Abstract
Pheromone binding protein (PBP) is thought primarily to bind and transport the sex pheromone in moths. The accumulated studies suggest that three PBPs were identified in moth species. In Grapholita molesta, the functions of GmolPBP2 and GmolPBP3 have been previously studied. However, the function of GmolPBP1 is still unclear. Furthermore, the Cydia pomonella sex pheromone Codlemone can act as a sex pheromone synergist of G. molesta. In C. pomonella, CpomPBP1 specifically bind the Codlemone. CpomPBP1 displays high identity with GmolPBP1 (70%), indicating that the two PBPs may share a similar 3D structure thus can bind the similar or same ligands. In this study, we explored the molecular and functional characterization of GmolPBP1. GmolPBP1, bearing the typical characteristics of Lepidopteran odorant binding proteins, was closest phylogenetically to CpomPBP1. Binding studies demonstrated that GmolPBP1 exhibited strong binding affinities with (Z)-8-dodecenyl alcohol, 1-dodecanol and Codlemone. Molecular docking showed that GmolPBP1 has different ligand recognition mechanism for the three ligands. Our results suggest that GmolPBP1 functions as recognizer of (Z)-8-dodecenyl alcohol and 1-dodecanol of the female sex pheromone blend, and may be the potential transporter of Codlemone, which contributes to the synergism of the pheromone response of G. molesta by Codlemone.
Highlights
Results indicate that Pheromone binding protein (PBP) have important functions in the process of pheromone reception
The accumulated studies suggest that multiple PBPs were found in a single species, which strongly implies functional differentiation of these PBPs, possibly in discrimination among pheromone components[9,19,20,21]
Our result indicated that Gmol PBP1 displays high identities on the amino acid sequence with CpomPBP1 (70%), phylogenetic analysis revealed that GmolPBP1 is closest phylogenetically to CpomPBP1, indicating that these two PBPs may share a similar 3D structure binds with similar or same components of sex pheromone
Summary
Results indicate that PBPs have important functions in the process of pheromone reception. Three PBP genes (GmolPBP1, GmolPBP2 and GmolPBP3) have been found from G. molesta[27], and GmolPBP2 showed higher affinity to (Z)-8-dodecenyl acetate and (E)-8-dodecenyl acetate than (Z)-8-dodecenyl alcohol and 1-dodecanol, but GmolPBP3 showed poor affinity to all four sex pheromone components[28]. The major sex pheromone component Codlemone (E, E-8, 10-Dodecadienol) for C. pomonella has been widely used in its management[29,30]. This compound when added to the G. molesta pheromone blend of (Z)-8-dodecenyl acetate (85.5%), (E)-8-dodecenyl acetate (5.5%) and (Z)-8-dodecenyl alcohol (9%), can act as a synergist by increasing trap catches of male G. molesta by two- to three-fold over the G. molesta blend alone[31]. Our results help us better understand the functions of different PBPs in G. molesta, and suggest that the protein GmolPBP1 may be the potential transporter of Codlemone in the olfaction system of G. molesta
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