Abstract

Moths develop sophisticated olfactory systems to sense the airborne chemical cues from the environment. Understanding the structural basis in the neuronal center is a fundamental neuroethological step. Little is known about the emerging crop pest Athetis dissimilis with regard to its morphology or its neuronal organizations. Through antibody staining and digital 3D modeling, we re-constructed the primary olfactory center—the antennal lobe of A. dissimilis. In the antennal lobes 68.8 ± 3.1 male glomeruli and 70.8 ± 1.0 female glomeruli were identified with obvious sexual dimorphism. In particular, male adults of A. dissimilis contain a macroglomerular complex (MGC) that consists of three subunits, while the female lobe has four relatively enlarged glomeruli at the entrance of the antennal nerve. Glomeruli were later clustered with deviation and variance, and referring to reported olfactory related receptor family genes in seven different moth species, we found that glomerular counts of these insects are better related to the sum of odorant receptor and ionotropic receptor numbers, suggesting olfactory receptors and ionotropic receptors may both involved in olfaction of Noctuidae moths.

Highlights

  • The olfactory system is one of the most important sensory features in insect species, which broadly involves behavioral decisions (Dweck et al, 2015; Ebrahim et al, 2015; Joseph and Carlson, 2015; Wan et al, 2019)

  • The axons of olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) directly project to the antennal lobe (AL), where synaptic attachments are made with second-order neurons in sophisticated structures called the glomeruli (Stocker et al, 1990; Christensen and Hildebrand, 2002)

  • Sides are truncated by a macropylar area at the anterior end and marked by a reticulate pattern of prominent longitudinal ridges joined by lesser cross ridges (Figure 1A)

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Summary

Introduction

The olfactory system is one of the most important sensory features in insect species, which broadly involves behavioral decisions (Dweck et al, 2015; Ebrahim et al, 2015; Joseph and Carlson, 2015; Wan et al, 2019). Detection of the airborne cues in insects starts in olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) housed in sensilla that are mostly located on the antennae (Keil and Steinbrecht, 1984). The axons of ORNs directly project to the antennal lobe (AL), where synaptic attachments are made with second-order neurons in sophisticated structures called the glomeruli (Stocker et al, 1990; Christensen and Hildebrand, 2002). Anatomic characterization of ALs is important for neuroethological studies to understand insect behavioral decision (Sato and Touhara, 2008; BischKnaden et al, 2018)

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