Abstract
Bradysia odoriphaga is an agricultural pest insect affecting the production of Chinese chive and other liliaceous vegetables in China, and it is significantly attracted by sex pheromones and the volatiles derived from host plants. Despite verification of this chemosensory behavior, however, it is still unknown how B. odoriphaga recognizes these volatile compounds on the molecular level. Many of odorant binding proteins (OBPs) and chemosensory proteins (CSPs) play crucial roles in olfactory perception. Here, we identified 49 OBP and 5 CSP genes from the antennae and body transcriptomes of female and male adults of B. odoriphaga, respectively. Sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis among Dipteran OBPs and CSPs were analyzed. The sex- and tissue-specific expression profiles of 54 putative chemosensory genes among different tissues were investigated by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). qRT-PCR analysis results suggested that 22 OBP and 3 CSP genes were enriched in the antennae, indicating they might be essential for detection of general odorants and pheromones. Among these antennae-enriched genes, nine OBPs (BodoOBP2/4/6/8/12/13/20/28/33) were enriched in the male antennae and may play crucial roles in the detection of sex pheromones. Moreover, some OBP and CSP genes were enriched in non-antennae tissues, such as in the legs (BodoOBP3/9/19/21/34/35/38/39/45 and BodoCSP1), wings (BodoOBP17/30/32/37/44), abdomens and thoraxes (BodoOBP29/36), and heads (BodoOBP14/23/31 and BodoCSP2), suggesting that these genes might be involved in olfactory, gustatory, or other physiological processes. Our findings provide a starting point to facilitate functional research of these chemosensory genes in B. odoriphaga at the molecular level.
Highlights
The Chinese chive maggot, Bradysia odoriphaga (Diptera: Sciaridae), is the major destructive pest of Chinese chive and other liliaceous vegetables in China (Zhang et al, 2015; Chen et al, 2017)
The number of odorant binding proteins (OBPs) in B. odoriphaga was similar to the number in D. melanogaster (52), D. simulans (52), Episyrphus balteatus (49), and Eupeodes corollae (44) (Vieira and Rozas, 2011; Wang et al, 2017)
15 OBPs were found in Delia antiqua, 20 in Delia platura, 20 in Bactrocera dorsalis, 32 in Mayetiola destructor Say, and 26 in Sitodiplosis mosellana (Andersson et al, 2014; Gong et al, 2014; Ohta et al, 2014, 2015; Liu et al, 2016) (Figure 8)
Summary
The Chinese chive maggot, Bradysia odoriphaga (Diptera: Sciaridae), is the major destructive pest of Chinese chive and other liliaceous vegetables in China (Zhang et al, 2015; Chen et al, 2017). The larvae of this pest feed on the underground roots, bulbs, and immature stems of Chinese chive and cause yield losses of more than 50% in the absence of insecticide protection (Ma et al, 2013). The evidence from these behavioral responses contribute to control of this pest using push-pull strategies (Cook et al, 2007) Despite these reports on chemosensory behavior, the mechanism by which B. odoriphaga recognizes these volatile compounds on the molecular level is still unknown
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