Identification of Candidate Olfactory Genes in the Antennal Transcriptome of the Stink Bug Halyomorpha halys.

Haixia Zhan,Zhenjie Qin,Yuan Huang,Shiyong Yang,Jinping Zhang,Dongdong Sun,Yang Liu

doi:10.3389/fphys.2020.00876

Abstract

The brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), is a serious agricultural and urban pest that has become an invasive species in many parts of the world. Olfaction plays an indispensable role in regulating insect behaviors, such as host plant location, partners searching, and avoidance of predators. In this study, we sequenced and analyzed the antennal transcriptomes of both male and female adults of H. halys to better understand the olfactory mechanisms in this species. A total of 241 candidate chemosensory genes were identified, including 138 odorant receptors (ORs), 24 ionotropic receptors (IRs), 15 gustatory receptors (GRs), 44 odorant-binding proteins (OBPs), 17 chemosensory proteins (CSPs), and three sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMPs). The results of semi-quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) assays showed that some HhalOBP and HhalCSP genes have tissue-specific and sex-biased expression patterns. Our results provide an insight into the molecular mechanisms of the olfactory system in H. halys and identify potential novel targets for pest control strategies.

Highlights

Natural environments are characterized by a wide variety of odors, and insects have developed corresponding olfactory systems that enable them to recognize and interpret the complicated odorant information (Su et al, 2009)
The odorants are detected by olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) distributed in cuticular sensilla, which are mainly housed in the antennae wherein the chemical signals are converted into electrical signals that are further transmitted to the antennal
In order to better understand the role of odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) and chemosensory proteins (CSPs) in the olfactory system in H. halys, we studied the expression patterns of the 44 HhalOBP and 17 HhalCSP genes in antennae, head, thorax, abdomen, and legs in adults of both sexes using the semi-quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR)

Summary

Introduction

Natural environments are characterized by a wide variety of odors, and insects have developed corresponding olfactory systems that enable them to recognize and interpret the complicated odorant information (Su et al, 2009). In the process by which chemical signals are converted into electrical signals at the peripheral nerve level, both receptor and non-receptor gene families are involved. The former includes odorant receptors (ORs), ionotropic receptors (IRs), and gustatory receptors (GRs), whereas the latter includes at least odorant-binding proteins (OBPs), chemosensory proteins (CSPs), and sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMPs) (Dunipace et al, 2001; Dahanukar et al, 2005; Jin et al, 2008; Vogt et al, 2009; Koh et al, 2014; Wicher, 2015; Agnihotri et al, 2016; Sun et al, 2016; Du et al, 2018)

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