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International Journal of Molecular... Jan 2022Cotton bollworm () is a worldwide agricultural pest in which the transport of pheromones is indispensable and perceived by pheromone-binding proteins (PBPs). However,...
Cotton bollworm () is a worldwide agricultural pest in which the transport of pheromones is indispensable and perceived by pheromone-binding proteins (PBPs). However, three-dimensional structure, pheromone binding, and releasing mechanisms of PBPs are not completely illustrated. Here, we solved three structures of the cotton bollworm HarmPBP1 at different pH values and its complex with ligand, -9-hexadecenal. Although apo-HarmPBP1 adopts a common PBP scaffold of six α-helices surrounding a predominantly hydrophobic central pocket, the conformation is greatly distinct from other apo-PBPs. The -9-hexadecenal is bound mainly by hydrophobic interaction. The pheromone can enter this cavity through an opening between the helices α5 and α6, as well as the loop between α3 and α4. Structural analysis suggests that ligand entry into the pocket is followed by a shift of Lys94 and Lys138, which may act as a lid at the opening of the pocket. Acidic pH will cause a subtle structural change of the lid, which in turn affects its ligand-binding ability, differently from other family proteins. Taken together, this study provides structural bases for the interactions between pheromones and PBPs, the pH-induced conformational switch, and the design of small inhibitors to control cotton bollworms by disrupting male-female chemosensory communication.
Topics: Animals; Carrier Proteins; Insect Proteins; Moths; Pheromones; Protein Conformation
PubMed: 35163109
DOI: 10.3390/ijms23031190 -
Neuron Aug 2022The pheromonal information received by the vomeronasal system plays a crucial role in regulating social behaviors such as aggression in mice. Despite accumulating...
The pheromonal information received by the vomeronasal system plays a crucial role in regulating social behaviors such as aggression in mice. Despite accumulating knowledge of the brain regions involved in aggression, the specific vomeronasal receptors and the exact neural circuits responsible for pheromone-mediated aggression remain unknown. Here, we identified one murine vomeronasal receptor, Vmn2r53, that is activated by urine from males of various strains and is responsible for evoking intermale aggression. We prepared a purified pheromonal fraction and Vmn2r53 knockout mice and applied genetic tools for neuronal activity recording, manipulation, and circuit tracing to decipher the neural mechanisms underlying Vmn2r53-mediated aggression. We found that Vmn2r53-mediated aggression is regulated by specific neuronal populations in the ventral premammillary nucleus and the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus. Together, our results shed light on the hypothalamic regulation of male aggression mediated by a single vomeronasal receptor.
Topics: Aggression; Animals; Hypothalamus; Male; Mice; Neurons; Pheromones; Ventromedial Hypothalamic Nucleus; Vomeronasal Organ
PubMed: 35654036
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2022.05.002 -
Journal of Comparative Physiology. A,... Sep 2015The male-specific lipid, cis-vaccenyl acetate (cVA) has multiple functions in intra-species communication in Drosophila melanogaster. The presence of cVA in a male... (Review)
Review
The male-specific lipid, cis-vaccenyl acetate (cVA) has multiple functions in intra-species communication in Drosophila melanogaster. The presence of cVA in a male suppresses courtship motivation of other males and averts male-male courtship. Meanwhile, aggression behaviors between males are promoted by a high amount of cVA caused by increased densities of male flies. cVA also works as a modifier of courtship memory, which is suppressed courtship motivation driven by previous unsuccessful courtship experience. Conversely, cVA in the courting male stimulates female reproductive motivation and increases the probability of copulation success. It also works as an aggregation pheromone, attracting both males and females at the gathering spot. Thus, cVA is a unique example of a single molecule leading to different behaviors in response to the social context. However, despite recent advances in understanding the molecular and neural machinery for cVA sensing, it is still largely unknown how cVA triggers a specific behavior as the situation demands. In this review article, I discuss two potential machineries that might determine cVA actions for behavior selection at the sensory level.
Topics: Acetates; Aggression; Animals; Drosophila melanogaster; Male; Oleic Acids; Pheromones; Sexual Behavior, Animal
PubMed: 26105507
DOI: 10.1007/s00359-015-1020-9 -
Nature Communications Nov 2023Moth sex pheromones are a classical model for studying sexual selection. Females typically produce a species-specific pheromone blend that attracts males. Revealing the...
Moth sex pheromones are a classical model for studying sexual selection. Females typically produce a species-specific pheromone blend that attracts males. Revealing the enzymes involved in the interspecific variation in blend composition is key for understanding the evolution of these sexual communication systems. The nature of the enzymes involved in the variation of acetate esters, which are prominent compounds in moth pheromone blends, remains unclear. We identify enzymes involved in acetate degradation using two closely related moth species: Heliothis (Chloridea) subflexa and H. (C.) virescens, which have different quantities of acetate esters in their sex pheromone. Through comparative transcriptomic analyses and CRISPR/Cas9 knockouts, we show that two lipases and two esterases from H. virescens reduce the levels of pheromone acetate esters when expressed in H. subflexa females. Together, our results show that lipases and carboxylesterases are involved in tuning Lepidoptera pheromones composition.
Topics: Male; Animals; Female; Sex Attractants; Moths; Carboxylic Ester Hydrolases; Pheromones; Lipase; Acetates
PubMed: 37980401
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43100-w -
Journal of Evolutionary Biology May 2023Chemical communication is ubiquitous in nature and chemical signals convey species-specific messages. Despite their specificity, chemical signals may not be limited to...
Chemical communication is ubiquitous in nature and chemical signals convey species-specific messages. Despite their specificity, chemical signals may not be limited to only one function. Identifying alternative functions of chemical signals is key to understanding how chemical communication systems evolve. Here, we explored alternative functions of moth sex pheromone compounds. These chemicals are generally produced in, and emitted from, dedicated sex pheromone glands, but some have recently also been found on the insects' legs. We identified and quantified the chemicals in leg extracts of the three heliothine moth species Chloridea (Heliothis) virescens, Chloridea (Heliothis) subflexa and Helicoverpa armigera, compared their chemical profiles and explored the biological function of pheromone compounds on moth legs. Identical pheromone compounds were present on the legs in both sexes of all three species, with no striking interspecies or intersex differences. Surprisingly, we also found pheromone-related acetate esters in leg extracts of species that lack acetate esters in their female sex pheromone. When we assessed gene expression levels in the leg tissue, we found known and putative pheromone-biosynthesis genes expressed, which suggests that moth legs may be additional sites of pheromone production. To determine possible additional roles of the pheromone compounds on legs, we explored whether these may act as oviposition-deterring signals, which does not seem to be the case. However, when we tested whether these chemicals have antimicrobial properties, we found that two pheromone compounds (16:Ald and 16:OH) reduce bacterial growth. Such an additional function of previously identified pheromone compounds likely coincides with additional selection pressures and, thus, should be considered in scenarios on the evolution of these signals.
Topics: Male; Animals; Female; Pheromones; Sex Attractants; Moths; Species Specificity; Esters
PubMed: 37026574
DOI: 10.1111/jeb.14173 -
Journal of Structural Biology Mar 2022In the ciliate Euplotes raikovi, water-borne protein pheromones promote the vegetative cell growth and mating by competitively binding as autocrine and heterologous...
In the ciliate Euplotes raikovi, water-borne protein pheromones promote the vegetative cell growth and mating by competitively binding as autocrine and heterologous signals to putative cell receptors represented by membrane-bound pheromone isoforms. A previously determined crystal structure of pheromone Er-1 supported a pheromone/receptor binding model in which strong protein-protein interactions result from the cooperative utilization of two distinct types of contact interfaces that arrange molecules into linear chains, and these into two-dimensional layers. We have now determined the crystal structure of a new pheromone, Er-13, isolated from cultures that are strongly mating reactive withculturessource of pheromone Er-1.The comparison between the Er-1 and Er-13 crystal structuresreinforces the fundamental of the cooperative model of pheromone/receptor binding, in that the molecules arrange into linear chains taking a rigorously alternate opposite orientation reflecting the presumed mutual orientation of pheromone and receptor molecules on the cell surface. In addition, the comparison provides two new lines of evidence for a univocal rationalization of observations on the differentbehaviourbetween the autocrine and heterologous pheromone/receptor complexes. (i) In the Er-13 crystal, chains do not form layers which thus appear to be an over-structureunique tothe Er-1 crystal, not essential for the pheromone signalling mechanisms. (ii) In both crystal structures, the intra-chain interfaces are equally derived from burying amino-acid side-chains mostly residing on helix-3 of the three-helical pheromonefold. This helix is thus identified as the key structural motif underlying the pheromone activity, in line with its tight intra- and interspecificstructuralconservation.
Topics: Euplotes; Membrane Proteins; Pheromones; Protein Binding; Protozoan Proteins
PubMed: 34800649
DOI: 10.1016/j.jsb.2021.107812 -
Journal of Chemical Ecology Jun 2022Synthetic sex pheromone lures are useful tools to monitor and control populations of adult click beetles (Coleoptera: Elateridae). However, sex pheromones for Agriotes...
Synthetic sex pheromone lures are useful tools to monitor and control populations of adult click beetles (Coleoptera: Elateridae). However, sex pheromones for Agriotes click beetle species native to North America have yet to be identified. Here we report the identification and field testing of the sex pheromone of Agriotes ferrugineipennis. Headspace volatiles from female beetles were collected on Porapak Q, and aliquots of Porapak extract were analyzed by gas chromatographic-electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) and GC-mass spectrometry. 7-Methyloctyl 7-methyloctanoate (7Me7Me) emitted by females was more abundant and elicited much stronger responses from male antennae than the aldehydes octanal and nonanal and the ketone 6,10,14-trimethyl-2-pentadecanone. In a field experiment, captures of A. ferrugineipennis males in traps baited with candidate pheromone components exceeded those of unbaited control traps, on average by nearly 1,200 times. Neither the ketone nor the aldehydes as lure constituents appeared to alter captures of males in 7Me7Me-baited traps. We conclude that 7Me7Me is the major, and possibly the only, sex attractant pheromone component of female A. ferrugineipennis.
Topics: Aldehydes; Animals; Coleoptera; Female; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Ketones; Male; Pheromones; Sex Attractants
PubMed: 35895216
DOI: 10.1007/s10886-022-01367-1 -
Nature Communications Jul 2021Insects use sex pheromones as a reproductive isolating mechanism to attract conspecifics and repel heterospecifics. Despite the profound knowledge of sex pheromones,...
Insects use sex pheromones as a reproductive isolating mechanism to attract conspecifics and repel heterospecifics. Despite the profound knowledge of sex pheromones, little is known about the coevolutionary mechanisms and constraints on their production and detection. Using whole-genome sequences to infer the kinship among 99 drosophilids, we investigate how phylogenetic and chemical traits have interacted at a wide evolutionary timescale. Through a series of chemical syntheses and electrophysiological recordings, we identify 52 sex-specific compounds, many of which are detected via olfaction. Behavioral analyses reveal that many of the 43 male-specific compounds are transferred to the female during copulation and mediate female receptivity and/or male courtship inhibition. Measurement of phylogenetic signals demonstrates that sex pheromones and their cognate olfactory channels evolve rapidly and independently over evolutionary time to guarantee efficient intra- and inter-specific communication systems. Our results show how sexual isolation barriers between species can be reinforced by species-specific olfactory signals.
Topics: Animals; Biological Evolution; Communication; Copulation; Courtship; Drosophila; Drosophila melanogaster; Female; Male; Pheromones; Phylogeny; Sex Attractants; Sexual Behavior, Animal; Smell; Species Specificity
PubMed: 34230464
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24395-z -
PLoS Genetics Jun 2016Many of the lipids found on the cuticles of insects function as pheromones and communicate information about age, sex, and reproductive status. In Drosophila, the...
Many of the lipids found on the cuticles of insects function as pheromones and communicate information about age, sex, and reproductive status. In Drosophila, the composition of the information-rich lipid profile is dynamic and changes over the lifetime of an individual. However, the molecular basis of this change is not well understood. To identify genes that control cuticular lipid production in Drosophila, we performed a RNA interference screen and used Direct Analysis in Real Time and gas chromatography mass spectrometry to quantify changes in the chemical profiles. Twelve putative genes were identified whereby transcriptional silencing led to significant differences in cuticular lipid production. Amongst them, we characterized a gene which we name spidey, and which encodes a putative steroid dehydrogenase that has sex- and age-dependent effects on viability, pheromone production, and oenocyte survival. Transcriptional silencing or overexpression of spidey during embryonic development results in pupal lethality and significant changes in levels of the ecdysone metabolite 20-hydroxyecdysonic acid and 20-hydroxyecdysone. In contrast, inhibiting gene expression only during adulthood resulted in a striking loss of oenocyte cells and a concomitant reduction of cuticular hydrocarbons, desiccation resistance, and lifespan. Oenocyte loss and cuticular lipid levels were partially rescued by 20-hydroxyecdysone supplementation. Taken together, these results identify a novel regulator of pheromone synthesis and reveal that ecdysteroid signaling is essential for the maintenance of cuticular lipids and oenocytes throughout adulthood.
Topics: Animals; Drosophila melanogaster; Ecdysterone; Female; Hydrocarbons; Lipids; Male; Oxidoreductases; Pheromones; RNA Interference; Reproduction; Sex Characteristics; Signal Transduction; Steroids
PubMed: 27333054
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1006126 -
Pest Management Science Jul 2021Semiochemical use is a promising way to reduce damage from pests by improving natural control in agro-ecosystems. The aphid alarm pheromone (E)-β-farnesene (EβF) and... (Review)
Review
Semiochemical use is a promising way to reduce damage from pests by improving natural control in agro-ecosystems. The aphid alarm pheromone (E)-β-farnesene (EβF) and herbivore-induced methyl salicylate (MeSA) are two volatile cues to induce changes in aphid behavior with functional significance. Because of limitations related to the volatility and oxidization of EβF and MeSA under natural conditions, slow-release and antioxidant techniques should be developed and optimized before application. Here, a slow-release alginate bead of EβF mixed with MeSA was first designed and manufactured. We hypothesized that a mixture of these two semiochemicals could be effective in controlling Sitobion miscanthi in wheat crops. Both MeSA and EβF in alginate beads were released stably and continuously for at least 15 days in the laboratory, whereas EβF in paraffin oil and pure MeSA were released for only 2 and 7 days, respectively. In 2018 field experiments, EβF and MeSA alone or in association significantly decreased the abundance of alate and apterous aphids. An increased abundance of mummified aphids enhanced by higher parasitism rates was observed when using EβF and MeSA in association, with a significant reduction of apterous abundance, more so than EβF or MeSA alone. In 2019, plots treated with a mixture of EβF and MeSA showed significantly decreased abundance of alate and apterous aphids with higher parasitism rates compared with the control. The new slow-release alginate bead containing a mixture of EβF with MeSA could be the most efficient formulation to control S. miscanthi population by attracting parasitoids in the wheat agro-ecosystem. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.
Topics: Animals; Aphids; Ecosystem; Pheromones; Salicylates; Sesquiterpenes; Triticum
PubMed: 33773020
DOI: 10.1002/ps.6378