State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Hubei Key Laboratory of Insect Resource Application and Sustainable Pest Control and Institute of Urban and Horticultural Pests, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, People's Republic of China.
J Insect Physiol. 2012 Aug;58(8):1122-7. doi: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2012.05.011. Epub 2012 May 24.
Bactrocera dorsalis is a destructive fruit-eating pest that causes severe economic damage to the fruit and vegetable industry. Methyl eugenol (ME) has been widely used as an effective sexual attractant for male fruit flies through olfactory perception. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the olfactory perception of ME remains unknown. Here, we report the characterization and functional analysis of a newly discovered cDNA that encodes a Drosophila melanogaster odorant receptor co-receptor Orco ortholog in B. dorsalis. qRT-PCR analysis revealed that it was abundantly expressed in the antenna of adult B. dorsalis. Notably, Orco was upregulated by ME in the antenna of male flies. Mature males of B. dorsalis showed significant taxis toward ME within 0.5h, and Orco was significantly upregulated in the attracted adults within the same period. Silencing Orco through the ingestion of dsRNA reduced the attractive effects of ME. These data suggest that Orco may play an essential role in ME attraction in the olfactory signal transduction pathway.
实蝇是一种具有破坏性的水果食性害虫，对水果和蔬菜产业造成严重的经济损失。甲基丁香酚（ME）已被广泛用作一种有效的性引诱剂，通过嗅觉感知吸引雄性实蝇。然而，ME 的嗅觉感知的分子机制尚不清楚。在这里，我们报告了一个新发现的 cDNA 的特征和功能分析，该 cDNA 编码了在 B. dorsalis 中果蝇嗅觉受体共受体 Orco 的直系同源物。qRT-PCR 分析显示，它在成年 B. dorsalis 的触角中大量表达。值得注意的是，ME 在雄蝇的触角中上调了 Orco。在 0.5 小时内，成熟的 B. dorsalis 雄蝇对 ME 表现出明显的趋向性，而在同一时期内，吸引的成虫中 Orco 显著上调。通过摄入 dsRNA 沉默 Orco 降低了 ME 的吸引力。这些数据表明，Orco 可能在 ME 吸引的嗅觉信号转导途径中发挥重要作用。
