats

Citation generator

Get explanations, summaries, and answers on academic papers

Ease up your research workflow with {scispace}'s cohort of exciting AI tools

Elevate your academic writing skills and convey your ideas the way you want

Paraphraser

Explore our range of reading and writing tools

Your file is being prepared and should be ready in a few minutes. If it's a large file, it might take a bit longer. You can close this window, and we'll email you the file when it's done.

You have reached a maximum limit of <strong>{limit}</strong> columns in the table. Remove at least <strong>1</strong> column to add or create another one.

Zhou Ping

Author Tools

Chat about Author